By MIA FREEDMAN
So it seems that UK Prime Minister David Cameron left his daughter at the pub recently. Look, it’s not quite as bad as it sounds. British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha did leave their 8-year-old daughter, Nancy, at the pub but it’s not like she was playing on the pokies in the corner while they got smashed.
The Camerons were at the pub with their three children and two other families for lunch. When they went to leave after their meal, the PM went home in the car of one of his bodyguards. He thought Nancy was in a car with his wife and their two other children, Arthur, six, and 22-month-old Florence while Samantha Cameron assumed their oldest daughter had jumped in the car with her dad.
The Guardian reported:
David Cameron and daughter NancyThe couple’s daughter Nancy wandered off to the toilets while they were arranging lifts and they only realised she was not with them when they got home, the Sun said.
The prime minister rushed back to the Plough Inn in Cadsden, Buckinghamshire, where he found his daughter with staff.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The prime minister and Samantha were distraught when they realised Nancy wasn’t with them.
“Thankfully when they phoned the pub she was there safe and well. The prime minister went down straight away to get her.” Downing Street said the incident happened “a couple of months ago”.
Oh I do love that story. Because even when you are the leader of your country, with all the security and support staff that come with the job, you can still have a massive PARENT FAIL moment.
If you have kids, you’ll have your own to tell. And EVERYONE has a story about the time their mother knocked them over in her desperate attempt to run away from a rogue Catherine Wheel (remember cracker nights?) that hadn’t been properly nailed to the tree and was zhoooshing wildly around the garden. Wait, was that just my Mum?
Since I’ve dobbed her in, I should also confess about the time in her first term of school last year when my own phone rang at 3:15.
“Oh, hello Ms Freedman, it’s Coco’s school calling. It seems Coco hasn’t been picked up yet.”
“Oh my goodness!” I exclaimed. “My mother always picks her up on Thursdays. She must be running late! I’m so sorry!”
“It’s actually Wednesday, Ms Freedman.”
“…………………”
The best part of this story is that my nanny works on Wednesdays. When she asked if she should pick up Coco, I’d said “No, no, Mum’s getting her.” Then my husband had said to me “I feel like picking Coco up from school this arvo as a treat” and I’d said “No, no, Mum’s getting her.”
So just to recap – there were three responsible adults available to pick up my child from school AND YET NOBODY CAME BECAUSE HER MOTHER DIDN’T KNOW WHAT DAY IT WAS.
Score.
What’s your best PARENT FAIL story – dob in yourself, your parents or any other parent you know. We promise not to tell anyone.
Top Comments
Where to start....
I'm the eldest of five. I was lost at my grandmothers, feared drowned in the dam, only to be found asleep behind the sofa. Mum went horse riding (bareback) with me strapped to her front at six months old, only to have the horse bolt and fall on her face. Don't worry- I broke her fall!
Sibling 2 (more sibling fair than parent) my friends and I wrapped her up in a sleeping bag and tickled her, resulting in a panic attack that almost killed her.
Sibling number 3- was in the dam with the family, in one of those duck rings with the seat in it, tipped upside down and couldn't right herself.
Sibling 4- got lost at city park when the queen mother came to visit.
Sibling 5- sibling 2 and I were playing aero planes with 4 and 5. 5 wanted to 'fly' so she pushed him off her feet, through the air. He broke his arm on landing.
Cousin- went to take photos, mum sat us on a tree stump, only him to start screaming. The tree was home to an inchman nest!
Our family also has a habit of throwing small children around. As in the uncles used us to play catch. Don't think anyone has even been dropped though...
As a single parent who has always put knowing where my son is as my utmost priority, I am quite put out at the blase attitude of many, probably married parents have had towards the Cameron story. I am quite sure if I was in the pub and left my son, now 10 for 15 minutes, someone would have reported me. It goes without saying, money talks.