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 I said, did you see elephants, giraffes, etc. childminder jumped in and said 'remember the coins, etc.'

Yeah, she's just outright lying to you, isn't she? You don't take a bunch of young kids to the zoo for a day and leave without them being able to name a single animal that they saw.

I wouldn't send my DS back there unless I had absolutely no choice.

I think asking was fine. What else could you do? You tried other avenues.

If she went, she can share the receipt and hopefully put it down to new parents (to her) not being used to her/her ways. It might encourage her to keep/show receipts next time....

However, "a coin" isn't the sort of thing I'd immediately think of when visiting a zoo....

But even if she produces a ticket on Monday that only proves a child went, not necessarily OP's child. It just gets weirder and weirder.

I think it's got to a point where no matter what the CM says/does it just sounds suspect.

Now I disbelieve her - zoo - coins????
It should've been remember the elephants/tigers etc- I'd definitely drive by the museum and zoo this weekend and see which one he recognises. It's fine if she got mixed up with days etc but to continually lie like this (assuming she is) is not on.
Good on you for just asking her directly I think you did the right thing - a more expectable response would've been - hang on I'll just find tickets now - and a little rummage in her purse/cm file whatever. I doubt she took any kids on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Pp right about local fb group

Coconutty agree it was a shitzu

Ah coins! That explains it. Coins being the main attraction at all popular zoos.
I think new childcare is in order OP.

Remember the coins? At the zoo? That's just a weird thing to ask him! And what was the 'etc'? Remember the coins and tin hats? Not, remember the coins and the Penguins/monkeys/giraffes? Did she not mention a single animal on their trip to the zoo? She must think you were born yesterday. And now she's lied to your DS as well, telling him that where he went was the 'zoo'. Reminds me of a friend of my mother's, many many years ago, whose dc were looking forward to their holiday in Cornwall, but he hadn't booked in time and so took them to Northumberland but told the kids they were in Cornwall (God knows why)

I think you have your proof that DS is telling you the truth - the fact that he even said "ah that's a zoo" shows that's he's still not convinced.

No wonder he doesn't want to talk about it. She'll have been 'prepping' him all day.

I'd certainly not be sending my DC to her anymore.

Yeah, this is weird now.

He's five. He must have come across the concept of a zoo. In story books? No?

If that conversation went down without her even mentioning an animal (is that the case?), she's lying.

Can you take him to the zoo or the museum thus weekend and see if he remembers either? Not saying he is lying because I 100% think he is telling the truth but it might help you out.

She sounds well dodgy!

A 5Yo knows what a zoo is, surely, even if they have never been to one. They have books read to them, and see them on television.

This all seems very peculiar.

Agree, Sanity.

Just sit him down and talk to him, fgs.

Well this has totally got out of hand, instead of all this pussyfooting around wouldn't it just be better to ring her over the weekend and discuss it.

I may be totally naive but no one who works with children is going to think they could get away with such a deception, it would be a ridiculous idea.

Take him to the museum this weekend without telling him it's the museum and see if he says this is the zoo we went to the other day

Yes I agree with dobby. I thought from the leafelt that she must be lying, if she had been telling the truth she'd have thought nothing of it, assumed your ds would in due course mention elephants etc, and laughed it off. Its THE LEAFLET OF GUILT op.

£22 to see some coins? Erm, you could have done that yourself for £1.

Wot Dobbythefuckingjizzelf said!

She will come to curse THE LEAFLET OF GUILT. Also, prepare yourself for an apology on Monday for the fact that she couldn't find the receipt or the ticket stubs ANYWHERE. If they really did go the zoo then she is making such a botch of this that I wouldn't fancy leaving my children with her. She's either a liar, a hopeless organiser, or both.

Not read full thread cos it's so long

If funds allow you could take him to Chester zoo yourself, don't say what it is or where you're going, just go and as you're going round you'll be able to find out whether he's been before. You could ask him to show you where the coins are....

Coins!?!? What the fuck zoo do you go to and the most memorable thing is coins! I'd be looking for someone new, whatever the truth here something doesn't add up.

Are the dinosaurs still there? I cannot imagine any 5 year old boy wouldn't be raving about them. They were great!

I think you need to ask her excalty where these coins are in the 'zoo' and you go there yourself

Sadly I think she must be lying - no decent cm/nanny/childcarer would go to a place and no photos and not mentio you loved the zebras or wasn't it funny when the monkeys swang upside down

You had to ask her or else you would have gone insane

I think there is a little excavation area for the kids at Chester zoo. Maybe that's where the coins were.

I'm not sure I can wait all weekend until Monday to see the latest developments and see what the child minder actually produces! Maybe show him the zoo on Google streetview so you're not paying out to go to see what he says about it?!

She might be telling the truth...a Google of Chester zoo and coins brought this up...

www.pennycollector.com/Details.aspx?location=3556