Firstly i think it is disgraceful the way that she spoke with you.. massive
Personally i haven't had to deal with it and yes i can see that there may be 'challenges' in providing care for a child with a disability or physical impairment but that does not mean they cannot make suggestions to accomodate you.
At the very least she could have said i'm sorry our policy is ........ but if you'd like to speak to a manager.
I am assuming like most leisure centres it is an every day staff member 'babysitting' and she's not wanting to do the extra work as she's not properly trained to be a carer.
Hoping the centre has the decency to respond, if not i would be taking it as high as possible just for their lack of empathy.
My DS was in a Dennis Brown brace for 6 months and if that had happened to me I would have GONE TO TOWN on that carer - not that she even deserves the title of carer.
That is completely discriminatory and I would be reporting the creche to the Australian Human Rights Commission as in Australia we have anti-discrimination laws against discriminating against the disabled. Not that I would consider a baby in a corrective brace disabled anyway (I never considered my DS that way) but if this worker has said that "they dont take disabled" babies then they are surely in breach of this law. I could understand if your child needed specific medical needs that required a qualified and trained health care worker to assist, but seriously a brace?
Follow up babe, make them change their policy and make them ashamed of themselves - I'd be demanding an apology as well
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr and hugs to you - you handled it much more diplomatically than I would have
haha, MummyNaomi, I think the diplomacy was due to shock, nothing else! It was kind of that slow motion walk back to the car thinking of all the things I *should* have said on the way home!
Thanks everyone, I appreciate knowing that it wasn't in my imagination, and she was out of line.
That is completely unacceptable, I am glad you are taking it further. From someone who does have a disabled child, if I was told that now I would just be angry and have lots to say, but my DD is 3. If someone had spoken to me and discrimated against my DD like that when she was so little it definately would have tipped me over the edge. Most creches at gyms etc won't take disabled children, but I have been told a lot more diplomaticaly than that!! plus a baby is a baby, when DD was a baby I was told they would take her at the gym etc, as it is basicly the same as having a younger child in there, even though DD was 1, ITMS?
How awful! I hope you get a good response from the manager of the centre. The general staff at our pool leave a lot to be desired too. The other day we were just about to get into the pool when the attendant blows her whistle and starts yelling "get out of the pool" in a voice like you would to someone doing something stupid. We all looked around to see who it was and realised she was yelling at everyone as she saw lightning off in the distance. Umm a bit of improvement in manners wouldn't gone astray. Anyway sorry to hijack but hopefully the person you dealt with was just a pleb and the management there will sort it out.
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