if your five year old daughter went to stay with her aunt for the weekend, would you expect that aunt to put your child first for the duration she was in her care? would you expect that aunt (a single woman of 41 with no children of her own) to respect your views on your childs safety and appropriate environment?
so if the aunt somehow loses the childs bike helmet. but insists that said child go out and cycle along a road and then round a lake without the helmet. even though the child knows knows knows that she is not allowed to so much as look at the bike without her helmet. and then later you get a call from your daughter, and she's really upset because her helmet is lost and because auntie said she still had to come out for a ride and did I want to talk to James?
James?
can i speak to auntie?
auntie's in the bath, but james is right here, do you want to talk to him?
who's james?
he came for a sleepover in auntie's bed.
There is more to this story. she had a new boyfriend, had planned to stroll round lake with him. she'd also accepted an invitation to go to a large gathering of his family for sunday lunch. people she'd never met. an event that went on all afternoon. when we'd said we wanted to fetch her at 2pm because the drive home was long, she'd had 2 late nights and was still adjusting to full time big school.
she told us she'd bring P when the event was over.
my child is not a social prop.
we were livid. S said was should never have left P with her.
we went to the venue of unknown man's unknown family's gathering. we took our child. we did not make a scene. the aunt freaked.
S freaked. he's always been really intimidated by her. so he lied to me. twice. told me the following day he hadn't been in touch with her but in fact had already texted her and apologised. told her taking p home was "out of order"
when i caught him in his lie he packed his bags and made to leave. it was 1am. asked me what his sister had done that was so wrong and accused me of putting words in his mouth.
posted by dodo @ 12:49 pm
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