To bill Guides Leader for cost of DD's jeans, rather than agree to pay hers.....

[margaretrose]

Slight trivia and long post warningAm not often cross, but bit wound up, will try to be calm and articulate: DD 11 has been a guide for 18 months. Has not been a great experience, older lady running group clearly doesn't like the girls or running guides, said to another mum that she was only doing it because no-one else would. Group is not well organised, not imaginative activities and older girls not encouraged to mix with/help younger ones. The one thing that has been great has been opportunity for DD to go into a nursing home to help/chat with residents every week, for Community badge. Last week, when dropped DD off at the NH, leader asked if she had her old T-shirt for the guide meeting after NH, as on the programme it had asked for this and said they wd be painting by foot and mouth, no other info. I said of course she had, a long purple T-shirt to cover her up as I expected it wd be messy. Leader glared and said " It must be white, we are Painting ON the shirt" and, rolling eyes, said that as was only 1.5 hrs before the meeting, we could buy one from her stock. Fine. Apparently, what happened at meeting was this: leader got out paints in big box, put out on tables and told girls to paint their T-shirts on bits of newspaper on floor via brush in foot or mouth. AND THEN SAID " oh some of that paint is gloss, don't use it". Some of smallest girls didn't get this and painted the soles of their feet with the gloss to make footprints on their shirts. Obviously, some went on floor..... and their clothes.... and could not be cleaned off at end of session. We r all now to be billed for special cleaning of hall!!! My questions: GLOSS PAINT?! Why no aprons provided? Why such poor supervision? Why paint by foot or mouth on T-shirt, will obviously look pants, And AIBU to refuseto pay for T-shirt, or cleaning Bill ( DD did not cause damage to floor), and to ask leader to pay for DD's jeans, which are ruined??!!! DD was SPECIFICALLY asked to arrive in guide top and jeans, not old clothes. Bloody woman. Would take it over myself but already run two other childrens groups!!!

Using a steam cleaner and one of those washing up sponges will remove dried in gloss paint from the floor, if this helps?

So the leader put gloss paint out.Realised her mistake and told the children not to use it, but your DD chose to ignore that and used it anyway??
Do you actually understand the difference between guides and a youth club. Visiting a nursing home and letting them try painting with their feet is about learning empathy with people who are lonely and disabled, not about having rip roaring fun and creating fabulous artwork!

Leader shouldn't have put gloss paint out in the 1st place, if it was a mistake it should have been removed not just an instruction given. This paint specifically has a warning on packaging to be kept away from children for a reason and not just because it's a bugger to get off!
Gloss paint fumes can trigger severe respiratory distress, skin reactions and are carcinogenic. She was the adult in charge... She should have removed it from the context.... What if she'd left something like bleach or other caustic chemicals with just a brief don't touch that... Even if they are old enough to take instruction SHE is the adult who is responsible and as such needs to take responsibility.

get her to go to scouts instead as guiding has gone downhill imo since i went there