to think DS's childminder could communicate face to face and not by letter

[shreddies]

DS's childminder had said that she wanted to take two weeks holiday in August and one in October. We were fine with that and planned around it. I picked up DS from his childminder tonight and she gave me a letter in which she said that she was going to take four weeks in August instead.

It's a big pain in the arse for us we were planning to take our holiday out of season and now won't have enough leave left, but what really irritates me is that she didn't talk to us about it. There's nothing we could have done about it, but it has left a bit of a nasty taste in the mouth. Is it worth me saying that I'd rather she actually talked to us in future or should I just let it go?

My CM just gave me a week's notice that she's gone on holiday this week. Though she did tell me face to face.

Previous to this though she packed in for a while and gave me a week's notice of stopping childminding and did that by letter rather than face to face which upset me even more.

4 weeks is a long holiday to take in August - do you have a contract where she says how man yweeks she will take in a year?

I don't think she's going to hospital, she told me in February that she would be taking the first two weeks in August and the October half term. I wouldn't have a problem with it if she'd told us when we'd started with her, or even in February.

Her contract stipulates four weeks paid leave - but one of the weeks she is taking in August she is taking as unpaid leave ON TOP of those four weeks, which has really pissed me off.

I think we need to start looking into local nurseries again. DS will be two in Jan and there is one round the corner that takes two to five year olds that is meant to be quite good.

At least with a nursery you'll have full cover for holidays and no sudden surprises. Nursery also gets them into a routine which prepares them well for school - ie eating together, group play etc.

Talk to her and see if she really needs 4 weeks off, perhaps she thought you would be ok with it, would have been good of her to talk to you (communication is key)

I'll have a chat with her on Monday and see what she says. Her daughter isn't very well at the moment so DS is going to her back up childminder tomorrow, who we went to see this afternoon and who seems fine, but I'm not entirely sure about her, nothing I can put my finger on and i think a day will be fine, but wouldn't necessarily want a longer stretch with her