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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be annoyed with SIL and Childminder??

95 replies

luckoftheirish · 25/09/2010 14:10

We have been invited to a wedding nxt weekend.. asked months ago one of dh's very good friends.. agreed that i would go..

Asked the cm if she could look after the dcs. no problem.. noticed on fb about a month ago that a friend was having her 30th on the same day and that my sil had accepted the invited.. reconfirmed with the cm that i definitely had her booked so that if sil asked her she would say that she was already busy... (sil has just started using the same cm as me)

got text from sil this am asking if it would be all right for her and bil to stay over at my house nxt sat so that cm could babysit for them as well as my two..

i asked sil if the cm had agreed to this and apparently she said that would be ok..

now that would mean that i would have the cm/bil/sil/nephew all staying at my house when i am not even there!!! Also if the cm agreed to look after my two why didn't she tell sil that she was already tied up??

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aaaaaAAARGHandbreathe · 25/09/2010 15:48

Hmmmm....does sound like you need to change CM otherwise the pisstaking will continue/ resentment will only grow.

So you've got two children with CM, SIL has one, you've been with CM for 5 years, SIL with her for all of 4 months and yet you're expected to change YOUR hours and do any back-up babysitting. Doesn't sound right to me. CM is expecting you to compromise to make her life easier.

Okay I'd start thinking of some reason why SIL and BIL can't stay over/have to share the living room floor and use sleeping bags while CM has the other spare bed/sofa. Bed bugs? Bed mattress being cleaned?

You may not want to but have you ever tried www.sitters.co.uk. They've been great. I paid for an initial 4 hr session while I was here and just let the babysitter play with and get to know my DS and then booked her properly after that. They're really quite reasonable costwise. Maybe if the CM realises SIL is causing her to lose business it might make her think again.

frakkinnakkered · 25/09/2010 15:56

Given that your CM seems to be unregistered and you have no contract then yes, regardless of these issues you need a new one. But that's a separate issue.

I, like others, suspect you had sitter booked, she was fine with this, SIL realised she wouldn't be able to get sitter the same night/couldn't be arsed to find her own, called up sitter to say 'can you have all the DCs, sitter said it was up to you but she didn't have a problem, SIL calls you saying CM will do it and is it okay with you.

TBH if you're not happy I'd say no. I suspect you're paying over her usual rates for having her at yours for the weekend anyway and your SIL has made no arrangement for payment. Also VERY cheeky of your SIL to assume she can just crash at your for the night while your sitter is staying over too. Do you have enough spare rooms?!

luckoftheirish · 25/09/2010 16:06

would be a bit tricky roomwise and would mean someone sleeping in my bed urghh but it could be done...

i guess that will have to have a chat with dh as i don't want anything to happen between him and his db.. reckon i will just not go to the wedding, let cm/sil get on with it and find a new babysitter!!

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frakkinnakkered · 25/09/2010 16:09

Ohhhhh don't do that! I'm sure you can find a replacement babysitter in time.

Get yourself over to the CMs, Nannies and au pairs section and see if anyone there is local to you and willing to do it. Or even better, tell your SIL you've found her a babysitter!

pinkbasket · 25/09/2010 16:10

I think you should sack the CM, say they can't all stay and get yourself a registered CM.

And stand up for yourself.

BitOfFun · 25/09/2010 16:19

Don't not go to the wedding ffs! If I start smelling over-cooked martyrs burning I shall be very cross with you...

luckoftheirish · 25/09/2010 16:20

you are right need to stand up for myself.. not being a marytr promise Smile

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fedupofnamechanging · 25/09/2010 17:22

Your problem is primarily with your SIL here.You don't want them staying in your house so you have to say no. If you allow this to go ahead you will be resentful and not enjoy your time away.

When you say you were called to pick up the children early, did you mean just your Dcs or your nephew as well? If it was your nephew, then you should have refused to take him and told CM to call SIl.

Stop looking after your nephew so your SIL can work. It's up to her to make arrangements for her child, not you.

Talk to your CM about all this. If your DCs are happy, then it seems a shame that you have to find someone else. Stop being so accommodating. Your CM is not doing you a favour, she is being paid. Bear that in mind when she is calling you from work to pick up the children early. A good conversation (once you come back from your weekend away) about expectations might be helpful to you.

But for now, put a stop to this idea of everyone crashing at yours. Your house is not a hotel!

CarGirl · 25/09/2010 17:26

Do you think the CM prefers to have a baby to look after rather than 2 older dc?

luckoftheirish · 25/09/2010 17:33

think the cm enjoys looking after the baby and my two dds are the first girls she has looked after.. she always said she prefered girls..

i am not working atm but have continued to use the cm to ensure continuity for dd2 when i do work again.. sil has given the cm set hours and days and the cm wanted to have them both together.. she called me cos i am not at work but didn't call sil as she was!!!

the cm/babysitter has always helped us out in anyway she can up until she started looking after the baby.. i have the possibility of going back to work and have briefly discussed this with the cm, will will slightly different days to what dd2 does and her response was not to comment at all Hmm.. doesn't bode well does it

sorry for long rambling post, just getting it all off my chest!!

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luckoftheirish · 25/09/2010 17:33

sorry should say prefer boys!

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frakkinnakkered · 25/09/2010 17:35

If you're going back to work will you get childcare vouchers/WTCs?

If you do then you have a golden excuse to present to your CM and leave on good terms - as she's not registered you can't make use of them.

sowhatis · 25/09/2010 17:37

I think YABU as cm is babysitting for you, so no need to be angry at cm.

but SIL is taking the piss.

I dont get why you are still using a cm when you dont work though, so can see why cm called you to collect and not sil who is at work.

continuity i can see if you are only off between jobs for a couple of weeks, but other than that it seems strange you are so wound up when you dont even NEED cm right now.

luckoftheirish · 25/09/2010 17:40

sowhatis, only using cm one morning a week

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fedupofnamechanging · 25/09/2010 18:46

I think then, that your CM is prioritising your SIL because her hours are set and definite. As you will be wanting different hours to what you currently have, you need to get a definite yes or no from your CM before you commit to work. Your SILs child is younger, so presumably she will be looking after him for longer, so she is protecting what appears to be her long term work. That is natural, I think.

Doesn't really help you though. I still think you should say no to everyone staying at yours. Tell SIL she will have to make alternative arrangements as you booked CM first.

A proper talk about hours is important, but as was said earlier by frakkinnakkered you would benefit from the childcare vouchers, so may be better off with another CM if you do go back to work.

pinkbasket · 25/09/2010 18:46

I think mums need to relax more about worrying about continuity of child care and keeping nannies on when it isn't great. Children are surprisingly resiliant and I think this woman, she is not a CM, is showing her true colours by seeming to side with, and prefer, your SIL.

luckoftheirish · 25/09/2010 19:08

Thank you all for responding. I am definitely going to get rid of the cm and find alternative care. Re nxt weekend will have a good chat with dh and see what he wants to do to but vering towards sending him as it's his mate and staying with my dds!

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pinkbasket · 25/09/2010 19:12

That might be a better idea if you are not disappointed about going. You will have to tell your babysitter and your SIL so they know your house is not going to be available as a creche. Be prepared for your SIL asking you to have her son (saves her money).

thatsnotmymonkey · 25/09/2010 19:22

Say this to your SIL "sorry we seem to have our wires crossed. We are out overnight, so it would not be convenient for you guys to stay, so sorry." then say NOTHING else. They key to not being a door mat is to not give excuses, not over apologise and to not try and justify your position. You need to utter one simple sentence then not be drawn in any further. Just say "teats just not possible","that's not going to work for us" if she tries to persuade you. And get off the phone as quickly as possible.

Call your CM, and say your plans are back to the original ones, and in future if SIL wants to book her on a night you have then that is not cool with you and CM needs to tell SIL she has prior commitments.

thatsnotmymonkey · 25/09/2010 19:23

Thats! no teats Blush

zipzap · 25/09/2010 20:48

Think it is one thing expecting to muscle in on your childminder/babysitter for the evening, it is quite another thing to expect to stay over as well!

Is your house much closer to their party than their house making for a cheaper taxi ride afterwards?

I'd be very tempted to say 'sorry, I've booked cm/bs for the kids to have some time alone with her as they have been missing her individual attention so it's not convenient for her to look after your dc too. Here's the number for sitters/another babysitter'.

if you feel you can't turn down the babysitting bit, then you could say that she will babysit but that it isn't convenient for bil and sil to stay but that they can pick up their dc when they go home. Wouldn't offer overnighter for the dc without the parents there.

I would also speak to the cm/bs first and say that maybe when you spoke to her to arrange all this and made sure that sil wasn't booked with her for that night that maybe you'd all got your wires crossed and that you'd been talking at cross purposes and you were kind of upset as you actively wanted her to look after your dc without her looking after anybody else - nephew/other mindee/complete baby stranger/etc.

Say that you are upset that sil has approached her first and arranged it all with her without consulting you first because you would have never said yes to sil if she had asked you as your dc were looking forward to spending some time just with her.

Also ask here exactly how sil asked her to look after her dc - did she make it sound like you had already agreed to it - you never know there might be a thread lurking somewhere about cm/bs being hacked off that she had arranged to look after 2 kids and now has to look after 3 Grin - she might be hacked off by it too, or at least railroaded into it by sil.

Tricky part is knowing if sil has offered her money - if she turns sil down now then it might feel to her that she is turning down money. But if you are paying her over and above her normal rate then you could say that you thought that you were paying for her to just look after your two. And if sil isn't paying any extra then it is obvious that sil is a cheapskate for a separate rant...

I would also say to the cm/ds that you don't have the space for your sil/bil/nephew to stay and that quite frankly don't really feel comfortable with them staying there while you are not, it's not fair on cm/ds to have to look after kids and act as host in the morning as well.

agree with her that you are not happy with the arrangement and that you will take flak from sil if she gets shirty with cm/ds (she might not want to compromise her income and feel she is between rock and hard place if you both pay her and want different things).

before speaking to cm/bs remember to write all the points down that you want to cover and think up what you want to say in response to what she might say to you, so you have got all eventualities covered and don't get caught on the hop agreeing to something that you don't want.

then send text to sil just saying that you have spoken to cm/bs and asked her to revert to her original agreement with you of just looking after your dc, which she has agreed to, as 'for a number of reasons' it's not convenient for her to look after dn or for them to stay there after party.

If she can send you message like this by text then don't feel bad about replying by text either!

Good luck - and let us know how it all gets sorted out!

luckoftheirish · 25/09/2010 21:32

Thanks zipzap :-)

OP posts:
zipzap · 25/09/2010 21:41

sorry luck - just realised that was rather a long post for you to wade through there!

but you are definitely nbu - hope you manage to sort everything out to your satisfaction...

MrsC2010 · 25/09/2010 21:53

Did you say she wasn't a registered CM? She is taking the mick by charging etc in that case, doesn't she need to be 'OFSTEDed'?

luckoftheirish · 26/09/2010 06:58

MrsC is the mother of a friend of Dh's and when dd1 was little she offered to help look after her and we have just kept it going from there!!

Well i will be seeing her later as dd1 having birthday party and she is taking one of her mindees so i guess i will find out what she and sil have schemed and who initated it!!!

Haven't slept worrying about this stupid situation so def need to get myself some backbone! Smile

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