There is a long back story to this, but basically H is an EA workaholic who dips in and out of family life and domestic responsibilities as and when suits him, spending the rest of the time glued to his laptop. He routinely has only 3-4 hours' sleep a night, sometimes less. He is chronically sleep deprived and will fall asleep during the day at the drop of a hat if he sits down and rests.
This week the DCs are on half-term. Both of us work full-time, but (as usual) I am covering most of the week's childcare using leave/flexible working. H agreed to look after DCs today while I do a long day at work. DC1 (8) is on an outing with friends, so H will just have DC2, who is 4.
Last night H worked on his laptop until 5am (I was awake for a while around that time so know the exact time he came to bed). He set his alarm and got up at 7.15 after 2 hours' sleep. Based on past form, he will have a nap in our bed at some point during the day, leaving DC2, who doesn't like being/playing by himself, to his own devices for a couple of hours. He also plans to take DC2 to a busy attraction this afternoon.
The problem is I don't trust him to look after DC2 safely on so little sleep. In case anyone thinks I am being precious, last weekend H took both DCs to a large park (think extensive playing fields rather than garden square) and lost DC2 for a considerable period - long enough for DC2 to be found wandering and crying by a very kind woman who bought him an icecream and walked around with him until DC2 spotted H. H would never admit it, but based on past form I strongly suspect that H sat down, fell asleep and didn't keep enough of an eye on the DCs.
My only options are:
- Suck it up, leave DC2 with H today and hope for the best. I know lots of parents (me included) do manage on little sleep when they have to, but H is too self-absorbed to see how it might impact on the DCs and change his behaviour accordingly.
- Take DC2 with me to work, which will mean I don't get as much done. H would probably kick off (verbally, not physically) because in his eyes he is doing me a favour and by questioning his fitness to look after DC2 I'd be insufficiently grateful. We're in a relatively peaceful phase at them moment and I'd rather not rock the boat unless I have to.
Staying home myself is not an option - because this is my only "in-office" day this week I've scheduled lots of meetings and conference calls that can't easily be rearranged.
WWYD?