I had been a stay at home mom since I had my twins. Having 3 kids under 3 made working unfeasible. While I was home with them, I had been finishing up my degree, with hopes of getting a teaching job eventually.
Fast forward, I had just finished my degree, and the twins were in Kindergarten. I had a sizable gap in my resume, and was looking to build up some experience. One of my best friends let me know that her daycare was hiring. I had an interview and was hired on the spot for $10/hr.
I was “part time” but worked 7am – 2pm Monday-Friday. I had let them know when I was hired, I absolutely had to leave by 2pm so I could get my kids off the school bus at 2:30. Most everyone else worked a 9hr day, and got an hour lunch. I was lucky to get a 15 minute break, as my role was to cover everyone else’s lunches. I didn’t complain, as I was building that resume, and still got to get my kids off the bus.
There were a few instances of them keeping me beyond 2pm. Things happen. I get that, but because of lunches, and the need to keep in ratio, it was often harder to get out than I initially thought. There were a few times I was pulling into my driveway as the bus arrived. Once I got a call from the district, as I didn’t make it in time. After that I let my boss know, in no uncertain terms, she could not keep me past 2pm, and me not taking a break was basically illegal, since I was working 7 hours. Me approaching 7.5 hours every day without a break at all was illegal. She was eager to keep me, so said if I got stuck again, I should call her, and she would come to cover the last few minutes of whoever’s break so that I could leave.
Fast forward a few weeks. My younger daughter was sick. Thankfully my mom was off, so she was able to take her so that I didn’t have to call in sick. I did not have sick time, “part time” as I was. Now it was a rule that we were not to have our cell phones on our person when we were working. They had to be in our lockers. It was understood that if there was an emergency, we were to have our families call the main number at the day care.
My daughter had a pretty high fever that day, and my mother was getting concerned as it had gotten up to 104, and she’d given both Tylenol and Advil, neither were touching her fever. So she calls my cell. I am not allowed to have it, and don’t get a break that day. She calls the main number. I had kids out on the playground so instead of putting her through, or coming to get me, they take a message and tell her they will let me know. My daughter at this point was starting to not make sense. She was babbling incoherently. My mom was panicking, not sure if I’d want her to go to the ER or what. She calls again, a half hour later. My manager brings me a cordless phone, and quick ducks out. My mom tells me that she’s been trying to get in touch all morning, and that they blew her off, saying that they’d give me the message. I’m alone in a room of 2 year olds, and can’t just leave them. I try to call my manager, get no response. Then I get the idea to call my pediatrician, except I don’t have my phone or the number. However, I do have a stack of emergency contact numbers on forms of the daycare kids. Thankfully one of them has the same doctor as my kids, so I am able to call the doctor. They tell me to bring her right over, no need to rush to the ER. I call my mom back, tell her to meet me at the doctor’s office. Then I have to wait for the person whose lunch it is to return. By the time they get back it is already near to 1pm. I go up to the front desk, hot, but trying to stay calm. I tell them in no uncertain terms I am leaving to go to my sick child, and to consider this my 2 week notice. My manager knows she did wrong, she tries to apologize, saying she thought since grandma had her, it would be fine. I won’t back down. She tells me to take the next day off to care for my kid, and we’d meet to discuss it when I got back the day after.
My daughter had a double ear infection. We got ear drops and antibiotics.
I did go back, knowing I may possibly need them as a reference. I met with my boss, who begged me to stay. I told her I thought of all work places, a day care should understand the challenges of having a sick kid. How would they like it if they tried to get ahold of a parent and were blown off.
I did finish out my 2 weeks. The bonus to that was telling each and every co-worker exactly why I was quitting. Word reached the regional manager (this was a chain) and they asked for her to resign.
I got a couple of coworkers to be references, and luckily was able to be a substitute in my children’s school. The nice thing about subbing is you can say no. Plus no one has ever told me I can’t have my phone.
To all the working moms out there I know it’s hard. Those babies are only little once.