48 ~ Fridsy, December 20, 1985 - North Shore News Who will take care of the kids? Eppes WHEN I was much younger, the mother of three small daughters, 1 longed for the days when we could hop on a plane, leaving the kids to their own devices. Meanwhile, we hired sit- ters to stay with them when we took a holiday without kids. Little did 1 know that I was wishing away the best days of my life! With the kids in the hands of responsible adults, we didn’t have a worry in the world. The other bonus was having caring neighbors who kept an eye on the situation, just. in case we hadn’t made a wise choice in sitters. Now, when we go away, it seems ‘that all hell breaks loose at least’ once. Chaos and ‘catastrophe seem’ to come hand-in-hand before our jet-trail has dispersed over the airport. Aside from the usual ap- pliance, breakdowns, base- ment floodings and sick cats, inter-personal relationships between siblings erupt. Invariably one will split up with the current boyfriend and emerge with a ‘disposi- tion word and World War III erupts in the kitchen. Speaking of kitchens, what happens to the food money? .1If one does the shopping, the other two ac- cuse her of buying junk food “and. she ate it all herself, Mom!” ~ Who cooks? Everyone. Who cleans? No one. Jf one decides to have a boyfriend over to dinner, she dirties every pot, pan, dish and implement in the kitchen and conveniently goes out ‘for the rest of the evening. And she feeds the wretch within one year — we’! -aplace the unit or refund the full purchase price. 984-3555 «like a rabid skunk. . Another will say the wrong © 734 MARINE DRIVE when we returned five weeks later the kids said something like, *‘Oh, hi.—-Auntie Barb, is it okay if we go to the travel- wise by Barbara McCreadie steak and lobster while the other two open tins of soup. If you’re in the age group that’s still hiring sitters, con- sider yourself lucky. I've had mostly marvellous luck with _ Sitters. The best, of course, is a - mother’ and father who will ’ move in for the duration. [ never had that kind of luck but here are a few tips I’ve found that work well: *If you can bribe or otherwise persuade parents of your kids’ friends to take them in for the duration GO FOR IT! That has been the single most: successful way we've had for leaving our kids. It’s even better if they go to three.(or how many kids do you have?) different households. They like each other a lot better when you get them all together again. *Several of my neighbors became temporary guardians for our kids on many occa- sions. One Mom, (Barb, I'm forever in your debt) had five: kids of her own, but volunteered to accep! ours. BEAM BUILT-IN VACUUM INSTALLED SPECIAL : For $599.00, Beam willinstall acomplete central - vacuum system to yourhome. We specialize in installation to older homes, and if you aren't completely satisfied pauses NY includes: Model 177 (bagless machine). hose & attachment set, three inlets (2 wail and 1 utility valve on machine). For average 2400 square foot home. Ny Plus a deluxe electric power brush. Othee madels available at ZB ALL COM, savings. COMPLETELY INSTALLED Te: BUILT-IN VACUUM SYSTEMS park?”’ That was a shattering ex- perience until I got my sense of perspective back. *] never hired an agency sitter. Don't ask me why - I don’t know. In the days when unmarried pregnancy was a source of shame, many. young women left home to hide their ‘disgrace’ and took up positions as temporary nan- nies for a place to stay until after the delivery. -We had probably 25 of these girls over the years with varying degrees of suc- cess. The good ones were ideal to leave the kids with for a short time. The others - well, when you live with a person you quickly get to know what’s up. Mind you, we had a few surprises, too. One gal. met us at the airport after we’d left her with the kids for 10 days. It took a minute be- fore I caught on. ‘‘Inez!’’ ‘I screamed. “You're not pregnant!”’ While we were away, she’d gone into labor. With PLUS TAX marvellous efficiency, she'd packaged out the kids among my friends. She boarded our puppy with a neighbor and had her voyfriend move into the house to look after the cats. Ke had cut the lawns, scrubbed out the entire house and washed our cars. If you plan to hire a sitter, talk to your friends. Many of them have elderly rela- tives on fixed incomes who enjoy a chance. to up their income. One word of caution, however. Be sure to find out if the sitter has the stamina to handle your brood. And be sure to find out if the person is taking any mcdica- tion that may make them ex- tra sleepy in the evenings. One sitter we hired was /# absolutely great all day but come evening, she took her pills and God and Seven Ar-. changels with couldn't wake’ her up. “It scared the hell out of our. kids. Another unfortuante ex- perience happened when one of our kids was 13. She went to stay with the family she regularly babysat for. Un- fortunately, the young cou- ple hadn’t much experience with teens. Our - daughter decided that this was the perfect time to throw a party in our empty house. Luckily for us, some of our drive by and when they saw the lights (and heard the racket) they didn’t hesitate. They ba-ged-in and = shut down the festivities. Moral? Don’t leave teens with anyone who .can’t police their activities. See us today and start micro cooking tonignt. ecm Canada’s Microwave Specialists Over 40 locations to serve you better. 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