CM CLub - I need to rant!

[saltire]

I have a hospital appointment today at 4.15. had arranged for mindee2 to be picked up early today, ashe was supposed to be the only mindee i had. mindee 1's dad calls last night, can i have mindee for the day. i say I can have him until 3.45, then have hospital appointment. Today his mum drops him off, she is away to a meeting in Edinburgh. I ask if dad is picking him up at 3.45. No, says she, It will be me at 6pm as usual.
I explain about hospital appointment, what dad had said etc. he hadn't told her this, he was at work. She said she would phone him as soon as she got ot work and let me know. Guess what - she hasn't phoned. Also she left the car seat so I can "take mindee with you"
I am livid

..that is terrible!..i would ring there emergency contact to collect LO

Well the only emergency contacts that are on the forms are mum and dad. The reason being that dad works a five minute drive from here. He isn't at work today, so I don't know where the hell he is. They are so bloody forgetful though. The amount of times I have had mindee 1 for half a day and the dad is supposed to pick him up at say 1pm. Either she will forget to leave the car seat, so he can't take him home, or he will phone from the middle of Dundee an hour later and say "what time am i supposed to pick him up"

if you really cant get them back id charge emergency fees ie:triple time!

How frustrating - so what are you going to do?

I would charge them extra too, it's not like you weren't clear. I guess next time you will have to say no on days you have appointments - as you clearly can't trust them.

I would be furious!

saltire I would phone the mother and tel her as you cant get father she will HAVE to pick him up, no argument, you cannot take him with you it is not a option. God some parents.

I agree with Shosha - i have a hospital appt in a couple of weeks and i'vre cleared it with mindee's parents that i can take her with me as i dont mind if she doesnt and my dp is having the day off to be here with our dd so i'll only have to take 1 mindee and i'll be in and out in 5 mins (the wiating wont be 5 mins obviously!)

If you don't want to take the child with you then she has no choice but to contact dad or collect her child herself. She'd do it if he was ill.

Saltire What happened love, did you get hold of the father.

How VERY VERY annoying!!!! I'd have serious words with these parents, totally out of order!!!

How did you get on in the end?

In the ned we ended up taking him with us, which wasn't ideal. I then had to take him into the consulting room with me. DHstayed in the car with the DSs.
I let the mum know i wasn't happy,she is so....,dippy sometimes. She just stood there and said "Oh well, X must have forgotten, but it's ok, you took him with you, so all's well".
I ended up getting a diagnosis of fybromyalgia as well from the consultant

"in the ned", obviously i meant "end", however the dad was acting like a ned

aw, so sorry they totally took the pee, make sure you charge at least double time for this afty!..what is fybromyalgia?, am assuming fybroids of some description?..what will happen, will you need treatment?

Saltire I would put something in writing to them, that it really is not acceptable that they act like this.

I agree with Shosha, you really need to be formal and put something in writing! We can help with your letter, this is deffo UNACCEPTABLE and you've already said they are like this anyway!

Hi,
I just read the posting and I am livid on your behalf1 that is so so unacceptable1 Some people do take the P dont they! I have been an au pair, nanny and am now a Mum of three so I do know what its like...When I was a nanny the parents would "accidently" turn up late on days I had things to do, they would have "met on the train" and let me down! I nearly missed my now husbands leaving ball at Uni because I missed my train doe to this! Totally out of order!
I think you are entitled to be furious. You need to make it clear that this is not acceptable. I would also demand another emergency number. You need one!
Im so sorry about your fybromyalgia. I have quite a few friends with this and its a miserable thing (loads of aches and pains..nothing to do with fibroids snowflake! LOL)
I wish you well...sounds like you might be better off without them if they do not keep their side of the bargain! Its not very professional of them is it?!

Thanks all for your support. Thankfully, due to the move (when we do finally get allocated a house) I shall be able to give them notice.
Originally I wasn't supposed to have him yesterday, but the dad asked if i could have him, and also if i could have him 8 - 1 today. However I don't have him today at all now, as she told me when she picked him up that her DH has the day off. My DH was furious as well, as he had to try and fit their car seat into ours, and he was commenting on how the straps that went over mindees shoulders needed adjusted, as they covered the lower part of his arm, not over his shoulders like they should. DH is never very critical of the mindees or their parents, although he does know them, but he was really annoyed yesterday.
Shosha, i'm going to email you at some ppoint over the weekend to get that article you told me about. Might not be till Sunday though!

sorry you've had to cope with such selfish parents. Drafting letters makes me feel better about such situations. Even if I decide to not to send it in the end, its another way to vent. I'm so cross for you I couldn't resist -

Dear Selfish Parent

In order to ensure the safety of your child I am unable to transport your child in my vehicle using any car seat that has not been checked to ensure a safe fit in my car. Seat belts in different cars are not the same, and therefore any one particular childs seat is extremely unlikely to fit safely in every vehicle its tried out it and could pose a danger to your child.

It is of vital importance that your child is collected promptly at the agreed time. Like anybody else, I have a number of things to attempt to fit into my free time, the majority of these are incompatible with the provision of a quality childcare service.

In particular I was extremely disappointed that you were unable to collect at the agreed time on xxx, when I had made it clear to you that I needed to leave for a hospital appointment. I am sure you will appreciate the importance of privacy during what may well prove to include quite involved personal discussions and/or invasive procedures. It is my opinion that it inappropriate for young children to be present on such occasions.

After careful consideration I must advise you that I am no longer able to accept any requests for additional childcare outside the agreed hours stated in the contract. And in view of the inconvenience to myself and my family caused by late collections I am increasing my late collection charges in line with childcare providers across the country - from xxx the charge will be xxx.

(some nurseries charge £5 per 5 minutes or £1 per minute, I charge

Overtime/Late Fees: £5.00 per half hour between 8am?6 pm PLUS £5.00 per fifteen minutes between 6pm?9pm PLUS £40.00 after 9pm)

Ok Oh Salty One, will wait for it, hope the rest of your week has been better!

Ayla love your letter! Way to go! That says it all!!
Good luck to you saltire...be sure to tell us how it goes with them!