Nursery teachers snarky comment

They should have been playing with her and taking her mind off her being the only one left.
Not making it worse by letting her look out of the window, which no doubt would have upset her. Waiting is far worse for little ones.

I wouldn’t have been impressed, and I would deyspeak to the manager about their unprofessional conduct.

Where are the staff coming halfway? Because there's no halfway in the OP.

No one asking you're opinions on how long she is there. The fact of the matter is they are open until 6.30, you have paid for that service so you are well within your rights to utilise that time. They are absolutely in the wrong what they have done and for making your daughter feel worried about where you were.

Why are people suggesting changes to OP's schedule? She doesn't need to change her schedule. She has worked one out to manage competing demands on her time, including, god forbid, some downtime. All she wanted to know is if she or the nursery were being unreasonable. Which, since the nursery is open until 6.30pm and she is paying until 6.30pm, is the nursery. That's it, that's all she asked. The est of the unsolicited wank is unnecessary.

Extremely unprofessional!! You pay til 6.30, therefore they are open til 6.30 getting away earlier is a treat not something they should pressure parents into!

I just wonder if there are other options. That is a very long day for a child in childcare and it couldn't be too much to be the last child there. A childminder might provide a more relaxed setting, especially one with other kids but shorter days generally work far better for little kids. It may not be possible but I would hate to think my little girl was there last on a Friday, even if the manager speaks to the staff, you can't 'make' them genuinely want to be with her..

Nursery workers are paid for their shift. Nice for them when they get the opportunity to leave early but not the responsibility of paying customers to ‘make their life easier’ by short changing themselves and making their life more difficult by having to do work later in the day when they’ve already made arrangements so they can get work done when their child isn’t at home.

Would you leave a doctors appointment early to help the doctor out? Would you buy less shopping than you need to make things easier for the cashier? Would you check out of holiday accommodation a day early so the cleaner has longer to clean?

My DC is in two full days - for 6h a week.
OP’s version of 2 full days is 22h/week.

I really feel like this is an obvious point:

The nursery hours are 7:30-6:30 to accommodate parents’ work flexibility at either end of the day. Not because they expect any single 2yo to be there for 11h(!!!).

You have to book a whole day because you’re using a spot, with all the associated costs to them. Your funding hours cover the nursery operating for 11h, however long your child is there. This is how most nurseries work.

That's not the point of the post though is it? All your comment could possibly do is make OP feel bad, so why post it?

OP, ignore, you do what works for you and dc at this time. You sound brilliant, studying and working with a little one.

I think it was really rude of them to make you feel uncomfortable picking your DD at 6:20pm. It’s not like it was 6:30pm, then I would expect a phone call! What time were the missed calls btw? (sorry if you’ve already mentioned this). I can imagine that they might feel a little annoyed if they tried you before 6pm and then closer too and you didn’t pick up or call back. That’s the only reason I can think of.

I would clarify their opening times, email the manager stating that you believed they were open until 6:30pm, you collected at 6:20pm and this will be a regular pick up time on a Friday, mention the missed calls and the reasons why you couldn’t call back. Get clarification in writing, then there should be no miscommunication in the future.

@Alltheyellowbirds yes she is not in the wrong here it is most definitely the poor attitude of the staff at the nursery.

As someone who worked in a dentist I know exactly how quick that appointment would be when last of the day.. If you came in earlier because second last cancelled it would be way more thorough... And I wasn't the dentist so not up to me and I've worked in several practices all did the same thing...🤷‍♀️
Although this dentist analogy isn't relevant to the OP.

She does feel bad for her kid. She does feel guilty. What does it achieve? And what does it achieve for you to point your imperious fucking finger at the OP?

Would they have had her sitting at the door with her coat on until 6.25? I assume you signed a contract stating her hours? This is not ok. I’d be livid! Did they let you know that she would likely be the only one from 4.30 as children tend to get collected early on Fridays? It doesn’t matter whether you’re at home studying, out shopping, or at work. What you do when your child is in their setting is none of their business.
I’d let them know that you require childcare until 6.30 and if they are unable to provide it on a Friday anymore then request the day is changed, or find an alternative

@Soontobe60

OP shouldn’t have to be studying in the early hours of the morning!

big difference between pissing about on mumsnet and writing an essay! Just because she can do the former absolutely doesn’t mean she can do the latter! She’ll be tired! Where is your compassion for a woman who sounds like she is doing her very best??

OU being flexible isn't a magic wand that magics away the demands of uni. Just stop.

Do you know what else is flexible? Nursery pick-up time within defined opening hours.

@CheekyTealFawn that would make me want to change the nursery they are clearly more interested in going home than looking after your child. And to do that to your child sit by the door waiting for you is disgusting. They do not appear to care about the kids. My kids have been in nursery and never once had anything like this it was really professional x

She’s fixed her own hours of study to ensure completing her course fits around their family life. You don’t know the bigger picture. Why judge?

I’ve only skimmed the thread but it’s ridiculous how many people seem to think that is too long at nursery when it’s only two days a week! What do they think people who work do? If you were working instead of studying would their answers be different? For what it’s worth both my kids do 8-5.30/6 every week day in nursery and have done since they were one. So do most of the kids in their nursery. It’s totally normal and kids are fine, well adjusted and loved. It is not right for your nursery to be acting like this. Ours are sometimes the last on a Friday or in school holidays but the nursery staff are nothing but kind and the kids enjoy some special 121 time and definitely aren’t made to feel bad for being the last there.

I thought ‘seeking revenge’ on a nursery was childish and didn’t want to go down to your level, which was why I edited the comment.

I don’t have advice for the OP, nor did I claim to.

I think a better comparison would be if they rang me up and asked if they could move my appointment forward as I’m the last one or the day.

If I couldn’t I’d politely say I’m afraid i can’t. It it if I could I would … why wouldn’t you?

To be fair I’m sat on my ass while DD is in ballet; I can post on here but I can’t really do an assignment or anything! I find MN and things like instagram, Facebook, are kind of a link to the outside world with small children: keep meaning to spend less time … should really try …

Are you always this easily confused, poor lamb?

That’s exactly what a lot of people would say @Cococatcococat and a lot of it was the travel time.

Typically, you’d have anything between eight and twelve people to see in a ‘shift’ (there were four: morning, lunch, tea and bed.) A lot of the work was hard physical work involving lifting, using hoists and other mobility aids in homes that often weren’t designed for them. Then it would be on to the next person and in peak travel times, especially in the morning when the schools were open and around tea time that could take ages.

So your rota might say

Mary Jones 8-830
George Williams 835-905

but actually it would take ten minutes at least to get from Mary Jones to George Williams and also as much as not every client took exactly thirty minutes some went over (and don’t get me started on when some poor person had a fall and we had to wait hours for an ambulance …)

It would in practice if we did thirty minutes for every client mean you’d go from your morning shift to the lunch one with no break, no chance to get anything to eat or clear your head a bit, just working straight through. Obviously that wasn’t sustainable and what it meant in practice was people just didn’t stay in the job long: I didn’t. And unfortunately I see this in nursery staff too - I love my children’s nursery but there has been high turnover of staff which is hard to ignore.

It isn’t my responsibility to improve working conditions but I do think if we want excellent quality care from anyone - care worker or nursery / childminder or retail staff - meeting them halfway and trying to make their life easier is a start.

I’m amazed by the shit OP is getting for having her daughter in nursery two full days a week when so many people work full time jobs and their kids are in for full days EVERY day. I guess a lot of the people judging are in very fortunate positions.