I need some perspective (childcare related)

[TeddyIsaHe]

My parents have my daughter overnight Wednesday mornings until Thursday at around 4/5pm, for free, obviously!

I work a long day on a Wednesday (10am-11pm or later) and start at 7am on a Wednesday.

They’ve just text to say they can no longer have my daughter overnight for 8 or so weeks whilst my brother is doing exams, as my daughter sometimes wakes early on the Thursday morning. They will drop her off after dinner on Wednesday and I’ll take her to theirs before work on Thursday morning.

This means that I’m losing 4-5 hours work on a Wednesday, and potentially 2 on a Thursday. I’m hourly paid and a lone parent.

I am so grateful for them helping me be able to return to work, but AIBU to be pretty pissed off with this? A) the lack of notice so I can try to swap my hours round b) is one potentially early morning really going to affect my brothers exams? And c) reducing my already pitiful wage by 7/8 hours a week which I really can’t afford. I think I just need someone to tell me I’m being a dick and be grateful, because I’m seething just slightly!

Even so RedSky I know I'd struggle with losing a day's pay a week for a couple of months. And I can't imagine many workplaces that have extra staff working that they don't actually need.

Could you ask your parents to bring her home at bedtime, put her to bed and get a local teenage babysitter (at about £5 per hour) to sit from 7/8until 11? Means you will loose some money but not all.

In the following morning again could you get a neighbour / friend to take her for the time before nursery/school (not sure how old your daughter is) in exchange for you taking their child/children one day?

I do have some flexibility within the days that I work, so my manager is hopefully not going to be too annoyed. Potentially with the incredibly last minute details of it, and it does mean that another manager will have to cover my hours as I open/close. So it does put everyone out.

Losing the money is the big issue. I really can’t afford to lose out on so many hours of work. Such a nightmare, wish I’d stuck with normal working hours and a nursery now!

Well if you can't afford to lose the wage in the short term with free childcare, then I guess you will have to suck it up.

What age is your brother? Could he stay at your one night a week, as you are out late and up early he would have no distractions

Could one of your parents stay at yours with DD while the other stays at home with brother? It's very unfair to change the goalposts like this at such short notice.

Oh good idea for brother to stay at OPs! He’s have the place to himself so no interruptions!

There’s no way ed stay at mine unfortunately, otherwise that would solve all the issues in one go!

*He’d

That’s a pity. What about one of your parents? Would they stay?