Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a situation such as this, I would send a brief text message or e-mail like this:

I was so sorry to hear about _____ the other evening and am hoping she is doing well now. She is in my thoughts and prayers every day.

I was thinking due to her recent hospitalization and all, I may not be needed this Friday for sitting however I just wanted to confirm just to be sure.

No worries...Please let me know at your earliest convenience.

This is lovely.

I wish my nanny communicated anywhere near this well and thoughtfully.

PP Here. Thank you for the compliment.

OP, what did you think?

Anonymous wrote:In a situation such as this, I would send a brief text message or e-mail like this:

I was so sorry to hear about _____ the other evening and am hoping she is doing well now. She is in my thoughts and prayers every day.

I was thinking due to her recent hospitalization and all, I may not be needed this Friday for sitting however I just wanted to confirm just to be sure.

No worries...Please let me know at your earliest convenience.

This is lovely.

I wish my nanny communicated anywhere near this well and thoughtfully.

In a situation such as this, I would send a brief text message or e-mail like this:

I was so sorry to hear about _____ the other evening and am hoping she is doing well now. She is in my thoughts and prayers every day.

I was thinking due to her recent hospitalization and all, I may not be needed this Friday for sitting however I just wanted to confirm just to be sure.

No worries...Please let me know at your earliest convenience.

MB here who has a seizure disorder that sometimes lands me in the ER.

If this is the first time the LO has had seizures, the parents are very worried. The fact that the LO will have to stay in the hospital a few days suggests that there may be other serious things going on. Unfortunately, you don't have enough information to know. Seizures, themselves, are not deadly events but certainly can be indicators of serious issues.

I think you are being very thoughtful to their worry. That said, I don't think there is anything wrong with emailing them to ask about Friday. If you can wait until tomorrow, that might be best. Between Saturday and Tuesday, the family will have more information. Yours is a reasonable request and I wouldn't think twice, even if my child were seriously ill in the hospital. I would need to be coordinating things like work leave and changing plans and your needs would be as important to me as the others. Especially since you sound like a valuable sitter to this family.

A slightly O/T PSA about seizures. Sometimes, the cause is never found and depending on what happens with this LO, she may well end up having epilepsy. When you next sit for this family, ask what to do if she has a seizure in your care. While they can be a little scary if you have no experience with them, most seizures are not 911 events and you can learn how to care for someone seizing and learn when it is or is not a 911 emergency. You can also find excellent information on the epilepsy foundations website. Personally, I think all nannies (well everyone) should learn how to care for seizures.

Obviously, I hope this LO doesn't receive this diagnosis and that this is just a random occurrence. I just share my PSA to help you continue to work with this family no matter what because it sounds like you both have a good situation you want to continue.

Send an email on Wednesday asking about Friday night . You need to know if you should show up or not. But they might not know right now. Maybe they want to play it by ear.

OP - can you wait until tomorrow to ask? I agree that it's fine and appropriate to check in with them, but maybe just give them another day to let things settle down a bit if you can.

Of course you should send a text and ask if they will need you this weekend. It isn't inappropriate at all.

I expect my babysitters to act like adults and anticipate their own needs. It is kind of unreasonable to expect your MB to remember to cancel babysitting plans for this upcoming weekend while she is caring for a sick child in the hospital.

Anonymous wrote:Just send them a message that says something nice about their kid, how you are thinking of them and to let you know if there is anything you can do, for instance staying at home with older children etc...

I've already done that.

Just send them a message that says something nice about their kid, how you are thinking of them and to let you know if there is anything you can do, for instance staying at home with older children etc...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would assume that the parents would not be needed me but I wouldn't ask and I wouldn't book another job or make plans. Do you have guaranteed hours? If so then you are not out the money and if not... I still wouldn't ask them about it. You want to preserve your long term relationship with them more than you need the money for two nights of babysitting. Just my opinion.

Guaranteed hours for random babysitting gigs? Ugh you nannies are unbelievable.

OP here.

STOP with the "you nannies" BS. Just stop.
I only babysit for this family occasionally. I don't recieve guaranteed hours and would never dream of charging a cancellation fee in a situation like this.
They've been great clients. I wouldn't do that. I'm not really worried about the lost income.

Then do not ask, OP. It would seem insensitive considering what the parents are going through. Just keep the night open.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would assume that the parents would not be needed me but I wouldn't ask and I wouldn't book another job or make plans. Do you have guaranteed hours? If so then you are not out the money and if not... I still wouldn't ask them about it. You want to preserve your long term relationship with them more than you need the money for two nights of babysitting. Just my opinion.

Guaranteed hours for random babysitting gigs? Ugh you nannies are unbelievable.

OP here.

STOP with the "you nannies" BS. Just stop.
I only babysit for this family occasionally. I don't recieve guaranteed hours and would never dream of charging a cancellation fee in a situation like this.
They've been great clients. I wouldn't do that. I'm not really worried about the lost income.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would assume that the parents would not be needed me but I wouldn't ask and I wouldn't book another job or make plans. Do you have guaranteed hours? If so then you are not out the money and if not... I still wouldn't ask them about it. You want to preserve your long term relationship with them more than you need the money for two nights of babysitting. Just my opinion.

Guaranteed hours for random babysitting gigs? Ugh you nannies are unbelievable.

My babysitting gigs aren't random. They have me reserved for Saturday nights and pay be whether or not they use me.

Anonymous wrote:I would assume that the parents would not be needed me but I wouldn't ask and I wouldn't book another job or make plans. Do you have guaranteed hours? If so then you are not out the money and if not... I still wouldn't ask them about it. You want to preserve your long term relationship with them more than you need the money for two nights of babysitting. Just my opinion.

Guaranteed hours for random babysitting gigs? Ugh you nannies are unbelievable.

I would assume that the parents would not be needed me but I wouldn't ask and I wouldn't book another job or make plans. Do you have guaranteed hours? If so then you are not out the money and if not... I still wouldn't ask them about it. You want to preserve your long term relationship with them more than you need the money for two nights of babysitting. Just my opinion.

I have worked as an occasional sitter for an amazing little girl since she was a teeny baby.
I was set to babysit last Saturday evening when I recieved a call from her mother.
The little girl had been rushed to the ER with unexplained seizures.
Thankfully she is ok, but will be in the ER for at least a few more days.
They reserved me for several upcoming babysitting dates, including this Friday night.
I don't want to disrupt them while they're focusing on their daughter and going through such a difficult time, but I still need to be able to plan my week.
Would it be insensitive to send an email asking whether they'd like to cancel for Friday?
I can only assume that they want to be with her, instead of going out.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you!