If a mindee ruined your cot and it was unusable, what would you do?

[QueenEagle]

2.5 year old ds is put in a travel cot for his afternoon nap. The other day he pulled off his pull up full of poo and covered the cot in it, getting it in the mesh and on the fabric. Minder says it is impossible to clean therefore unusable.

She wants me to replace it and says she has no insurance to cover such a loss.

Am I liable??????

of course its not worth her while to claim. she would get more if you paid her!

its only poo, it comes off...trust me! ds1 did the same thing when he was younger.

i get the 18-24 months from tescos or asda and they have loads of room and are really stretchy.they are £5 for 7

and ds did this to his travel cot but i just got a bowl of warm soapy water and used a bit of elbow grease...she is a cheeky tightfisted mare

I really think you should not even contemplate either replacing it or cleaning it yourself.
So far on this thread you have plenty of answers to any reasons she might come up with as to why its your responsibility.
Its understandable that you want to keep a good relationship and dont want this to sour things, but you have to take a step back and realise that if this spirals, it is NOT down to you. You are not being at all unreasonable... She is, and you shouldn't have to go above and beyond whats reasonble in order to placate someone who is absolutely in the wrong.

She may be a great childminder but she is taking the piss. Surely when a CM works out their rates these things are considered and it may not be worth her while to claim on insurance but that is HER issue to deal with.

fawkeoff - shall i tell her that?

yes i think you should

Really life is too short to worry about some poo, just either offer to clean it yourself or go 50/50. 30/70 or whatever!!

There are far more important things in life to worry about who is right and wrong here.

Its poo after all.

Take it, stick it outside and train a hose on it! 15 minutes of water under high pressure being aimed at it, will clean it very well.

And she's got insurance, that's what it's for - to replace things! She's got a nerve, frankly!

I'd say being ripped off by someone you ALREADY pay to do their job is a fairly big deal myself....though I do have cracking PMT today!

at pooper vests

Im not good with my own dds poo, let alone others!

It is not your responsiblilty if she has to pay an excess on her insurance claims. You shouldn't pay her anything for it. Offer to clean it for her if it makes you feel better but in the end she's a childminder and this sort of thing is part and parcel of the job. Children in your care sometimes break things.

she is pushing her luck imo...give her a bottle of dettol

I'm a CM and I wouldn't dream of asking this. I would see it as one of the not very nice parts of the job and get my marigolds on.

I'm a cm and would never dream of asking for it to be replaces, we get a tax break of ten percent of everything we earn, for wear and tear, she can also buy a cot and take it off her expenses, i have just bought new cots and do so every few years, so she is taking the mickey.

This is how the conversation could go..

(her) "Oh it would cost me a fortune to replace it!"

(you) "Oh that's a shame, isn't it, still I'm sure it will clean up fine."

(her) "Well I think because it was your child that ruined my cot, you should pay for a new one!"

(you) "Oh dear, it's a shame we aren't seeing eye to eye about this. Do you want me to write a letter to the insurance company for you? I know how you must have a lot of paper work already."

(her) "So you're not going to pay for it? I think that's disgusting!"

(you) "I heard that pet mess remover is good at removing poo, also biological washing powder. I'm sure it won't stain if you scrub it."

is it a very expensive travel cot? for the sake of not causing a fuss i would probably buy her a cheapish one, take the other one off her hands, clean it up and sell it.

i still dont think its your responsibility though, i think she has a cheek.

So will I.

Give you a cyber-slap, I mean.

Fecks me off no end when piss-takers get what they want by making others feel responsible.

I think the conversation could go

Me: "That cot that ds shat in last week?"

Her "Oh yes the one I want you to replace because I have an excess on my insurance I don't want to pay?"

Me "Yes that's the one. Well I think you are being a cheeky tighfisted old mare about it and should replace the fucker yourself. Either that or get some fucking washing powder and give it some bleedin elbow grease you lazy cow - who do you think you are, fucking Hyacinth Bucket?"

How does that sound, quite reasonable I reckon!?

Does this mean you aren't going to replace it then

WOOHOOO!!
QE - thats just perfect, should convey the message very well!!

I agree, you shouldn't pay for it.

Let's face it - "Kid in poo accident shocker" is hardly going to make the front pages. Stuff gets broken, stuff gets worn out, stuff gets messy, all part of her overheads. End of.