Name change regular here. I'm in a mega stew this morning. Basic story:
I've been letting dd1 (9 and a half) walk the 600 yards to school these last few weeks. I watch her from the upstairs window and direct her across the first 3 roads. There's one more to cross at the back of the school that I can't see her cross. Between me losing sight of her as the road turns a corner and the school gates is about..... 300 yards.
Last night ds2 (3) was vomiting on and off through the night. He got up this morning and was sick again. Face gray. Phoned friend and asked if she could drop ds1 (5) at school (same school as dd, but dd goes in 20 minutes earlier) as didn't want to hang around at with a vomiting child, or have to carry ds2 there - my back won't cope and he won't walk.
With some misgivings (don't feel entirely comfortable but had to make a decision in a hurry) decided to let dd walk ds1 round to my friends house, which is directly opposite the school. There is a lollipop man to see them across and we do this route twice a day so they're familiar with it. DD asks if she can knock for her friend on route to school, as she does every morning.
So - off dd and ds go, watched by me until they disappear out of sight. Go downstairs to find ds2 on the pot with the shits. Just as I'm wiping his bum the phone goes. It's dd's friend's mum, furious, telling me she 'doesn't appreciate' me expecting her dd to 'take responsibility' for my ds, that I shouldn't have let my dd walk her brother to my friend's house, and that both my children had now been taken to school by another mum from dd's class who just happened to be passing but decided to put in her tuppence.... She said my children had gone off crying after this other mum had slagged me off in front of them and called me 'stupid'.
So. I phone friend who'd offered to take ds in , thank her for her offer of help and tell her that ds2 is now already at school. I phone other passing mum who took my children in. She promptly apologises for making them cry then tells me she's going in to my dd's classroom to talk to her teacher about why dd's crying. At this point I completely lose my cool and say 'no - you're not doing that - I don't want you interfering any more'. I then phone back dd's friends mother and ask why she didn't phone me in the first place if she wasn't happy instead of making a decision on my behalf and then joining in with another mum to criticise my parenting choices. She put the phone down on me.
Now dreading turning up at the school gate to collect children as have no doubt been labelled by other mothers as irresponsible, feckless idiot. I think I was already labelled thus anyway, as have been spotted in the past with a child in a pushchair with no shoes on in April. Plus my children's hair isn't always brushed very well.
So - who's unreasonable here?