CM CLUB - Why don't people respect Childminder's?

I'm doing the DHC course and it has highlighted some of the reasons why childminders are seen as second rate people.
The History of childcare is littered with horror stories. As late as the 1970's, most childminders were not registered and therefore not following legislation. it is only in very recent years that the government has decided to do something about the change in lifestyles (ie working mothers being the norm) by introducing a big bag of money for the development of childcare choices at "affordable" rates. This country is lagging behind. In Germany in 1990, parents could take 3 years paid leave (either mother or father) and have a guarenteed job at teh end of it. However other countries are still promoting that mothers should stay at home to raise children.
The horror stories in the past have included the hospital which took in unwanted babies and instead of feeding them milk, it feed them flour and water (well it was white and you could make it the same consistency). I cant locate where I saw this but something like 99.5% died. Even in the "good" hospitals something like 40% died.
Then during the early regulation of child carers, there was the lady who contested her numbers and won - she was contesting the restriction of only being allowed 15 children under the age of 1!
Then you can add to these histories the fact that most child abuse is by people who know the child and this has included childcarers.

Most of the work done to professionalise childminding has been in extremely recent years. A lot of the legislation is under 11 years old. So bear in mind that the industry will lag behind the legislation, it is only now that we are telling ourselves that we are professionals. We have yet to prove to the world that we are.

If any one slags you off in future, point them to the Ofsted survey of childcare which has graded childminders as the top providers. We have the most "outstanding" gardings and the most "good" gradings and the least "unsatisfactory" gradings.
survey can be seen at live.ofsted.gov.uk/safeandsound/02_theheadlines/01-key-findings.htm

I have sadly givin notice to mindees on Friday just gone. I think Child care in general is a thankless task and no matter how brilliantly we think we are doing...or how much fun we DO have....someone will always pipe up and make you feel like crap over nothing.....

I'm doing a Level 5 Foundation Degree in Sept! I had a letter on Friday saying I have had the whole grant paid for and I canot wait to start, Monday is a non-child day (parents don't need me on this day) so its my 5 yr old who needs to be picked up from school at 3. I'm hoping that my eldest son will be able to pick his brother up but I will ask childminder friends to see if I can get one to look after him as there is no after-school club at his school (at the moment).

If there is anyone on here who lives in Tameside, Greater manchester and can pick up my 5 yr old up from St Stephens CE Primary, Audenshaw on a Monday in September/Oct time do let me know! I will pay the whole 5 days after school if I have to!

Thanks

Helen

I have to say I do think that sadly in my area cms are seen as cheap childcare, and the childminders with the lower rates get the most work, with parents going to whoever chrges the least.

Some parents do not want formal reports, lesson plans, a huge wad of policies to read through, etc. They want their children looked after in a similar manner to how they would look after them if they were at home. Toys, and paints and someone to wipe their tears if they cry.

Parents do not realise how many hours cms need for paperwork/policies/training/ofsted. I love cm'ing but Ofsted do suck the joy out of it!

I have to say NFK's comment is spot on. Caring professions are not respected at all sadly.

Well, I would have a cm over a nursery any day. When I worked my cm was an absolute saviour and although ds is a teenager now, she still asks after him every time I see her, and if I get the job I'm after, dd will go to a cm too. Think cm's are under-rated, most of the ones I know do a fantastic job and are worth every penny and then some.

mum2luke thats disgusting. i love the pics that dd gets from cm's - she's doem some paintings there that are still on display - she's done some new ones so will have to change them. th eold ones will go into an art folder - not the bin.

it makes you wonder how the child feels when they see their work in the bin

We have only got a small hall with no space to put a pinboard, the only place is the dining room. The only 2 things he has allowed is the OFSTED reg cert and NVQ Level 3 cert and they are behind the bloody door!

I would love a playroom to put the toys in but we'd have to build a conservatory and take some of the small garden away.
OFSTED has taken all the pleasure out of this job, I used to enjoy it but I do not enjoy doing planning and obs etc as I think they are wasted on some parents, they just do not care. If you send paintings home, they just ask the child 'what is it?' in a sarcastic way and probably put it in the bin, thats the sort of parents I deal with. They don't like paying when I am available to work but take their child on holiday, they moaned when I couldn't have him due to him injuring himself when at his Grandparents' and I bet they'll try to pay half-fees for that week, nursery charged full and I have the same standards.

My dh don't have the problem with the posters as I have confined them to one pinboard in the hall with reg cert, OFSTED poster and a couple of others. He does however get throughly P*ed off with all the toys everywhere when the mindees go home. Not a problem when they are age appropriate to ds but its the bouncy chairs and baby stuff that gets him annoyed

I think Professional Childcare Practitioner is a good name, 'childminder' is very out of date as we are alot more than babysitting. Ofsted expects us now to do observations and assessments for no more pay.

I have NVQ Level 3 Early Years and do hours of extra training in my own time when I do not feel like going out after having been up since 6.30am.

My husband has flatly refused to let me put posters etc as he says its his home, not a nursery. Does anyone else have this with their husbands/partners? I cannot afford to go out to work as we have 3 children (16,13 and 5 yrs) and we would struggle without my small wage, we do not get any help with childcare and have no relatives to help either.

We would be poorer in so many ways if it weren't for our fantastic Childminder.
We chose to use a CM because we wanted our dc to be in a loving caring environment when not with us.
After our first CM retired I thought I was going to have to give up work & then we found our current CM.
She is amazing, loving, caring, patient & I'm ashamed to admit underpaid.
Our youngest has sn & she welcomed him without question. I often get excited phone calls from her when he has done something for the first time.
I have so much respect for cm's, just wish I ahd the skills needed to do such a worthwhile job.

good for you

for katy mac

Scary

meeting the planners with final plans on Thursday

trying to get a business angel to put up an extra £30K

do you know I am starting to think it might actually happen

i agree that cm's don't get enough respect. people don't relaise the kind of work that goes into it unless they realy think about it.

I think the word childminder gives the impression that you are "just" "minding the children" - i.e. making sure they are OK but not really doing anything more than that

I know you don't do that and I have every respect for all of you cos I think you do a great job. I had a conversation with my MIL this weekend about SIL's childminder - MIL thinks the CM " must make loads of money - she looks after 4 children". I did try to point out that SIL is paying someone else to look after her most precious things but MIL didn;t see, to see it like that. I think she thinks CM should do it as a favour or something and just get expenses or soemthing!

If its any consolation, I hadn't really occurred to me to use a childminder until I started using MN, but now it would be my first choice of childcare.

Professional Childcare Practioner

This was rejected by NCMA as a possible alternative

Hi, just registared as a childminder, and have noticed the lack of respect out there.
I think the word childminder is out of date and should be changed to get rid of the attitude towards us.

I agree NKF, it's because it is viewed as an extension of women's traditional domestic role as is any caring profession.
Just carry on doing what you do because you want to be the best you can and you will OK!

I have nothing but admiration for my cm - I know that I couldn't do it!

Hardly anyone who looks after/works with children gets any respect. Not mothers, not childminders, not teachers. The only exceptions might be a paediatrician or a child psychotherapist. Everyone else nada.

Ok this is a CM thread so I hope I am not intruding.

I respect my CM more than just about anybody else in my life. Why , because she looks after rookietoddler wonderfully and genuinely cares for him, he loves her to bits and seems happy to go there. I would never mess her around, I hate being late and always stick to arrangements, probably because its the way I am, but also because I wouldn't want to give her any reason to give us notice.

She charges slightly over the odds for the area, and sticks to her guns - doesn't work every other Friday which is fairly inconvenient for me, but as she is so fab I am prepared to work round it.

i love my childminder and think it must be hard work.i worked in a preschool that was hard enough but on your own,in your own home-i think you should demand respect.id love to do it but dont know if i could!

Can't deny the unreliability of the money (esp atm)

Lots of good C/Mers do NVQ's then go into training