Quote:
Originally posted by Gattigap
Not a bad idea. I wasn't sure that the Urchins would be old enough to get the You're Dead to Me reference, but this variant has the advantages of directness and sass.
(The point of trivia that the neigbor in question is a rabbi gives this solution a little extra spice, too.)
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It seems like it would be kinder not to deal with this by inexplicably (to children) changing the rules midstream. After all, it is not their fault they are being raised by wolves. So tell the neighbor and/or his ladyfriend that you need an ahead-of-time call, and that you aren't providing babysitter services, or, if the kids seem amenable to suggestion from their peers, have your kids tell them that their other friends' parents call ahead.
Why is it so hard to call the neighbor?
ETA,
in theory I generally take the "best interests of the children" approach, and on a second reading it seems like you would rather fuck with the kids' heads than figure out how to deal with the adults. It seems like their adults (rabbi and friend) need to get on the "your house, your rules" bandwagon and reinforce that with the kids, and they need to get the "the adults call first" message, and enforce it with their kids. You need to just say to the kids, as to activities at your house, that you don't do XYZ.
And if the rule is, must call before play date, then you can't have play dates that don't involve calling, except under extraordinary circumstances.
And don't forget, it's OK to leave the baby exposed on the porch while you fetch haircare implements.
