Childminders club.......Have just found out why theres no work around here

Talking of ppl sticking kids in front of tv, one mum actually rang me up and said, '...oh he's very laid back and gentle, he's quite happy if he is sat in front of a dvd all afternoon!...'
Needless to say I said I wasn't the cm for her!
Even when you find someone for your vacancy, doesn't mean they are suitable!

Yes I think the only way to deal with that is to drive up standards and give them competition. Ive done alot of observing of cmders over the last few months they seem to fall into two camps. Those that I think would actually care for my child better than me (only joking kind off!) and those that I wouldnt leave my cat with! Hopefully I will mirror the first group!

Unfortunately, Isyhan, I know some of those type of women who think the TV is a great substitute as a childminder, and do think of it as easy money because they certainly don't have to work for it!! It's bad news if this is the sort of person a parent meets first, because they will give up at the first hurdle and opt for nursery.

I agree with that. Thats why when my first child needed childcare I went to a nursery as I thought all cmders were women who were intellectually challenged and couldnt get a proper job and would sit my child in front of the TV all day! Of course Ive changed my opinion now I hasten to add but I wasnt alone in that thought at the time. This is what cmders are up against but I dont think other people help sell a good view of cmders for example health visitors etc

Isyhan your little add on to my story is great....but then if a chip owner felt that he had "superior" chips than say at least 2 of those shops then he just may well have a go :o

I think there are quite a few parents out there who don't realise -
How professional we are,
How well trained we are,
How many courses/workshops we attend,
That we follow birth to 3 matters etc like nurseries etc,
That we are not just looking after friends children for a bit of pin money.

Lots of friends/mums at school and pre-schoool etc/teachers/nursery staff I have spoken to do not realise how serious about out job we are and how well trained we are .
With this attitude from parents is it no wonder childminders are not used more.

nzshar- I hate to be pedantic but...a prospective chip shop owner would see if there was enough demand for his chips locally just as a new childminder should. Yes advertising helps but if there arent customers out there i.e. more childminders than people requiring them then advertising wont do jot. However, I just cannot believe that there arent masses of people everywhere requiring childcare. I think some people just dont get the business because they may not be selling themselves in the best light.

Just to let you know, the only interest I have generated from a website ad has been netmums... and most cm's advertise ever couple of days on there too, also there are parents that ad there also.
Good luck Nshar! Hope all this advertising works for you, you certainly have more get up and go than I do!
CIS don't even have me on there yet and hardly well marketed, I know if I was looking for a CM would much prefer a recommendation than just a name on a website, there are so many! Also there ads all look the sam, even if you do try and jazz up your ad...
Oh well best get back to my DD, left alone and has gone all quite!

Been thinking about this and I reckon it depends on how well the local CIS market their service! Sounds like some areas get lots of work this way whilst others got none.

Well done pol25! :)

big congrats pol25 :o hope it all goes well for ya.

Hoping that i will get some interest from my advertising by the end of the month ...maybe ....perhaps :)

well ladies, not to want to appear smug but... think I might have my first child! Yeah, only really want one until the bubba is here and settled so feeling pretty chuffed.
Having to do a little travelling tho to take him to and from preschool but still only four days and he's out for two and a half hours of each day.
Nshaz- how's things going, not great? Good look with the advertising!
And I wish this could be my hobby too!

im the vacancy coordinator for before after school care for local primary school. as i mentioned once before we got together and did a leaflet explaning benefits of home based care. it seems to have worked, and there have been a few calls. i ALWAYS ring round my list, see who has what available and then give the client a selection of numbers to call. i would never take the work myself and not tell the others. is there anyone you can report this to, they really should'nt be doing the job if this is how they work. i have a website of my own and i have had quite alot of interest from it, but most work comes through cis.

TP - I honestly get most of my work through my website and have had great feedback. A couple of people said on the phone that they wanted me based on my website, the meeting was more a formality! I think it helped to have a photo of myself and my setting so people felt they knew me already, and all the policies and procedures are there for them to look at before they contact me. And I promise I'm not saying this because I build them in my spare time, I really think it works! The last website I built for a childminder was Imps and Angels (been too busy to do them more recently) which was finished at the end of January. She emailed me a month later to say she'd had 5 enquiries through the website which I didn't think was bad going considering some of the online advertising can take a while to appear on google searches etc. If I was looking for a childminder myself and lived in an area where there were a lot of minders to choose from, I know I'd start looking at any with a website first to see what info I can get and take it from there. Having said that, that's because I'm very much an internet type of person, others don't even have a computer and just ask for lists from CIS (if they know they exist of course )

However, as you say, many people who go to groups themselves would try and get recommendations, I presume - one of my latest mindees is through a childminder recommending me so I can see this working too. Just took a while to get myself known when I first started.

HTH :)

Nah, today was just a part-time day really ...

A hobby!!! I wish (she says after working from 7.30am till 7.00pm)

I'm interested in all the websites that minders are now doing - does everyone get work through theirs?

Not much feedback yet TP been only aggresively advertising for the past 2 weeks not expecting miracles though a nibble would be nice.

Having a 21month old has "put" me out there already to a certain extent. Heres hoping my lo dosent show me up too much huh :o

The woman who hasnt had anyone since 2004 is more doing it as a hobby i think thats the only explanation i could think of.

nzshar - have you had feedback from all your advertising? I think it's good to be out and about, people need to put a "face to the advert" (if that makes sense) and to see the childminder "in action".

It is unbelievable that someone registered since 2004 has only just got her first mindee!! I think most people would have given up.

I have been watching this thread and trying to decide whether to post or not and have decided to go for it fuelled by Isyhan's and TP's posts.

I am a newly registered childminder. I know there are a lot of childminders in my area, i researched as Isyhan rightly says all new childminders should. But i have weighed up the pros and cons and felt that what i have to offer (NNEB and 16 years experience working with children) would give me an edge.

Having said that I am very active in my advertising. I have a website, have done leaflet drops (400 so far and another 600 this weekend) locally. I go to childminder/toddler groups regularly....actually Mon-Fri mornings i am one or the other. I have put up notices in supermarkets,local shops, schools,preschools and toddler groups. I have gone through the advertising list that helly(?) has put up on here and advertised on almost all of them.

We are all self employed people in a competitive market. No one tells a prospective chip shop owner that there are already 5 locally so no more thank you!(just as a silly example) :)

I personally have had very different messages from 2 minders within 1 block of me. One says she has loads of calls mainly from CIS but is now getting word of mouth clients as well. She has already passed on a call to me :) Another who has been registered since 2004 and has her first child a month ago!

All i know is if it dosent work for me it wont be because i havent done enough or hadnt put my name out there enough :o

I am a more-or-less-defunct vacancy co-ordinator (it's been decided that we're not needed any more), and I really would like to reassure other childminders that we are not all grabbing any new work that comes in (although I dare say that some do).

I can't speak for all the other towns/counties in the UK but, here, we have so few calls via the Childrens Information Service that I sometimes think that they might as well not bother having a website (if you google "childminder" and my county, the CIS site appears several pages later, and it is certainly not obvious that this is the place parents should be looking for the official list of registered childminders - parents do not know where to look in the first place).

All my work has been through ongoing sibling connections, word-of-mouth, or just making sure that everyone knows who I am!! I've been minding for many years, and it certainly didn't happen overnight. I would hate to think that other minders think I'm full because of my vacancy co-ordinator role.

We have a new minder in our area and I know she is going to pick up work very soon - she has made it her business to come to lots of child-related groups (such as toddler group), she has done a flyer-drop in the area, and there is interest already. She is going to be competing with other well-established childminders who do not have work - but they don't go out and about, they stay at home and moan about having no work!! (Please don't think that I am suggesting that any MN minders do this!!) I think you have to get your face known, just being an advert or a name on the CIS website may not be enough.

I too sympathise Hennipenni - I was in the same position myself until Jan of this year - now business is picking up, otherwise I would have given up!

I really hope things improve for you.

I know someone who is a minder on my sisters road in mountsorrel, leicestershire and she finds it near on imposs to fill her spaces and charges only £1.95 p/hr!
She is an ex nurse too and is so lovely!
I feel v.sorry for minders in this situation (feel alittle guilty for being and new minder)but in Romford Essex) It's hard being self employed and not knowing where money is coming from.
Good luck Hennipenni!

Well I dont feel sorry for the new childminders I just think they are daft. When I was considering cming the first thing I did was to ring round other cmers to find out if there was enough business. You dont start up in business if there are no customers do you you do your research!

Oh god, that's really bad!! :( Have you spoken to CIS about it? That's just not fair is it!