is this normal??????????

[moljam]

last night we had a babysitter (shes babysat before for us and is sort of friend of the family)i went out and dh was working.when i got in babysitter said she had to ask next door to stand outside and listen out for my children(she woke them up)while she went home to check her dog as there was fireworks going off and her dog gets scared.she lives about 5 minutes away so wouldnt have taken long but i just feel funny about it!ive apologised to next door and they were fine apart from being woken up as she said she is animal lover so understands.im an animal lover but think this is bit odd.what if next door didnt answer.aibu?

I've been thinking about this, and actually, I wonder if it's as bad as some people think? Apart from waking up the neighbours, that is!

She dashed home for five minutes to check her dog - who might well have been driven hysterical by the fireworks - and she made sure the children were being looked after. Should she have just left a distressed dog? What could possibly have happened to the children in 5 minutes? I don't like dogs, but I would hate to think of one being really upset, and the children were asleep. Not sure really - but not wholly on the "how awful" side of the argument.

yes but its not like the fireworks just started last night she should have thought about the dog before going to babysit

if this woman knew that her dog was going to be upset by the fireworks then she should have not offered to babysit, secondly, from the dogs point of view - there are some very good things on the market to help with stress caused by fireworks, in extreme cases it is possible to get a mild sedative from the vet. We did this one year with our rottie, he would go ballistic, but after i zapped him sedative one year, i think he realised it wasn't world war 3 breaking out and he was ok with fireworks after that, lucky fluke i think, but if the woman left her dog knowing there was to be fireworks, then she is out of order on two counts, one to leave the dog in the first place, but more so to leave the children. A lot can happen in five minutes, probably wont, but imagine if one of the children thought, oooh, where is mrs x, got out of bed, fell down the stairs ...my reckoning that could easily happen in five minutes, albeit very unlikely.

seeker....'what could possibly happen in 5 minutes'......a lot actually. The McCann family...need I say more?

Would I leave my kids asleep in their beds whilst I went up the road to check on something and rely on a neighbour that I do not know to listen out for them? Err no I wouldn't. Would you?

I would be livid, it was totally irresponsible of her to basically put her dog before your childrens welfare!!

If she doesnt know your neighbours, doesnt know they are decent people, doesnt know how well you get on with your neighbours and doesnt know if your dc know the neighbours, she sure as hell should not be entrusting them with your childrens welfare no matter how short a time its for.

definately cross the fruit loop off your babysitting list

I'd be very cross and not happy about her babysitting again in case she did it again. Not on IMO.

I'd be very annoyed tbh.

No you;re not BU. I wou;ldn;t let her baby sit again. No way!

how old are your dcs?

I would not have her babysit again.

I am a dog owner but I still wouldn't put my dogs before my kids. If she was that much of a dog lover she should have made alternative arrangements for the dog or simply said no to the babysitting. Simple.

IU occurs to me that she could have woken HER neighbours up to check on HER dog, rather than risk YOUR children!

I love kids AND dogs but I know where my priorities lie!

Oh no - someone's mentioned Madeline McCann - I'm out of here!

thanks all for your comments.glad that i am normal in thinking it wasnt a 'normal' thing to do.she defiantly isnt being trusted with my children again.