To take my 2 year old to work tomorrow?

[IceCreamMum]

I’m a single mum and I don’t have any other choice as the childcare I had arranged for tomorrow has just fallen through now. I don’t know how my boss will react to me just turning up with DD, I can’t ask him as he’s not answering his phone and he won’t see my email until tomorrow morning when it will be too late anyway. I’m a member of senior management (Head of Department at a Zoo) and unfortunately I can’t work from home tomorrow, I have to be on the site tomorrow one way or another due to work commitments. Would I be unreasonable to take DD to work with me tomorrow? I don’t have any other option whatsoever and I also don’t have anyone else that I can ask for childcare this late either.

It's standard at my workplace - company even makes available a company which provides emergency childcare

I had the kid put in with the penguins and having the time of their life!

How awful of your childcare facility. I wonder what the reason for closing is? Have all staff come down with the bug or what? I've worked in offices all my life and occasionally we'd have someone's child in. We'd be delighted to entertain them for an hour. It's nice to see a little face , a welcome change from the monotony .

in a previous job my boss did this a couple of times, ie bring her children into office for short time when no alternative and asked one of her team to look after them whilst she was in meeting. She reported direct to CEO and I presume this was preferable to the alternative of her not coming at all. Her team were all happy to help and it seemed a pragmatic solution to me. I’d go for it and assume someone will be able to watch your DD during meeting. Cool workplace to entertain her after

If absolutely essential and your boss would rather you show up with child than not at all then go for it. It wouldn’t be an option at my work, so the meeting would have to be cancelled. I’d have looked for emergency childcare though if that important. Sadly meetings do end up cancelled as things come up. Great it taking child to work is an option, but for most people it isn’t. Childcare fell through is an acceptable reason for not going in.

Hope you manage to get something sorted out OP.
I've had to take my DD to work before, not at 2 years old though so not as difficult, but when she was 5 or 6 I had to bring her to work with me one summer at a restaurant for an hour until her nursery opened and then I'd quickly take her to nursery then come back to work. The restaurant wasn't open yet, I was just doing the food prep so she just sat at a table and played with toys for the hour.
Was fine with my boss because it was a family run restaurant and they understood this kind of thing and often brought their children too (and once left their 7 year old son in charge of the place - no making food or anything but selling coffee and cake - while the dad had to go quickly to the pharmacy)

Also took her to work with me for the day when I worked in a charity shop, again not an issue because a safe environment and no meetings or anything to deal with. In your situation, if you absolutely have to go in and your boss approves, then just go in with her for the meeting but take the rest of the day off (after a wander round the zoo because I'm sure she'll love that)

is there a creche in the zoo or your gym?

FFS! What else is Op supposed to do? She's in a really tight dilemma here and needs her boss's viewpoint.

Not immediately helpful but could you use it as a reason to push for emergency childcare benefits for all employees? My and my husbands work both offer it with Bright Horizons back up care.

Sending hugs in any case xx

I'm wondering what is so critical at a zoo senior management meeting tomorrow that can't be postponed a day or so. I mean if the lions had escaped and gobbled a few people then yes a meeting would be critical, if it's a budget meeting it can be moved 12 hours.
Do you not have a single friend or relative you trust that you could leave DC with for a few hours. I assumed Dad is a no go, but think harder. Emergency nannies are a thing and I am yet to hear of one going rogue so there's one option at least.
Last resort - terrible case of Covid so am doing the meeting remotely.
You will have to work something out for this though as it is going to happen many more times. It's always worth making friends with a couple of your childcare providers and ask if they do private work and get their number. They are probably at home twiddling their thumbs now and would ove to get paid for tomorrow and already know your DC.

If whatever you have to do tomorrow is so important that you have to be onsite, I fail to see how you can do that job with a 1 year old in tow. You need to take the day off.

This is a good plan. You’re trying to move mountains to make it possible for you to fix an unforeseeable emergency situation (only once in a blue moon does a nursery shut). Emphasise that point to anyone who is a bit thick today. Nurseries are a much more secure option than grandparents or a paid childcare person singular, because there are multiple staff. It must be a serious and rare emergency if they have shut. Final thought on that, see what info you can get from the nursery in the morning about whether it’s one day closed or several.

Can you message Nursery back and see if a staff member can babysit?

And you’ve done everything an employee can reasonably be expected to do, to put the job first. If boss doesn’t reply then you haven’t had any other choices and you’ve come up with something highly workable.

I’m sure this has been bloody stressful so congratulate yourself on being resourceful in the moment and go in to work for the meeting with your head held high.

You’re taking a day off for emergency childcare reasons but as part of that (because you’re trying to make things work as best as possible for employer), you’re coming in for the meeting to try to get a colleague to take your daughter.

There’s no way I would get an emergency babysitter off the internet- what even is that. Yours child would be completely stressed out. A colleague taking DD for the minimum amount of time is the only option. people saying nobody is indispensable must work in larger organizations. If you’re needed at a vital meeting (I am assuming it’s something that only you can talk about on behalf of the organisation) then you’re doing the right thing. Good luck. You’re doing everything you can in an impossible situation.
I would ask MNHQ to get this thread taken down by the way because it feels a bit too specific.

Surely your workplace has a policy about emergency caring responsibilities?

This is an emergency. You have proper childcare in place, a nursery, and it's not your fault it's unexpectedly closed. This is very different from someone who might be taking the piss, or not willing to make proper childcare arrangements.

I do think there's a few suggestions you can try though. Definitely an emergency babysitter for the meeting time ( Google them) and that's a good suggestion about messaging the nursery to see if one of the staff can babysit as nursery is closed.

Do you know other nursery parents? Presumably they're in the same boat and presumably some will be taking emergency leave and can babysit your child?

In your position I would take my two year old in and try to stay for just the meeting.

If you think they would prefer that to you calling in sick, do it. It's not ideal, but neither is having a meeting that you can't possibly not be there for even if your two year old has no childcare, so that's on them.

Take her in, apologise profusely and offer to leave immediately after the meeting and go on carer's leave for the rest of the day.

I don't think you can just turn up with your 2 year old...I definitely think this is something that needs to be discussed with management before hand, even if that makes you late it needs to be a phone call in the morning.

Admittedly this is alien to me as I have never worked anywhere where it would he appropriate for a child to be present but I cant imagine how your colleagues will be able to complete their work whilst they watch your daughter whilst you attend the meeting

Ah do it then

Agree good suggestion about messaging the nursery to see if one of the staff can babysit as nursery is closed.

I’d stay home with DD until soon before meeting time, get paid nursery staff member to meet you to collect her from your workplace at that time and then staff member takes her round the zoo for the rest of the day.

The priority is still the meeting only and it’s not a given that day will go well with one person caring out of context so you can be on hand after the meeting again that way. If the only nursery worker option you can get is someone who is not one of your daughter’s key workers that she knows well, I wouldn’t bother. Rather a willing colleague do it with permission from their own manager. If you’re senior and it’s a company emergency if you’re not there then your senior colleagues will permit whoever of their staff who isn’t on critical business at the same time, to help. It will be OK

Why has the nursery closed? I know you're a single mum, but does your DD have a dad? One of you needs to take unpaid leave.

I'm a single parent snd it's so hard when these situations come up. But if you had a car accident on the way to work I have no doubt the meeting would go ahead or be rescheduled. There is no job apart from perhaps life saving roles where you are needed to this extent. It's not ideal to not be in but it is doable. Sounds like a difficult work culture that you'd rather find a way to take your 2 yr old to work than take carers leave which is a statutory right. I hope your day goes OK but I think you're putting way too much pressure on yourself.

Does it matter why the nursery has closed??

Can you call in sick? If she is anything like my two year old she would be climbing everywhere and getting into everything.

Also what about health and safety?

People used to bring their toddlers to work all the time. I can remember my teacher bringing a baby in in a car seat because she wasn’t well plugged at the front of the classroom and everybody just got on with it.