A woman has turned to the internet for advice after being asked by her neighbour time and time again to take her daughter to school. Each time the woman makes a different excuse as to why she can't take her to school and every time she agrees the child isn't ready when they're ready to go.
In the post the woman said she and her neighbour get on but she is fed up of being asked to to take her child to school. She said she feels that on the school run that's the only time she gets to spend quality time with her children without the distraction of screens and general life distractions. She said: "This is a shame because I really enjoy the school run as a bit of time I get to spend talking to my girls away from the distractions of screens / homework / getting food ready etc."
The mum posted to MumsNet to ask other mums for advice, she said: "She texted me yesterday morning asking if I would take Jenny to school. I didn't see her message immediately but replied within 10 minutes saying yes, and saying I'd call for her at 8.30. At 8.30 my neighbour answered the door wearing basically no clothes saying that her daughter wasn't ready, and she hadn't seen my reply (why wouldn't you check?!)" You can get more stories like this by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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The mum said she is happy to take the child in an emergency but not nearly every other day, and if they are asking someone else to take their child to school surely they should get her ready on time for them and to not make them late.
She added: "The reason given for this morning's request was that her younger child was still asleep. Although, when I called, it was clear CF neighbour wasn't dressed again. She has told me in the past that Jenny hates walking. Jenny has told me that she loves to walk, and that it's her mum who hates walking! (It's literally 7 minutes.)"
The mum is keen to maintain a good relationship with her neighbour and asked the other mums for advice on how to politely say no to the nearly every day requests whilst still being there for emergencies, she said: "Would I be unreasonable to say no to any future (non-emergency) requests, and how do I do this whilst maintaining a decent enough relationship that we can ask each other for actual emergencies?"
In the comments one mum said: "I would knock this on the head. I had an acquaintance like this, constantly wanting something and it all got too much. Some people will ask and ask until you are sick of it and then move on."
Whilst another said: "You are not being unreasonable, I would be honest with her and say that whilst you would be fine to help in a real emergency, you can’t do it regularly."
Another mum commented to offer advice, she said: "I just wouldn't look at any messages from her in the morning. If she's genuinely desperate she can ring. If she asks outright you'll have to say "no I don't mind the odd one but I really value this time to have a chat"."
