To take them with me?

[Geckos48]

So my husband is away at the moment, he 'doesn't know' if he will be back tonight.
I've had to mess work around already this week and I dont think they could cope with me missing my shift tonight :(

My calls are in an incredibly rural location and its really safe round here.
WIBU to take the children? Make a little 'nest' in the back of the car and give them their bottles and put them down to bed in the large boot of our people carrier?

I could dress them up warm and I would only be out for around 2hours with them, checking back regularly and driving inbetween calls every half an hour or so?

I dont know what else to do!

Well done Gecko, sorry its so stressful. Your DH does need to understand how he has landed you in it today.

Leaving them strapped in their car seats for a few minutes whle you're doing your calls is probably OK but not half an hour. Not quite clear what kind of calls you're making.

your plan b is finding a babysitter to have on hand next time this happens!! what do you think?!

Yipppeeee

I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so!

But I echo everone else who's saying get a plan B going now!

I can't believe anyone would even consider this! Are you crazy! It's completely irresponsible and neglectful. Get a babysitter from an agency or phone up work and explain the situation and use a days leave. You need a contingency plan in place for situations like this op.

Op you seem to have gone from panicking and making completely ridiculous suggestions concerning your childrens' safety to sounding almost nonchalant about your lack of organized childcare. I too was at one point hoping this was a wind up...

Yes driving around with children asleep in the boot of the car is completely safe, no need for any concern

The only time I have had to do calls with my kids in the car is when one of them has had dihorrea and been unable to go to the ORGANISED CHILDCARE that they attend every day.

This is not an issue because its so utterly rarely it doesnt matter. If i have say, Mister F's washing in the boot of my car and I have to pick the kids up from nursery then yes, I will go and deliver Mister F's washing back to him with them in the car. That is not the issue here

I was uncomfortable with leaving them in the car for a whole shift, mostly because it is cold and dark.

I didnt think it was 'that' outrageous and I was just looking for any way not to let work down, which i have had to anyway. They were fine with me by the way, they just asked me to go up to A+E with my burn which is infected and horrid and also asked me to be on call for two calls tonight (which I can do because my husband is here) and to work on Saturday morning instead.

So its sorted, finally. I can stop stressing out.

Thanks fudge for your more measured response, I know a few of the girls have kids they take to the odd call with them, its a family-run care company and that sort of thing just happens.

People are people with their own lives, not robots and sometimes cross-over is necessary.

Lol I can remember snuggling up in the boot of the car while my parents drove back from Liverpool

I was in a white van on the way back from a party once and we got stopped by the police, wanted to search the vehicle, we explained there were two children asleep in the back on a mattress and they had a look at them briefly and sent us on our way.

Lots of things were Ok recently fudge. Lovely lead painted toys, lining houses with nice warm asbestos, giving kids the odd belting if they answered back, ah the good old days

OP glad you have sorted tonight but I have to be honest that I think those poor kids get carted around and left in the car a lot more than you are admitting. You and your dh need to sort out workable childcare that is both safe and good for the kids.

And don't consider rural roads safe to drive without belts, I grew up rural and my two big accidents came from landing in 6 foot ditches one from an unseen pothole/ice and 1 from a fucking rabbit! An unsecured child wouldn't have survived.

Geckos, my DH and his brother used to be put to sleep in the back of their parents' ute (in Australia) while they were driven to and from the campsites or wherever, even up to Brisbane from mid NSW (a good 12h drive now, God alone knows how long it took back in the 80s!) No one thought anything of it. Of course, if they HAD had an accident, chances are both boys would have been killed, but as I say, no one thought anything of it back then.

I wouldn't bother softly, this Op isn't interested.

OP, I am pleased that you have been able to arrange to swap shifts and that your employer was understanding.

I also understand about leaving your children in the car whilst you pop to the shops, particularly if you live in a rural area, however like the previous posted who has carers I am very uneasy with you taking your children whilst you are working, even during the day and I am very surprised that your employer has said that you may do it.

softly you can 'think' all you like about how much I 'cart my children around' but the fact is that it is only if something untoward happens, like one of them is sick.

They are at nursery during the day and then OH is home at the evenings and weekends. So there is really little time for them to be 'carted around' in my car.

Anyway, they will come to no harm there, its okay for children to realise at certain points that life does not revolve around them and they have to fit in with other peoples plans from time to time.

Chipped, IF you'd bothered to read the OP's latest, you would see that she normally has organised daily childcare.

Those were the days when seat belts weren't compulsory

For goodness sake, people are just making something out of nothing here

we get paid to do things like take peoples laundry to the laundrette, or to go shopping on their behalf.

so you are my work, who have a number of people who have children.

Sandra (for example) phones up and says 'I cant do my lunch calls tomorrow because the little one has to be off nursery today'

so the work have two options, they either dock her days pay which probably screws her right up, or they look at another option. Another option might be that she does Lucy's domestic shopping call, with kids in tow

while Lucy covers her lunch calls.

Can you not see how that makes sense?

Of course we normally have childcare! We both work in the day so we have to have.

But in the evenings when I work (which is only 2 or 3 evenings a week) DH is off because he does office hours.

This is really the only time this has become a problem ever.

Thumb maybe you should read the thread, the Op has no plan B and seems to think leaving sleeping children in the boot of her car is an acceptable alternative to having organized childcare when her normal option isn't available.
Organized as in not leaving a one year old out of sight in a car eating whilst being supervised by a three year old.

I think some people are painting their own picture of the OP now just for the sake of getting riled up. She had a stupid idea while feeling quite desperate, asked for advice about it, has cancelled her shift now because of said advice, that is all. We don't know anything else about her life or her children so what's the point of having a go.

I just hope your DH went through equal amounts of trouble and stress to figure out how he was going to in the kids with HIS job.

That's the bit that is jarring to me.

The fact that HIM working late was YOUR problem.

Lots of perfect parents on this thread. She also said she won't be giving them food unsupervised again, if you read her posts.

No one's 'having a go' people were just stunned at what the OP thought was an acceptable option.

Erm, where have I said that the kids in the boot of the car was a normal thing? If it were normal I would have just done it wouldn't i!

My children do have organised childcare, we do have a few people we can ask to babysit at short notice but none were available tonight so I cancelled my shift.

I cannot see what on earth people are getting so irate over.