would you believe ds (5) or the childminder? childminer took ds and the children elsewhere

[user1469643462]

It is the summer holidays so ds has to be with a childminer, for 3 days a week. I pay her for the actual care she provides, then i pay for any visits to places on top of that, they were supposed to be going to the zoo today and i had paid £21 for ds's zoo ticket and i know that isnt loads but tbh with the cost i had already paid for her to look after him it was almost today's wages! ds goes there with 2 boys and a little girl aswell all around the same age give or take. Ds got home and was telling me all about his trip to the local museum (which was free) i did not have a problem with that he seemed to have had a great time. I phoned up the childminder and asked if she could just paypal the money back over and she said that she had no idea what i was going on about and that she took them to the zoo I know children do love to use their imagination, so i was a bit undecided, ds kept going on about the objects he had seen and told me a story about a man showing them the kids bit. ds has never been to this museum and it was just odd how well he was explaining it. I would love to phone the other parents but tbh i dont actually know them! it's all very odd...

So, OP. Presumably you knew months ago that your DS would need childcare during the summer holidays. But yet you only met her 4 weeks ago? Doesn't compute with me at all. What is your usual childcare?

well, it may not compute well with you because you assumed. I didn't know for months. My MIL was going to look after ds for 1 of the days and my mum for 2 of the days, shit happened and it didn't work out.

op, please don't feel you have to answer intrusive questions which are fuck all to do with your thread

Is she keeping a diary of things they do (Ofsted will,want one) - surely she's taken a picture of them with an elephant / tiger etc etc

OP, this is your son and you are allowed to make arrangements as you see fit - ignore the goady twits. I had less than 24 hours to choose mine, and I got lucky. Do try & catch the other parents.

So, OP. Presumably you knew months ago that your DS would need childcare during the summer holidays. But yet you only met her 4 weeks ago?
Totally irrelevant to the point the OP is making and the advice she is asking for.

Marking place as I want to know if this CM is cheating the op.

So, OP. Presumably you knew months ago that your DS would need childcare during the summer holidays. But yet you only met her 4 weeks ago?

Yes because nobody has ever been let down by childcare before ffs and it is totally irrelevant

Yes because nobody has ever been let down by childcare before ffs and it is totally irrelevant
And even if OP had left childcare arrangements until four weeks ago on purpose it still wouldn't matter for the purposes of this thread.

I'm also a nanny! I know people are saying that their 4 year olds make stuff up etc... but I think this is different! He's talking very clearly about somewhere he's been. I took a 4 year old out today, he could then be talking about something else that happened that day but if I said 'do you remember what animal you saw today' he would be able to say! he's 4... not 2!

Quite agree Persian

Why would you need to arrange childcare more than a month before you need it? 😕

Maybe we be arranging summer holiday care in September

I think some posters have been watching too many courtroom dramas and are trying to practice what they have seen on the OP.

I went to Chester Zoo yesterday and there is a new part called The Islands.

There is a lot of old museum type stuff scattered around for each island. Boots, hats, clothes, tents, boats and all sorts of strange stuff!

I can see why he'd think it was a museum and it was brilliant. Ask him if he went on the boat ride?

Also place marking

Oh yes ask him about the dinosaurs too, that will give you a definite answer. They were amazing!

Accepted perfect 😃

And yes op def get there early tomorrow and chat to parents - what age are their kids roughly

Mention that ds enjoyed the trip and what did her child like best and see if she replies the animals dinosaurs etc

After the "a dog" answer I'm afraid I 100% believe your DS.

A child would have to deliberately not mention some quite unusual zoo animals to come out with that. I think only an older child could do that as a wind up. He's answering your question honestly (and probably wondering why you're banging on about animals).

Can you ask whether he saw such-and-such which is obviously on the way to the zoo or the museum? Or how he travelled? Or how long they spent there (eg long enough to eat lunch)?

I remember a thread a while back talking about how kids told big fibs about family life. One dc had described his families camping trip in huge detail to his teacher. But the family had actually been on an AI holiday to Barbados

Kids do lie, frequently. But something feels wrong about this situation. My DD just turned 5 a few weeks ago and she would not lie in this way. If she'd been to the zoo, she would tell me that, especially when asked about animals.

OP, when you dropped your DS off before the trip, hadn't you discussed the zoo? To me, it would be natural to chat about it in the car or whatever... 'I wonder what animals you'll see' etc. And I'd then expect a comment along the lines of 'well I did enjoy the museum, but when are we going to the zoo?'

The whole thing sounds bizarre.

I am wondering about a dog walker I pay for. Last month it rained a lot, but the lead was always dry when I came come 2 hrs later each day. They are nice people and the dog is happy, but I do wonder what iam paying for.

This thread is making me think more about being a walk over and not asking for a firm answer. Sorry I realise this is not about dogs, but it brings a similarity to me.

greatblueowl gopro on dog's collar?

The fact this isn't a long standing cm does change my opinion (along with dog comment from ds ) so I wouldn't hesitate to ask again about the zoo trip preferably when other children or parents are present.