Too Nice or Being Taken Advantage

I can see what a spot she is putting you in...You dont want to punish the girl, who would be left to fend for herself if you werent there, but it's putting your family out to help this much. She knows what she is doing and is taking advantage of you. It will be hard to put a stop to it, but be sure to keep it between you two adults and try not to make this young lady feel like she's in the way. She probably feels like that all the time anyway. A sad situation...

You are being taken advantage of. My sister is a stylist and she has total control over her work day. I also have two other friends who are moms and stylists who have no problem taking care of their children after work. You need to tell her your schedule is no longer permitting you to pick the child up for her. Period. End of story.

I think that you are very kind to take care of this child while her mom is constantly running late. A least the child has some "family" time with your family and is able to have to experience that eventhough is not her own. Please don't be recentful to the child, but do address your concerns to the mom, maybe she is working overtime to have ends meet. Thank goodness you are there for her child.

If you want to keep picking her child up. Tell her what time for her to pick up her daughter. If she does'nt tell her you can't take her anymore.

Hi M.,
As a single mother I know how hard it is to raise a child all by yourself so whenever someone offers to help, it's a major blessing for me. However, she is definitely taking advantage of the situation. Being 2-3 hrs late picking up her child is unacceptable, especially when she does it as often as you say she does. I can understand once in a while, things happen but it sounds like it's becoming a habit. You definitely need to talk to her about it and be gentle on how you approach her for the children's sake. If the girls have a strong bond this may jeopardize that friendship, depending of course on how the mom takes it. Communication seems to be the key here. Set a time with her in which she needs to pick up her child as well as a "no later than" time (9:30pm is a bit too late for a school night for any child), and if she is going to be late she needs to call and be HONEST and STRAIGHT FORWARD on what time she'll be by. She'll just need to schedule her clients accordingly or make other arrangements to have her child get picked up on time should she have to stay late. Don't feel bad for doing this, believe me... you'll be doing her and her child a favor. If she continues with this behavior, who is going to want to continiue to give her a helping hand. If she's doing this to you, she probably does it to others and when people take advantage of it.. people stop helping and as a single mom, her and her child will lose the benefit from others helping them. Take it from a single mom :) Whatever the outcome may be, know that stopping this behavior was the right thing to do. BTW... you are AWESOME for giving that child some love & stability while in your home, kudos to you!

Sounds like she has you trained pretty good. i feel sorry for you and the child.

I had a similar situation and I ended up telling the parent that my kid was unable to do homework because her friend was there, which was the truth. My daughter was to blame, not the other kid who was a nice girl and well behaved, my kid just wouldnt focus because she wanted to show off.

I told them about an after school program that was inexpensive run by the school. Maybe your school has one as well...