to think we shouldn't be disadvantaged because we are related?

[ChristmasTrolleyRage]

We took the DCs swimming earlier and I was adamant that I wanted their hair properly dried before we left the pool.

I'm not normally bothered about this (as long as they brush tit), but with the weather so cold I wanted it fully dry today.

So, with 4 DCs with a lot of thick hair, we were taking up 4 out of 5 hairdryers in the changing room.

Another family came up (2 DCs) and waited very impatiently and mutteringly for a free dryer. The woman using the fifth one soon finished and passed hers to the eldest DD of the other family.

Mrs Tutty from the second family started giving me filthy looks as her second DD was moaning about wanting a Hot Chocolate and having to wait.

So, eventually I succumbed and got DD1 and DD2 to share so that Mrs Tutty and the Tutettes could use 2 dryers and we were using three.

An older woman turned up and started waiting very patiently and smiled pleasantly at my DCs (for once being lovely siblings to each other), so I beckoned DD3 over to where I was drying DS's hair for them to share so Mrs Genial could have a free hairdryer.

Mrs Tutty hurtled over, nearly knocking over Mrs Genial and grabbed the just spare dryer for her hair!

So, from the position of the Chaotic ones having a hairdryer each we were now sharing 2 to a dryer and the Tuttys having one each.

Just because there's a lot in our family doesn't mean our needs should be swept aside does it?

I would have said to her that you've freed the dryer for the other lady not for her to jump her greedy self into it, how rude. yanbu, her and her kids sound spoilt

I would assume priority went to kids and elderly peeps in weather like this.

I'm not good at confrontation firw, I'd rather just silently seethe, and then vent on here.

Was there a queue with Mrs. Tutty next in the line?

No the Tuttys were the only ones waiting.

Until Mrs G turned up.

I wish now I hadn't relinquished our positions, but it's ingrained in me to think of other's needs.

Obviously Mrs T has no such considerations.

did you have to walk home?

I think if there are 5 of you and only 5 hairdryers, it's pretty fair to share the hairdryers with other people. As I would have done if I had been Mrs Tutty so I would have given the other dryer to Mrs Genial.

...I was trying to concentrate on the dilemma but I started to giggle at the 'brush tit' bit. So sorry - I am very childish.

What was the question again?

Yes, did you have to walk home? That makes a difference....

Your needs shouldn't be swept aside, no. But I would probably tut if I saw just one family using all the available facilities. Why should other people's needs be swept aside because one family has decided to swim en masse?

You did the right thing by making one of the dryers free, but why shouldn't Mrs Tutty be able to take a free dryer if she has been waiting the longest?

Yes, in hindsight I guess you're right curlym - it was just her attitude that set me up to grumble. And the fact that we as a family were willing to double up, so why wouldn't she?

Actually she wasn't waiting the longest - my DCs were there first (god I hate that phrase) but had decided to make their task take longer out of consideration for others.

It's just hard to comprehend why 4 individuals drying their hair would have felt fine to complete the task, compared to me feeling guilty that as mine are related that perhaps we're having more than our fair share even though I think technically we're not.

But 4 individuals aren't going to double up and share, whereas siblings can (and its not a bad idea to encourage sharing anyway)

I do see your point about why Mrs Tutty couldn't let her children share though - she sounds like a nightmare parent!

but generally I think when you take several children out together, you should expect to not 'take over' facilities, because, rightly or wrongly, it'll be seen as hogging things

CTR - it doesn't matter if it's 4 people separately or 4 people from one family using the hairdryers - you get in line and wait. I wouldn't expect you 'make it take longer' for your kids, to let someone else have a turn, it was nice that you did, but not necessary.

MrsTutty is a cow and I wish you or the other lady waiting had said something to her!

Wear swimming hats next time!

Tough I didn't take over the hairdryers - we took four empty ones and then relinquisehed some of ours when I realised that someone was waiting.

50% of the Chaoses were using dryers (50% hovering with siblings).

100% of Tuttys were using dryers despite arriving at the drying station after the Chaoses.

Does that seem fair?

I'm not concerned about us sharing - I agree with previous posters that it's good to share and not to take over facilities, it's just the inequality of the situation that I'm about.

relinquished

Sorry.

Oh for the love of god...

Well you could look at it that although the Mrs Tut and the tuttettes had 3 dryers in the end, you had 4 dryers begin with and had been using the dryers longer than .It'sd all swings and roundabouts and you are overthinking the whole thing

YABU...you "sucumbed eventually" after she stood there glaring for some time. I would have glared too.

Yep I'm probably overthinking.

Shanahan - I'll bet you wouldn't have made sure your family was all ok (with attitude)though after someone else had doubled up with their family though.

I think I'll double up straightaway next time though if someone's waiting rather than wait for the huffiness to start - it could appear that a large family is hogging.

{Or I could pretend not to know some of mine, so no-one knows we're related. ).

Sorry Tough.

] and