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Original poster

potential CM's house smelling of cigarette smoke-deal-breaker?

84 replies

CatIsSleepy · 11/03/2011 13:40

my lovely childminder of the last 4 years has had to give me her notice this week for very sad personal reasons and I have to find a new CM for dd1 (nearly 5) and 2 (2 yrs) to start in 3 weeks.
It has thrown me into a bit of a panic. However the mum of one of dd1's classmates is a CM, and she has vacancies. I went to see her today and liked her a lot.
Only problem-her house smelt very smoky. She said her husband doesn't smoke when the children are around ie only in the evenings. FWIW it sounds like she would be doing activities out of teh house with dd2 most days so she wouldn't be in the house all the time. But i feel a bit uncomfortable about it. Dh, however is less bothered. I haven't had time to see anyone else yet or even get any names of more CMs to contact so she is the only person I have seen so far.

Would a smokey house be a deal-breaker for you? am very interested in other people's opinions on this.
Have to go and do a load of boring stuff now but I will be back
Thanks in advance!

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KatyMac · 12/03/2011 14:41

But Nick the nanny should be protected surely?

duchesse · 12/03/2011 14:39

I'm afraid it would be a deal-breaker for me.

StarExpat · 12/03/2011 14:33

Blondes even if they were given outstanding, parents would still smell it and run a mile. But, maybe other smoking parents wouldn't care. To each their own. Everyone I know with dc in childcare at the
Moment would give a smoky house a big NO

Blondeshavemorefun · 12/03/2011 14:31

my friend works for smokers as a nanny - she hates it, charges always have a hacking cough :(

and her clothes stink of smoke - she is looking for a new job but as she works in a 3 day job, she needs to find another that works the same days as she also has a 2 day job

ive told her to look for 5 days for her sanity and health

StarExpat · 12/03/2011 14:29

Well I didn't want an argument about parents having the choice to smoke or not... I just thought a cm is a business, a service for childcare that is regulated and needs to meet specific requirements... Etc. Every other childcare setting needs to be smoke free...

A nanny is hired by an individual for their dc at their home so parents are still free to choose whether or not they want to poison the lungs of their dc smoke.

nannynick · 12/03/2011 14:23

A childminder and a nanny both work from a private home. Unlikely in my view that Government would want to dictate too much about what goes on there. Sure they might try to dictate things but telling parents that they can't smoke in their own home won't be that popular I expect. Government relies on having Votes, smokers votes count.

However the home is a workplace. Thus why Ofsted do have a non-smoking requirement with regard to the person providing the care.

KatyMac · 12/03/2011 14:16

Well would nannies be different?

Workplaces must be smoke free so they mustn't work in a smoky environment

Blondeshavemorefun · 12/03/2011 14:11

i try star :)

would an cm who smokes/has a smoky house be given outstanding?

StarExpat · 12/03/2011 14:01

Blondes that is a really good point. Schools need to be smoke free as do nurseries. Should be all places providing childcare services. Nannies would be different, though. Of course

Blondeshavemorefun · 12/03/2011 13:47

have to say a smoking cm or her dh who smokes would put me off

my dh smokes but does out of the house

im surprised ofsted doesnt say that all cm houses must be smoke free

trixymalixy · 11/03/2011 21:33

Absolute deal breaker for me.

YesPleaseDrChristian · 11/03/2011 21:31

Absolutely no way.

How would you feel bringing your LO home and cuddling them and smelling smoke. It will permeate her clothes and toxins will be present on every surface of the house.

bringinghomethebacon · 11/03/2011 21:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

rainbowinthesky · 11/03/2011 21:14

Deal breaker for me too.

eastmidlandsnightnanny · 11/03/2011 21:12

personally I only looked at childminders who had non-smoking households and only visited non-smoking households as we are very careful not to have our baby around smoke.

One lady was keen to tell me she didnt have a dog anymore and I said I didnt even know she had had one as it wasnt something that bothered me if they have pets just the smoking thing

so I think it just depends on what you are happy with.

mranchovy · 11/03/2011 20:22

Dealbreaker for me too. Even people I know who smoke don't do it inside their own homes - none of their non-smoking friends would ever visit if they did.

mranchovy · 11/03/2011 20:22

Dealbreaker for me too. Even people I know who smoke don't do it inside their own homes - none of their non-smoking friends would ever visit if they did.

rightnow · 11/03/2011 19:44

dealbraker

LisaD1 · 11/03/2011 19:04

Dealbreaker for me too. I have never smoked and hate it with a passion (both parents smoked heavily when we were children and our clothes/house always stank of the stuff).

DH smokes but only a couple a day (don't know why he bothers!) but has never smoked in the house, no matter what the weather is like he stands outside.

I could not be this protective of it in my home and then be ok with sending them somewhere that smelt of smoke.

StarExpat · 11/03/2011 18:07

Yes dealbreaker. In addition to the numerous other reasons, it's just unpleasant. And, like you said, I wouldn't subject my DS to being around that all day... Having to nap in it... Nasty.

KnitterNotTwitter · 11/03/2011 16:43

yes - total deal-breaker for me too

Cosmosis · 11/03/2011 16:39

yes, it was a dealbreaker for me.

nervatious · 11/03/2011 16:05

Yes, health risks. If you can smell it there are lots of other poisons hanging around that you can't smell. Yukyukyuk

Original poster
CatIsSleepy · 11/03/2011 15:05

are there actual health risks associated with smoke residue in the home?

OP posts:
Beckyboo4 · 11/03/2011 14:17

Sorry a complete dealbreaker for me.