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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have woke the children as I had to go to the shop

66 replies

Ilovemyself · 31/08/2013 23:11

Wife has been in and out of hospital for the last week and I have had things on my mind.

We have a prepayment for our electricity and I stupidly forgot to top the key up after it went on to electricity.

It ran out tonight just after our 18 mo twins had gone to bed.

It would have taken less than 5 minutes to go to the shop and top up - but even so I got the twins up and took then and our 6 mo with me. A couple of friends since have said why did I bother waking them - for the time I was gone it wasn't worth getting them up.

WIBU.

OP posts:
MousyMouse · 31/08/2013 23:46

yanbu
needs must and all that.

bananananacoconuts · 31/08/2013 23:47

Well done you on taking them with you op. I once got the neighbour to watch my baby dd whilst ds (3) and me popped out to collect a take away. Bloody nora, car ran out of petrol, so had to walk to nearest petrol station and buy a jerry can of petrol. As i filled it, i sprayed us both with unleaded petrol and then had to walk a mile back to the car in the dark with a cold, wet ds.
We got back to the car and the police had broken into it as we lived near a football ground and a young boy had gone missing after a match (he was found safe and well!) so eventually picked up chinese then had to bribe neighbour to stay with dd while i took ds to the hospital because he said i sprayed petrol in his eye!
I now always get take away delivered!
What i'm trying to say is that imagine if i left dd on her own! She'd have been home alone for hours!

Sparklysilversequins · 31/08/2013 23:48

This has happened to me a few times. I always wake and take my dc, they are 10 and 6 now but still would or just suffer in the dark till morning.

VisualiseAHorse · 31/08/2013 23:50

And it's not just something potentially happening to the children...what if something happened to you while you were out and you suddenly couldn't get back home?

noseymcposey · 31/08/2013 23:51

Very simple.. basically you never, under any circumstances go out while your v young children are at home!

Of course you did the right thing :)

Original poster
Ilovemyself · 31/08/2013 23:54

corinna I normally just put £15 per week in and it is fine. It went into the emergency and I just forgot. Like I said, it hasn't happened before

OP posts:
marriedinwhiteisback · 01/09/2013 00:11

Couldn't you have just gone to bed and gone for it in the morning - having just typed that I suppose if you don't have gas you couldn't.

Original poster
Ilovemyself · 01/09/2013 00:14

Lol. It was about 7.30 and I hadn't eaten.

OP posts:
BoozyBear · 01/09/2013 00:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Finola1step · 01/09/2013 00:19

Of course you did the right thing. And can see why you couldn't leave it until the morning - no electricity = food in fridge and freezer spoiling. Hope your wife gets better soon.

marriedinwhiteisback · 01/09/2013 00:23

Food in fridge freezer overnight if doors kept shut wd probably be OK I think.

NoComet · 01/09/2013 00:23

I confess I'd have left them, but it takes five minutes to wander up and find DH in our furthest shed.

CorrinaKedavra · 01/09/2013 00:32

You are a "good-enough" parent for not leaving the children but have you learned from this and do you have a plan in place to stop it happening again?

No medals for being a fantastic Dad despite what your twattish mates say from me. Get organised.

Amy106 · 01/09/2013 00:59

Yes, of course it was the right thing to do.

waltzingmathilda · 01/09/2013 01:04

Where was the wife
And it takes me 10 mins to peg out washing

SoleSource · 01/09/2013 01:04

If y emergency electric runs out after 6pm then electric remains on until 9am the next morning. Scottish Power are great!

foreverondiet · 01/09/2013 01:07

I would leave a 10 year old but never at 18 months even if asleep - would have asked a neighbour to come round.... have done in past when I had to nip out - have phone numbers of a couple of teenagers on our road, always useful!

CorrinaKedavra · 01/09/2013 01:17

Why hasn't running out of electricity happened before do you think? Stop lolling about it - this is serious. If your DW is ill you need to step up and provide the basics for the family you have created.

Are you on a gas meter too? If so, you should be pre-paying to build up credit for the winter.

I don't mean to be haranguing but posting here to get responses r.e what a fantastic Dad you are for not leaving three babies and basking in the glory isn't going to help in the long run.

ilovesooty · 01/09/2013 01:44

Corrina if you don't mean to be haranguing it would no doubt be fascinating to see you in action when you do mean to do so.

Ilovemyself I hope your wife is better soon.

Trazzletoes · 01/09/2013 01:51

marriedinwhite not in our house, not in the freezer. It would have already started melting and then you have a freezer full of food ruined. You're potentially losing a fair bit of money there.

Also, defrosted our freezer the other week. Took about 3 hours. Kept the fridge door shut the whole time. The milk and meat went off a whole load faster.

Yes, the OP does need to get organised but waking his kids back up just after bed is hardly the crime of the century and I think Corinna possibly doesn't have first hand experience of caring for 3 DCs under 2 and a sick DW in hospital.

CorrinaKedavra · 01/09/2013 01:57

I'm only in first gear, ilovesooty, but this man needs practical help and not a load of simpering posts telling him he is fantastic Dad for erm, not thinking about the very basics of running a home despite having three very young children.

I have already sympathised with him regarding his wife and have given solid advice so your post hasn't helped him at all and is just a comment on mine.

AdoraBell · 01/09/2013 02:11

I would have done the same in your position.

If I'd plenty of sleep and DH had no health problems I would have been organised enough to ask a neighbour to help.

Hope your DW is well soon.

TeamSouthfields · 01/09/2013 02:13

And what if u had been knocked over

Or the 6 year old got up, wondered where u were, and left the house looking for u

CorrinaKedavra · 01/09/2013 02:19
Grin
CorrinaKedavra · 01/09/2013 02:31

"Corinna possibly doesn't have first hand experience of caring for 3 DCs under 2 and a sick DW in hospital"

No I don't. I do have two disabled children though. One with autism and one with a life-threatening medical disorder and many times their needs have had me conflicted. Difference is, they will always have these difficulties unlike your example.