or would I be, if I asked my mother's help to bring ds home on foot

[clumsymum]

I have a lovely girl working for me as a mother's help 2 days a week. This means that I can have 2 full work days a week.

On those days, she gets the bus from where she lives to ds's school and brings him home. School is just about 1/2 a mile away, and it was my intention that they should walk home.

This is important to me, because I'm disabled so don't walk ds to/from school myself (altho when the weather is warmer I use my disabled scooter so ds can walk it). Generally I take him/collect him by car, but I do think regular exercise is important for him, and don't want my disability to impact on that any more than necessary.

However, I've just realised that mh and ds have taken to waiting 10 mins and catching the bus to travel the 1/2 mile home. Now I realise I have never said "I want you to make sure you walk ds home", I just assumed she would, esp as I went out of my way to show her the route when she started working for me.

So would it be unreasonable to ask MH to walk it (except in really foul weather)? How would you word it?

I want you to walk DS home from school but if the weather is really cold or wet it is fine to use the bus.

YANBU........I would just say something like "ds has been in school all afternoon i think it would be nice for him to walk home so he is outside for a little while on the way home!"

I think it would be fine if you explain why, etc....

1/2 a mile is nothing - what, about a ten minute walk? I would phrase it as lottie says, and YANBU.

YANBU

I like my DC to walk everywhere.

It is fine to tell your MH as long as you word it nicely and she doesnt feel that she has to do it even if weather is very bad or they are very tired.

They can make the walk fun by collecting leaves, playing games etc

YANBU - it's only half a mile. You say she's lovely, so I am sure something like 'I would really appreciate it if you walked DS home instead of taking the bus, unless it's pouring down, as I think it's important for him to get some fresh air and exercise and it's not easy for me to do that with him

Frankly can't understand why they'd wait 10 mins for a bus when they could be home on foot in less time!

I think if you explain it as you have here then it's not unreasonable.

I would say nicely that they walk, no exceptions,
"I don't know if you realised but the job is for you to walk everyday"

Cold can be dealt with easily as can wet weather.

Who on earth gets the bus because it's an "extreme" of cold or wet in this country?

Thanks for your replies.

I don't really understand why they take the bus, altho it may explain why MH is a tad on the large side (along with the fact that one day, when she was here our dog dug about in her handbag (left on the floor), and found an open packet of 6 scotch eggs in there, not relevant I know, but I still find it strange, having never felt the need to carrty scotch eggs around ).

So I'll ask her tonight.

Sounds to me like it would her alot of good too...we walk to school every day, all weathers and it's good for the kids to let off steam, so YANBU

make sure you let your ds know his to walk home unless its raining as she may be saying does he want to walk or get bus and most kids after doing sports and running around all day would opt for the bus so tell both of them to take the short walk home

It's possible your ds has been asking to get the bus, or otherwise saying he's tired, or his bag weighs a ton, etc., and she doesn't think she ought to refuse him? I'd be prepared for that sort of thing to come up - you might have to discuss tactics, or her having a snack on hand to deal with his immediate after-school flop feelings.

Basically, though, I do think you are entirely reasonable & within your rights as an employer to say please come home on foot (except, as you say, when weather is foul).

You can also say you want him to get more road-sense practice, too.

cross-post with bubblagirl - she's saying the same thing I tried to