A frustrated mum has been left furious after a nursery refused to let her daughter leave until she'd finished tidying up.
The anonymous mum to Reddit to share the story, claiming she was issued with a 'verbal warning' for undermining staff's authority after she confronted them about the issue.
While she may have thought she was in the right at the time, the mum has now told all on the 'AITA' Reddit forum, asking users if they feel she was in the wrong for complaining.
Advert
Asking the forum, the woman began: "AITA for telling my child’s daycare teacher that my child won’t finish cleaning up?"
Before explaining: "My two-year-old daughter has been in a home daycare for a few months now. The teacher, Sasha, is very nice. I am normally all for my daughter cleaning her own messes,
"However, I find when I arrive, Sasha [daycare tutor] expects my daughter to finish cleaning up whatever she was playing with. Which again would be fine, but it delays us getting out the door and heading home, sometimes we have plans, etc."
The mum then went on to explain how she would often let Sasha know when she was close to the nursery so that her daughter could be all ready to leave once she had arrived.
Advert
That was a strategy that would work to a tee, according to the mum - well, until now that is.
She continued: "Things were crazy and I was in a rush. We had a lot to do this afternoon and I was running behind because I had car trouble. When I arrived, my daughter and some friends were in the middle of cleaning up a big mess. I told my daughter that we had to go and to get her coat.
"Sasha said she needed to finish cleaning up her part. I said any other day, sure, but I am running late and we cannot miss this appointment. Sasha tried arguing that the kids need to learn responsibility and I flat out said no.
"I grabbed my daughter, put her coat on and left."
Advert
Later that evening, the mum was sent a text indicating the nursery was not exactly best pleased.
"I had [a text] from Sasha saying poor planning on my part doesn’t mean I can break rules," the mum wrote.
"I pointed out this is not in the contract and I can bring my child home whenever I want. She accused me of undermining her authority."
Advert
As a result, the mum was given that 'verbal warning'.
Many have flocked to the comment section of the Reddit post, with the opinion certainly divided.
One person wrote: "If you say you’re leaving with your kid, you can leave. She can’t keep her there until she decides your child can leave."
A second added: "I worked childcare and if you have a set time for pick up then there's no reason clean up can't be started before then."
Advert
Meanwhile, a third on the other side remarked: "If those are the rules that all of the children are expected to follow and you were aware of that, you and your daughter should be following them like everyone else."
Callum Jones