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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

Original poster

CM is ill how do I find one for tomorrow?

102 replies

moocowme · 25/06/2008 20:58

I have a big day at work tomorrow and must be in. What do I do? am in a total panic now. CM does not have an alternative minder.

OP posts:
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Ripeberry · 25/06/2008 22:41

Am a bit shocked that your DH cant cope with a 10mth old.
He is the dad he needs to take responsibility, for goodness sake, young girls of 16 do this all by themselves!
Yes, its unfortunate that your CM has let you down but you need help from your DH not silly excuses.
How are you going to cope when your DC gets older?
My DH was like that and when i got ill one weekend and his parents could not help out then he HAD to look after our 12month old DD1 by himself and he loved it!
Your DH needs more practice, babies are easy, toddlers are a whole different ball game!

CatIsSleepy · 25/06/2008 22:44

also moocow have you ever thought you might be underestimating your dh?

Ripeberry · 25/06/2008 22:47

OR,are you worried that he may lash out at your DC if he gets annoyed or angry.
Some people i know would NEVER leave their children with their partners because they could become violent.
The OP is going to have to make a decision soon and it will have to be her that stays at home...stuff work, your familly comes first!
Don't show your DH this thread as you don't seem to trust his abilities.

thirtysoon · 25/06/2008 22:49

moocow...are you there? or have you sorted it out and are snoring soundly while the rest of us worry about your dilemma?

Ripeberry · 25/06/2008 22:50

This is a wind-up thread as he/she has not jumped on me!

Aitch · 25/06/2008 22:50

if she didn't actually bother to email the people who could have nannied her child then i think she is more cautionary tale than rl person. hope so anyway.

Desiderata · 25/06/2008 22:54

A modern day Canterbury Tale, no less!

thirtysoon · 25/06/2008 23:00

I am going to bed! this is clearly a woman in desperate need of childcare who will not take the day off...it's terribly sad. and if you do read this moocow, please consider: what is the most important thing in life, DS or job? you obviously feel that your job is very important...but they can't fire you because of this! it's ridiculous, and your panicking. deal with it. x

nannynick · 25/06/2008 23:19

Take baby to work with you.

If you really must be in, and you can't find childcare... then take baby into work. You say you work in education - so you aren't working with dangerous machinery most likely. Your boss may not like it, and it may be tricky conducting a lesson/lecture with child present - but if the other choice is that you don't go in to work, then your boss needs to decide what they want to happen.
Pre-prep as much as possible for the vital lesson(s), so if a sub needs to take the lesson(s) they have something to work with. Call your boss first opportunity you get, there is no doubt a procedure for reporting in sick. Go to work as usual, with child with you, to hand over pre-preped lesson plans etc. While you are on your way in to work, your boss can then be thinking about if they want you there, with child... or if they prefer you to be off work - parental leave.

Swedes · 25/06/2008 23:36

Desi - The Citee Boy's Tale?
Wel oghte a man avysed for to be,
Staye and change the shittee nappee.

hatwoman · 25/06/2008 23:58

and cheers for Lisalisa. does no-one remember what it's like when you're adjusting to balancing work and baby and childcare? the first time your childcare fell through? when you're just back from mat leave and feel the need to perform as you did before? when you have a responsible job and you put everything (baby, dh, collegues) before yourself and you;re just trying to do the best for a bunch of other people. and you don;t really know what you're doing coz your baby isn;t even a year old yet? and you don;t know how to respond to offers of childcare from strangers on a website? take your judgey pants off and have a bit of empathy.

and I find it a bit rich that the same person can make references to the "real world" and to having contigency plans for when your childcare falls through. in the real world people muddle through desi, no-one I know of has contigency child care

Swedes · 26/06/2008 00:06

Hatwoman - In all fairness people were coming up with solutions and even offering their services and the OP was ignoring them. Of course it must be difficult. I don't think anyone was suggesting it was anything other than difficult.

Aitch · 26/06/2008 00:14

hatwoman, in a lot of cases our contingency is the child's father. so if she knows in advance that the father is a nincompoop, then tough tbh, it's up to her to have a plan b.
if she were for real then the people who offered to help her (proper childcarers with refs) would have heard from her.

BradfordMum · 26/06/2008 06:02

It's people like this who give childminders a bad name.
I'm up so early as the baby I care for has been up since 4am and arrived fast asleep.
I wont bore you, but in 14 yrs of childminding, I've not had a day off sick. Granted, I've worked when I've felt ill, and would never put my mindies at risk if I had anything infectious, but I am SO reliable and It annoys me when threads like this, which start out apparently genuine, desolve into a debacle.

Off to make more bottles up while still earning only £3.50 an hour.

Sally

TheOriginalXENA · 26/06/2008 08:26

Our cm was sick - I took 2 days of DH 1 and a friend covered us for the fourth (DH was finishing a H&S course)

imananny · 26/06/2008 09:29

moocowme - what did you do?

take day off

dh look after own child

manage to find a temp nanny/cm

or as nick said take child into work?

nbee84 · 26/06/2008 09:48

imananny - I've a feeling she won't be back to tell us

imananny · 26/06/2008 09:59

you could be right

though i dont understand why she didnt take you up on your offer nbee

a quick email/call and then call to your refs could have saved a lot of hassle

Surreynanny · 26/06/2008 10:26

I was wondering what happened as well, although it is nice to have a day off for once, says she lying here in the garden, oh the joys of wireless

imananny · 26/06/2008 10:32

same here surrey

rubs suntan lotion over arms

how did we EVER survive without wireless!!!

whatever happened I hope OP will sort out a back up plan IF CM is ill again - esp as wont/cant let hubby take his share in caring for THEIR child!!

coolj · 26/06/2008 13:29

You lot dont know how lucky you are. Sun, what is that. Ive started building my ark. In process of rounding up animals. . I suppose thats what I get living in lake district.
Ah well, back to cleaning up painty things.
(sorry for highjacking thread)

Cammelia · 26/06/2008 19:07

"no-one I know of has contigency child care "

hatwoman

Oh yes they do, they're called parents

Berryred · 10/07/2008 13:09

bumping to find out what op did

imananny · 10/07/2008 13:24

Berryred i wondered that as well

moocowme didnt reply to this thread last thur when i enquired politley what she did

newforold · 10/07/2008 16:52

lots of people have contingency childcare actually.

They either have leave for a dependent, have a days holiday, call in sick or their childminder has a back up that they work in tandem with.
I've just employed a new childminder, after some lovely advice from ladies here. My new childminder is part of a local group, if one is sick or on holiday they can offer a backup from the group. As they all meet up regularly the kids already know the monders and it works well.