NanceXToo Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 (edited) I signed up to attend a huge field day thing for homeschoolers here in PA. It will be our first year going, and it's like an hour and a half away from home. My 6 y/o and my 11 y/o will be participating. Apparently they split the kids into different age groups for events. Every parent had to sign up for some aspect of volunteering to help with the event. I volunteered to help clean up afterward when I signed up. Today I received an email saying that due to the number of volunteers and where people were needed, they changed some peoples' assignments and tried to do it based on number of kids, kids' ages, etc. I saw that my assignment was changed to spend time helping with the 11 y/o group. I emailed and asked what that meant in regard to where I would be and what I would be doing and if that meant I wouldn't be with my 6 y/o during the events, because I felt he was kind of young to be without my supervision during the day. The response I got was: "Your assigned to spend some time helping with the 11 yr. olds. As I've stated you will have plenty of time to see your 6 yr. old. A group of 4 parents at a time will assist with the 11's. There will be an a.m. and a p.m. group of 4 parents. This will allow 2 parents at any time to leave to watch or tend to their other children and return to help with the group." But I have no idea how big this place is, or who the people are who would be with my 6 y/o, whether I'd be able to see him the whole time, etc. If he decided he wanted me, he'd probably just walk off looking for me, I have no idea how closely other people I don't even know would be watching him. I'd rather leave my 11 1/2 y/o unattended for parts of the day (with her cell phone so she can call me if need be). What would you say/do in response to this latest email? ETA: Resolved! Updates in Posts 10 and 13. :) Edited April 30, 2012 by NanceXToo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I would either: 1) let them know that I would not be comfortable leaving my 6yo at any time for any length of time so will need a different assignment or 2) have my 6yo miss events during the time I couldn't get away from my assignment. *I* would be most likely to do the latter. I think the former is what I would do if I were the way I wish I were. If they couldn't accommodate me, I'd do the latter. If I wasn't that gun-ho about it, I might back out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country Mouse Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Is there someone you can call? I would want those questions answered also. I wouldn't feel comfortable with the situation as described. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 If there is someone you can call and speak to, I'd try that first. If there is no one to get in touch with or the answers when you do get in touch are not satisfactory I would refuse the assignment. You can do it very nicely, "I am simply not comfortable leaving my 6yo for that length of time, so I will be unable to volunteer in the 11yo group. I would be happy to volunteer with the 6yo group or return to my original assignment on the clean up crew." If TPTB couldn't accept that then I wouldn't volunteer at all, even if it meant we couldn't participate. A field day is fun, but not critical to life YKWIM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 (edited) I would make it clear that your 6 year old would not be comfortable with going off with someone she does not know and has a tendency to wander off. If the coordinator really wants you to be with the 11 year old group, tell her the 6 year old would be trailing you with the older kids. I've found people are usually more sympathetic when you make it about the child's needs rather than your own. Edited April 30, 2012 by kck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I would email them back and tell them no. Tell them you purposefully signed up to help clean up so you could SUPERVISE your kids, not check on them periodically, and you would be happy to help do that but will not be available during the activities. If they don't accept that, tell them you won't be coming. This is a management issue - not an issue with you or your kids. They need to format their sign up procedures with a specific number of helpers for each job (preferably a job for which they have some training/experience - I wouldn't want to be randomly assigned to the high jump!) not let everyone sign up for the same job and then reassign! This may mean they need to have sign ups online, or have parents call (and talk to a real, live person) when they sign up, or this problem will reoccur year after year. Do they really expect you to let your six year old go off with total strangers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springmama Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I would call someone too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I would think about keeping my 6 yo with me in the 11 yo group or I wouldn't go. It doesn't sound like they are going to be very flexible in working with your concerns. Like others mentioned, if you can call and talk with someone, I would do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliums Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I would also reply in such a way that let's them know you need to be able to watch your 6 yo. I would mention that since it is your first time attending, you want to be sure everyone is comfortable. I would be sure to thank the scheduler for their time and effort in coordinating this event.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 OK, I wrote: "Hi, I apologize for being "difficult," but I am not comfortable leaving my six year old alone for any length of time. I feel he is too young to be left out of my sight at a big outdoor event such as this, with people I don't know and he doesn't know. He's also the type of kid who if he decided he wanted me or something else would just walk away to go find me/it/etc. and I am not comfortable assuming that a couple of busy parents who never even met him and have a whole group to supervise would pay enough attention to that kind of thing. I would be happy to volunteer with the six year old group so that I can supervise my younger, rather than my older child (who has a cell phone and more knowledge and impulse control than her brother!), or to return to the assignment I originally volunteered for, which was cleaning up after the event. Thanks, Nance" I will see what she says to that. If she changes my assignment, great. If she doesn't, I will have to decide whether to let her know I will be keeping my 6 y/o with me or backing out of attending. I'd probably do the latter (despite the $15.00 registration fee I'd probably lose) because it was worth the three hour round trip if they could BOTH participate, not if he had to be bored just watching his sister. This is a six hour event by the way. So even if she meant I only had to do it for the morning OR the afternoon (3 hours) and could leave part of that time, we're talking at least a couple of hours with him unattended by me. I don't know why they'd put a parent with a pre-teen instead of their Kindergartener if they were going to take it upon themselves to change volunteer assignments like that! They also should at least ask people what their second choice is for volunteering in case there were too many volunteers for their initial choice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garddwr Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I think your second email was reasonable and the way I would have responded--volunteer to help with the 6 year old group. Hopefully they can accommodate you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I can understand their problem. They probably had many people sign up for similar items for the same reason as you, and no one willing to help with the older dc because most have younger dc as well. Like you, though, I wouldn't be comfortable leaving my 6 yo when I didn't know anyone there, so we would probably just cancel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 Whew! I got a quick response which said: "Nance, No problem. I'll put you on Clean Up. Thanks for sharing." To which I replied: "Thanks for understanding and working with me, and thanks for all your efforts with this event, I'm sure it's not easy juggling everyone's needs!" Glad that worked out so easily! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nertsmommy Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Glad to hear things worked out for you. I wanted to give you a heads up, in case you didn't know. There is also a car show going on that weekend about 2 miles away. If this show is anything like the one I went to there then it will be really crazy with traffic and people everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country Mouse Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Glad that worked out so easily! :) Me too! :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Glad it worked out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 Glad to hear things worked out for you. I wanted to give you a heads up, in case you didn't know. There is also a car show going on that weekend about 2 miles away. If this show is anything like the one I went to there then it will be really crazy with traffic and people everywhere. Thanks for the heads up! I have to arrive by 8 AM for registration and photos and stuff, so hopefully that won't be too nuts that early! It ends at 3 but not sure how long clean up will take...hopefully I'll make it out of there without getting caught up in tons of traffic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Don't ya love it when people are reasonable and drama-free? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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