Am I being overly anxious about hazards at CM’s house?

@YorkMum85 working together is the name of the game. I hope the negative comments haven’t put you off asking for future advice if you need it xx

You will find that all childminders and nursery workers will be of the opinion that they are in charge of their own setting. HTH.

please bear in mind she was a 1yr old a few short weeks ago

She was 1 year old a year ago.

I’m going to go against the grain and say that I’m my home I’m in charge, that way there is no awkwardness when the parents are around and the kids know they can’t play up. When the parents are here to sign paperwork etc. I let the kids go off and play independently and the parents don’t stay too long during settling in sessions as I don’t think the children settle properly when their parents are here.

I also after that the pine cones etc in the garden are not a big deal, but neither is the stair gate. I have a 2yo that I mind and I never close the gate, he is very independent but also knows that he is not allowed on the stairs and it’s not an issue, this is a recent development because, of course I had to wait until he was old enough to understand and I had to ensure I could trust him. This is very much dependent on the children I care for. I had a little girl who, at nearly 3, would make every attempt to climb the stairs. Whenever she was in my setting, I had to close the stair gate and barricade the banisters, at one point she climbed up the stairs in the outside of the railings/banisters, that was a hair-raising moment!

You have to trust that your childminder has done a thorough risk assessment and won’t ever do anything that will harm your child. This includes not leaving her unattended in the garden.

An open and honest relationship is the best way for parents and childminders, you should always feel you can discuss your concerns and feel at ease with the responses.

Good Luck, I think your daughter will thrive in an easygoing environment

As soon as my dcs could move I made sure I taught them how to come up and down stairs safely. It’s really important IMO.

The conkers issue - I actually understand but only because I’m quite anxious myself and I remember worrying about it when the dcs were younger but I knew I was being ridiculous.

You need to find out the triggers for your anxiety and work out ways to manage them.

I like to see how parents deal with their children actually. It helps me to know if we are compatible.

OP in agree with Drogothat most childminders will let the parent deal with the child if they are there.

Yes, I had the one in all in rule. Ring doorbell so I could see who was there and all went to the loo first, inc me.
Have you seen her risk assessments

Conkers? Bonkers?

I'll get the two 1 year olds on that tomorrow, they will love it!

Yabu
At 2 I'd not be expecting your child to eat from the garden floor, I'd expect them to understand we eat food at the table. I'd also expect them to know where they can and can't go, irrespective of a gate.
Chm don't need a gate, they just need to show how they will keep ch safe.

@drogo
Here you go; you can teach your young charges; nice safe activity 😉
www2.fiskars.com/Ideas-and-How-Tos/Gardening-and-Yard-Care/Wood-Preparing/The-Art-of-Kindling

@Bookworm4 I don't even know if there is such a think as kindling skills, but it sounds like a good thing to have 😂

At that age would it not be a bigger risk having a stairgate as they are now tall enough to climb them and possibly fall over the top?

It's clear that you are very anxious and a good, caring parent that many of us would have loved to have had. But think about this rationally. If I saw my neighbour at 7am every morning in the garden picking up random bits of nature and asked 'What are you doing?' and she said back 'Just lifting potential choking hazards of the ground like conkers and pinecones' I would think she was bonkers. Would you honestly not?

I'm a childminder and ofsted don't insist on stairgates anymore, they are more interested in whether a cm teaches the children how to manage the stairs effectively (best practice) and how a cm would generally manage risks like that. The children are never allowed in my passage (where the stairs are) on their own but children are usually pretty competent when they're 2.5/3. Also children of that age are never left in the garden alone. if I need the loo or another child needs a nappy change, we ALL come inside. Conkers are Minimal choking risk tho surely? They are too big!! But you can't remove all risks like that, there'll be pebbles and soil and sticks etc. You just have to supervise.

@drogo
I was quite interested in your kindling skills😉

*minding skills, not kindling

Whilst it's understandable that you are concerned the fact is that at 2yrs old your child will be more independent and able to start risk assessing for herself. Regarding pine cones and conkers it would be impossible for your childminder to ensure nothing was there as it's nature after all and these items that fall will be great learning resources. Stair gates should not be used after a child reaches 24 months of age as they pose risks beyond this age therefore they are not recommended. I have been Childminding for years and do not have a stair gate and this has never been an issue where Ofsted are concerned.

I don’t think YABU about the stair gate, but YDABU about the conkers and pine cones.

YorkMum85

I am a childminder and I don't attempt to show my kindling skill while parents are in my setting, I don't need to. Your child, you parent them. Once your dd goes to nursery, the nursery workers won't parent your child for you when you arrive.

I run a nursery and we’ve got loads of conkers inside and out
And pine cones
Which the children have free access to

@yorkmum
I didn’t think saying Dear God was offensive, get over yourself 🤣