Am I being unreasonable?

[flustered]

I have volunteered to help on a School trip in reception class. I found out from another parent today that I will not be allowed to be with my Daughter. I am going to find this very hard. Part of me wants to go to her teacher and say that if I can't have my own child with me then I am not helping. The other part keeps telling me not to rock the boat and when we actually get on the trip the teacher won't be able to stop her coming to me. None of the parents are particularly happy about the set up. I can understand it with older children but these are 5 year olds that have only been at full time school a few months. Why can't we have our own children with us?

It's because you can therefore give all the children you are with equal attention, rather than it being so much harder to do thanif you have your own child with you. Std procedure on a lot of trips

Also for those parents that haven't volunteered to help it makes it easier on their kids "...but X has got her mummy with her, y has got her mummy with her" etc

flustered, i think if you've been good enough to offer to help out, they should at least let you be with your own child. I would not be happy and to be honest I wouldn't go if i couldn't be with my own child

Well that may be true for the average person but it won't be for me because I will be constantly looking to see what my Daughter is doing!

I agree with Whizz
You have volunteered to help all the children
Maybe you should have a rethink and not go

I would go and think about what Whizz said. If you withdraw now and they haven't got enough parent helpers they may have to cancel the trip altogether and then all the children will lose out.

I am a bit at this. On our reception group trips volunteer parents are with their own children. It caused more problems otherwise I believe. YANBU.

'because I will be constantly looking to see what my Daughter is doing! '

exactly... so you won't be able to pay attention to the other children in your group

VP - if it caused more problems than it was worth don't you mean yabu!!

To be honest when children are so young they always tend to vear towards their parents anyway, try telling a 5 year old "no you can't go and walk with mummy, you have to stay here" You're going to end up with a lot of unhappy 5 year olds,

Thanks Memoo, it's nice to hear someone things along the same lines as me. I am over protective for good reason and I admit that. If I had known this before I would not have agreed to go. They are 5 for goodness sake. To ask a 5 year old not to go to their Mum on a school trip, in my opinion is unfair. It is not our fault that other Mums don't help. Why should we suffer?

YABU. Other people are trusting you with their children; why can't you trust them with yours? What's to suffer?!

On Monday this week I was asked to go into the outdoor swimming pool with the reception class of 28 children or they would not be able to go swimming. I was the only one in the pool, even the swimming teacher was on the poolside. Whilst I like helping at the school and am glad to do it, I don't like being made to feel responsible for whether the rest of the class miss out or not! My Daughter is my priority, I'm sorry but I am not a Saint.

But they should have enough memebers of staff to adequately supervise the children. They shouldn't rely on parents volunteering in order to decide whether to do the trip or not. Not quite sure why you are 'suffering'?

I wasn't saying I don't trust other people with my Daughter, I just want her with me, so we are both happy and have a good day. I am not alone in thinking this, there are other parents saying the same thing.

Let me guess - she's your first child?

Flustered - the swimming pool scenario you described does not sound legal!?! There has to be by law an adequate pupil to staff ratio

If all the 5 year olds had all their um's with them it wouldn't be a school trip
Are you all going on a coach? Is there room for all the kids to have their mum's with them?
I really don't get where you are coming from

I was the only person in the pool with groups of 6 children and the teacher on the poolside, two parents in the changing rooms.

How unfair for the other children if you are with your daughter, it's a school trip not a family outing!! Sometimes you have to sit back and think about other people's feelings, how your dd may feel if someone else had their Mummy and she didn't?? Besides it's good for children to have a school life/trip that doesn't involve their Mummy.

No, I did mean yanbu. I agree with Memoo. The five year olds wanted to be with their Mums and so fussed if they weren't. It was deemed easier if the parent and child were paired.
Tbh it wouldn't bother me that much, but I know it would bother dd.

..and are you a qualified swimming teacher or lifegaurd?

No

PS, I went on a theatre trip with my DC1 at 5 and he did not want to sit with me, he wanted to be with his friends and I was delighted that I had brought up such a sociable boy and not one that had to be plied from my lap!!! It's really lovely and rewarding to go on a school trip and watch your child from a distance, how they interact and get along without you, it can be a very proud moment.

Actually just re-read OP. YABU to say that you won't go if you are not paired with your child . Now that is childish imo and shouldn't be the reason you volunteered. Other parents can't go because they work or have smaller children. You (and I) are lucky to be able to go and share the experience.