To think my cleaner shouldn’t bring her own child to work?

If I accept her bringing her child, then the child is also a guest.

This

I had a cleaner who asked if she could bring her child, I said she should check with her insurer first. I didn't hear about it again (I expect she didn't have insurance).

In most cases it isn’t a legal requirement. It’s a customer request.

Oh, yes, we mustn't forget BE KIND. Especially if you're a laydee. Women must support women after all, no matter how ridiculous any given woman is being, or how daft and cheeky her demands or behaviour. Funnily enough I don't just wilfully support someone because we both happen to have a vagina

In this case I dont think its a ridiculous, checky or daft demand tbh.
I wouldn't have a problem with a male bringing his well behaved child while he did a job.
I would have a problem with a child that was cheeky and demanding or wouldn't sit quiet though.

All this is nothing to do with my vagina but remembering the sheer panic of holiday where I was struggling for childcare and tring to keep my job.

OP, i really recommend you watch the series 'Maid' on Netflix.

So excellent, so so excellent!

Please, please do, before you have the conversation with your cleaner, and i you can, come back here and tell us whether it has helped you explore your feelings about what you are experiencing.

Goodness - I hope you got the painter to stop the kid painting in your house! Lucky that you saw that.

and yet so many mnetters (not saying you are one) are perfectly fine with WFH and looking after their children.

Cut the poor woman a bit of slack, and just let her get on with doing her job. Her child is disturbing nobody, and i'm sure she doesn'T do this from choics.

Hey.
I am replying as someone who has been a cleaner in London for 17 years.

When my daughter was younger quite often I would have to ask the families i cleaned for if I could bring my daughter with me during school holidays.
Myself and partner always tried to juggle his days off. But it wasnt always possible.

Everyone that i cleaned , always said yes and I always appreciated their support I still clean for the same families.

It wasn't fun for neither of us. I would feel guilty that she was there , bored.

If you have a good cleaner , trustworthy, reliable. Let this go. It's not easy on her to ask for this.

Summer holidays will still be over and it's only a couple of hours.

I dont' disagree that if it doesn't work for you, you just say that you are not happy with the situation and move on. Unless you are one of the posters weirdly over-invested and getting into an absolute state about it.

his isn’t a job that requires lots is skill or is niche. There’s always a supply of cleaners out there
So not true. Very good cleaners are hard to find - available very good cleaners are a luxury.

You don’t need a child friendly home for a quiet 10 year old, and the same standard of professional service is still being provided. Yes there is a supply of cleaners but as you have discovered, not all of them are good or reliable. Like this one is!

If she is a good cleaner and her child is quiet and well behaved, I'd just leave her to it.

Good cleaners are hard to find and you are generating good will just by allowing someone to sit quietly on the sofa for an hour or so.

Exactly.

I WFH and have children but they are in childcare. I wouldn't want someone else's child in my home when I'm trying to work, especially if their parent is also supposed to be working.

Cultural differences? Do explain. Language? Translate on any phone is easy to use. They could even ask someone with a phone to write down their question in English.

BakingMuffins

It’s a bit unfair on the child to be spending the summer sitting in clients houses.

To be fair it’s probably only a few hours at a time, they probably get more time together than the people who have to drop to childcare

I'm not sure that the OP had as strong an opinion about this as you do tbh. She was more understanding about it than you've been.

Ultimately, it comes down to what a favour costs you. For most people the cost here is extremely low and therefore it's not a problem for them. For the OP, and even more so for you, the cost of this would be too high to tolerate and so it's a problem that needs sorting. I think that's fine.

I don't think people who don't find it a problem are lying or being ridiculous or a pushover though.

A child sitting quietly on a sofa, looking at an iPad hits different people different ways. You're clearly absolutely furious about it. Other people genuinely don't care. Would the world be a nicer place if more people had a higher tolerance for this? Of course. But that's not realistic.

I’ve had a mixture with cleaning and other trades. My old cleaner used to do it occasionally and the kids would just sit on the sofa and watch a tablet. I had no issue with that at all. I was a bit pissed off when my builder had his 9 year old with him and she was painting. If I wanted a job done by a child I’d get my own one to do it and save myself a ton of money.

Keyboard warrior I’ll be bound.

Not about being kind, a sisterhood or defending vaginas as far as I'm concerned, it's common sense that in a time when we need as many people working as possible and there's already barriers to that, including affordability and provision of childcare, creating another barrier if there doesn't need to be one is daft.

But I mean people are always free to pay more for the services they want and then childcare can be affordable to those they employ, or start their own childcare business to increase provision. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I wouldn't raise it. A good cleaner is so hard to find and if the child is well behaved then there isn't really an issue that impacts you. I agree it's rude and she should at the very least have asked, but if you want to keep her I would let it go. I might ask her to give me a heads up in future if the girl is coming in case you had plans which would mean she didn't have anywhere to sit eg if you were in the living room. Bit otherwise I'd try not to worry about it.

And if the OP’s home is anything like mine then it is not child friendly and even if it is, then one of the perks of having your own home is being able to decide who gets to enter it. The cleaner does as it’s her job and she’s being paid to clean. Random children - nope.
I have a cleaner and use an agency. I’ve had to change cleaners three times in the last few years because they weren’t reliable and one was sacked by the agency. The one I have now is fine. Turns up does the work, doesn’t disturb me working from home, doesn’t annoy my dog and then fucks off again. That’s what most of us want from a cleaner, not a friend, not a charity case, not someone who takes the piss. Just a professional doing a service. I frankly know nothing about her life and she knows nothing about mine. That’s how it should be.
and anyone objecting to me being in my own house as I wfh and have done for years would ne told to suck it up or fuck off.
this isn’t a job that requires lots is skill or is niche. There’s always a supply of cleaners out there so if the one you have isn’t working out for whatever reason, sack them ans replace.

Well, realistically, she is reliable by bringing the child to work,

YABU providing everything is getting done and the kid is just sat there quietly. I feel sorry for the parent and the child here. It must be shit for both of them.

You are not assertive and strong. You come across as unhinged frankly.

You are doing us all a massive disfavour if you try to pretend that women can't have an opinion and stand up for themselves without going into such a state.

Do you actually behave like this at work? I bet you don't.

Cleaners charging £20-25 are usually agency supplied. Cleaners are paid minimum wage give or take.

Plumber, builder etc are not regularly in your house so you don’t really know them and might never see them again.

I would like to be asked first but cultural and language differences often makes it difficult for cleaners to approach this.
Be kind and understanding to a hard working mum.

In this game there is not even a legal requirement of insurance let alone showing a policy.