Stressed out and ready to pack it in.

Morning everyone.

Having the week from hell my dad was diagnosed with stomach cancer on Wednesday and yesterday was voting all the children were off.
Two mindees in particular were a handful. Child J pushed over two children grazing one elbow and a bump on the head on another one.
Anyway child J was playing inside and she has fallen on a pile of lego bricks and hurt her leg.

Mum called last night to say child J is saying my dog bit her and I can honestly say that didnt happen Child J never said a word to me about that.

This morning mum came to see me to say they were taking child J to hospital and they are going to chat later about what to do next.

Im totally terrified about what is going to happen and I really dont have to strength to cope with this right now. My hubby is now saying that we should think about calling off our big holiday to vegas at the end of the year and seriously consider me packing up childminding Ive had a bad run of stressful parents and my confidence and energy is at an all time low.

I just dont know what to do for the best.

.....and breathe.
We all get days when everything comes together to cause anxiety ....my best method of dealing with it is to just take one thing at a time.
The parent allegation:
Are the parents saying a Lego brick indentation is teeth marks? Or were there other marks...if they are taking the child to hospital they obviously have something to show them.
If you are absolutely sure the child went home with nothing other than the Lego accident then be strong and stick to your opinion.
You have the medical information that you dealt with the Lego accident, checked, bathed, child's condition afterwards etc.. you have your diary of the day, so your recordings of the day's activities.
What is your H&s around your dog, were there any moments when your dog and child were on there own? If not and you are sure your dog was never near child then write everything up, following your allegation from parents policy. Note the condition the child left you.

I would contact Ofsted, safeguarding officer and insurance company/ legal side- if you are completely sure the child was not bitten by your dog and the child has teeth marks then another dog did it...and parents are saying it was you ....that needs investigating. If it was your dog then your insurance will need to know and you will need support from them...they are the best people for advice at this point.

Your future:
Whether you decide to stay or leave childminding this incident will need to be further investigated as your reputation is at stake. Deal with your allegation first, then think about your future.

Hoping it all turns out well for you.

Very sorry to hear about your dad. x

Why is the parent only taking the child to hospital the day after the alleged incident? Do they think that the 'bite' might have become infected or is looking worse than it did last night? Either way, at least you should have a professionals opinion on what the mark is.

Is it at all possible that the child was alone with your dog - they might have teased/hurt it which caused the dog to nip them - they might not have told you because they knew that they had provoked the dog and might be in trouble for you?

Write up everything the parent has said and get them to sign it as soon as possible and explain why you have to do so. Sometimes just this act can make the parent realise that they cannot be too loose with their words.

Good luck. x

Sending big hugs and thinking of you xx

How are you Windles?