AIBU to ask my OH to arrange the babysitter..

[hateweddings]

My OH has asked me to post this question. He works away Mon-Thu and arrives home on Thursday evening. We have a babysitter we use; she is a nursery nurse who we found through a local advert.

Sometimes we go out on Thursday night - I usually contact said babysitter to arrange childcare. OH has met babysitter on a number of occasions. On Tuesday OH asks if I will ask babysitter if she will do this Thursday. My reply is - can you contact her? and send him her number.

He thinks this is not the done thing. She hasn't responded and he thinks it is because it is weird for the bloke to ask.. (she hasn't responded to me in a short time frame in the past). He also says that work colleagues have agreed it is odd for the bloke to ask, and it should be the mother arranging the childcare.

Why should it weird for a bloke to ask??

He's being weird. And I doubt all his mates think arranging child care is 'the little woman's job' either.

Tell him to get over himself and all his work colleagues... don't tell me there are women involved there? Is he really saying she has not responded to his text because he's a bloke? Er, right.

Perhaps he should text her 'Have you not responded because you don't like men asking you to babysit?' - just to test this amazing theory.

So there's male single parents then?
Or blokes that would like to surprise their partner, take her out and arrange childcare?

Not weird at all! Suspicious of random text from unknown male asking about childcare then yes. But someone who you use and she knows you. Perfectly fine.

Of course of it shouldn't 'have' to be the mother arranging the childcare.

But, if you're the one that usually does it, and he's working atm, why did you ask him to? To prove some sort of point?

I'm the one that usually makes arrangements with our cm. It's just the way things have developed because I get on so well with her, we usually have a natter etc. If DH suddenly phoned her she probably would think it was odd, or that I was being funny with her or something.

Thank you - he is normally perfectly reasonable, but sometimes I think I am with someone from 1950s.

Jemima - there was a bit of a point if I am honest. I work full time too and DH asked me (after about 6 hours following the initial discussion) - have you texted Babysitter yet?? It irritated me and I and thought he can just as easily do it himself (and I had no phone credit) - I was working at home when he asked the question after just putting DD to bed.

but I still think it is just as easy for him to ask.. There isn't any close relationship, she has babysitted approximately 5-6 times in the past.

Jeeeesus, what?! No, you are not being unreasonable and he is. What, cos anything to do with children is down to the mother? What about the kitchen, and his shirts being ironed and his lunch being packed? Tell him to stop acting like its the 50s when it suits him cos he can't be arsed to organise it himself.

The only thing that is weird is him thinking it's weird!
As long as the babysitter is booked it doesn't matter which one of you does it.

YANBU. I recently asked my DH to sort out babysitting for an event we wanted to go to together slap in the middle of a very busy time for me. He sorted everything out and no-one batted an eyelid. It's a lot weirder to still think there are things that only women do.

Wtf?

Sorting childcare is not automatically the women's job.

To the DH: get over yourself and sort it. You are not living in the 1950s.

*woman's, typo.

Yanbu. I dont care what his mates say.