[soontobegran]

Tell me, to whom would I complain about an MCHN? I honestly wouldn't know where to go with that.

Your local council!

[JuniorSpies]

My MCHN held our hands when we cried, helped the mothers group bond and facilitated access to different experts. She didn't really give us much advice at all. We were really lucky as you are so vulnerable in those first few weeks.

I'm in marketing. Which is different to advertising. Less glamour and more pie charts (which nobody reads).

This post has been edited by OldMajor: 08/05/2012, 09:54 PM

[soontobegran]

But....how would we know where or to whom to go to introduce ourselves, or that this is an option - seriously?

It's not the "meeting someone new" - it's the "government official checking up on me" which is nerve-wracking (and most of the new people I meet don't insist on telling me everything I'm doing wrong, or watching me breastfeed, or keep files on me!)

And seriously - I can opt out of the MCHN without repercussions? No one will report me or insist on checking up? Whom do I inform if I want to do that?

Of course it's an option and an option that many people explore. I would have thought that most women knew that the MCHC is council run and therefore they would check where there closest one is...because that is YOURS!

I am not a MCHN, but have worked in domicillary nursing from our maternity hospital where we visit mums the day after discharge....honestly EB is not representative of the norm. I have never met people like some of you!
AV--MCHN are not government officials coming to check up on you as you put it.
For most mothers going home with a new baby is fraught with stess and anxiety, it is their job to help you gain confidence as a mother and to ensure your baby is well.
Sometimes they get it wrong but overwhelmingly they don't and am shocked at the way you and others have denigrated an entire profession.

If you don't want a visit then call the centre and tell them, otherwise they HAVE to visit you....it is their duty of care.

[tiggywinkle]

Ooh another GIS goddess! I usually say it's maps on computers, kind of.

I'm a lecturer. Students, I will not give you an extension just because you have other assignments due. Or because you are disorganised. If you have a legitimate excuse, absolutely. And I'm kidding about you getting extra marks if you attach a freddo frog to the assignment...

Oh cool, some other GIS people! I wasn't going to reply to this thread, because I couldn't think of anything else except my standard 'It's kind of like Google Maps' answer.

[darcswan]

<3 this! You sound far more amusing that our Business Analyst. I do agree about the lipstick on a pig though

Lol.. Don't judge your BA too harshly. They beat the joy out of us in BA camp.

I am not a BA, but I work in development, A big YES to the solutions. Just tell me the problem. Your solution can sometimes cloud the problem.

So very true. Stakeholders make assumptions about what is possible - putting artificial constraints on the project before we've even started! I've been guilty of it too - so I feel like I've failed if everyone can't clearly articulate the business intent. Forget reams of documentation

If only people could articulate the problem! How about we start with the business rules? Oh, you're not sure what they are? Let's look at the process. You're not clear on that? Hmmm...

Start with the business rules? ...Can't you just reverse engineer the system for me?

Ahh.. Marco polo requirements gathering. My favourite.

This post has been edited by darcswan: 08/05/2012, 10:47 PM

[tonfrog]

A non refundable deposit it NON REFUNDABLE!

Our Non - Refundable deposit is designed to guarantee the provision of the venue to YOU for a specified date.
Once a date is booked, we make that date unavailable to other clients. That means that if you book with us then cancel, I've not only lost your booking, I have also lost other potential business. We have MANY other couples enquire about that date which we turn down as we were holding it exclusively for YOUR wedding. Most of the Weddings booked with us have a 12 - 15 month lead time. Unfortunately that lead time has now long passed for this date and there is no chance that I will be able to offer that date to those other couples as they have made other arrangements.

Secondly in the event of a wedding being cancelled, the Non - Refundable deposit also covers me for loss of the hours of valuable time that I spent organising your event. 

I spend many hours of my time long before any event providing excellent and intensive personal service answering and making phone calls and texts, sending emails with many descriptive photos, meeting with brides and their families, and composing personalised menu proposals.
I also spend much time with in house planning meetings, negotiating with other vendors in regard to services at our venue for your date, and providing my clients with crucial and valuable insider wedding information that they would otherwise not have access to.

When you book your wedding with me then cancel, I loose the commission that I would earn for organising your event, I loose other potential business for that date and I loose money by not being remunerated for the time and effort spent with you planning your event.

I am very sorry that you have had to call off your wedding, but this is not due to any fault of ours, and we are still fully prepared to meet our commitment to you. We do not wish to make money off your misfortune, but at the end of the day you must understand that we are running a business.
We do specify that our deposits are NOT refundable in the event of a cancellation to help cover the large amount of time we spend with our clients and to protect ourselves from lost revenue.

[Saecularis Angel...]

Of course it's an option and an option that many people explore. I would have thought that most women knew that the MCHC is council run and therefore they would check where there closest one is...because that is YOURS!

I am not a MCHN, but have worked in domicillary nursing from our maternity hospital where we visit mums the day after discharge....honestly EB is not representative of the norm. I have never met people like some of you!
AV--MCHN are not government officials coming to check up on you as you put it.
For most mothers going home with a new baby is fraught with stess and anxiety, it is their job to help you gain confidence as a mother and to ensure your baby is well.
Sometimes they get it wrong but overwhelmingly they don't and am shocked at the way you and others have denigrated an entire profession.

If you don't want a visit then call the centre and tell them, otherwise they HAVE to visit you....it is their duty of care.

Oh, for heaven's sake. Yes, I know the MCHC is council run. But I didn't know I could contact them before the birth, or which of a number of services in our area would contact me, or that I could find out which person I would be dealing with, or that I could choose to go to the clinic instead of having a home visit. Perhaps familiarity with the system makes it possible to underestimate how foreign it is to those of us who've never dealt with it?

I haven't denigrated an entire profession - I've been very clear not to do that - but I am dismayed to have found out that I had options in this process about which I was not informed. I might have coped much better with some very difficult situations if I had known that. Because the whole process hasn't helped me gain confidence as a mother, in fact in some ways it's been quite damaging, and I feel that those of us who have that kind of experience have every right to articulate that!

If nothing else, this thread has helped me to think about what some of the issues for me are, and helped me formulate a bunch of questions I want to ask at my next visit.

[wannabe30]

I'm in marketing. Which is different to advertising. Less glamour and more pie charts (which nobody reads).

This. And it's not graphic design, either.

Of course it's an option and an option that many people explore. I would have thought that most women knew that the MCHC is council run and therefore they would check where there closest one is...because that is YOURS!.

I'm not sure that they are council run. Mine (which is great, by the way) is run by South Western Sydney Area Health Service and covers multiple council areas. I actually attend a centre in a neighbouring council area as the on in my council isn't convenient. But until I had my baby I had no idea where they were.

[howdo]

I never actually knew the MCHN was council run. (is it?!?!?!) I didn't even know they existed until after I had #1 and I was handed a blue book with a sticker of where to go on it. I kinda nodded and smiled thinking WT...? The first one that came to my house I remember was all right. I didn't mind her but it didn't thrill me to the bone either, I couldn't wait until she left, I didn't feel like talking at the time.

My subsequent experiences were all so nondescript and I sat around waiting and waiting and waiting to have a baby weighed and be grilled about things.

I didn't formally opt out though, I merely stopped going. When DD2 was born I understand they were supposed to do a home visit but no one did so I just weighed her at the chemist and took her to the GP for vaccinations and ... carried on. No one 'checked up on me' that I remember.

I tried MCHNing again with DS but again, no one came for a home visit so I wandered down to a clinic thing and .... waited and waited and waited, weighed him myself and went home. I decided not to go back.

With #1 I never had any questions or concerns and I felt like she was always looking at me as if I had two heads because I had no concerns!

[RealityBites]

I'm a Director, of an Early Childhood Education service, formerly known as "Day Care". I have three qualifications and 11 years experience in the industry, I am a professional and yes, I feel that I am "above" looking after your children on a Friday night so you can do to the local RSL club / movies / dinner. Yes, you are offending me by asking, but I will polietly let you know that we have a no babysitting policy at the service.

There is an on-going battle within the Early Childhood Industry for society so see us as professionals, we are closer than ever before. I believe that we need to separate ourselves from the "babysitting" tag and move more towards the educator side that the government have moved into with the Early Years Learning Framework and National Quality Framework.

All you need to do for me is 1. pay your fees, or talk to me about why you can't, I can probably help you, and 2. keep your children home when they are sick.

So, you are an 'early childhood educator' who is mainly interested in collecting fees?

We are a highly educated family and we value education. My 4yo attends a brilliant child care service, with lots of 'school readiness'. However, I value the service mostly because the carers are so lovely, kind, friendly and nurturing. It may hurt your business principles, but these are the qualities that people are also looking for in 'babysitters'. Even professionals do work on the side (not that most of the carers are university educated, although the percentage is increasing)

This post has been edited by RealityBites: 09/05/2012, 08:57 PM