If a mindee ruined your cot and it was unusable, what would you do?

If it needs repainting then its an insurance job surely? I just think if you have a job involving young children you cannot get funny about poo or wee. It happens. It's part of the territory.

noonar - what if a child projectile vomited over sofa and wall?

Oh I've done it. Found dried caked bedroom walls 12 hours after the event once. Nice.... (not!) We had a phase a few years back- but usually it was the bathroom that got it so not so bad. Agree it's vile, but also tend to think it goes with looking after kids. Perhaps CM's should be like taxi drivers and charge a clean up fee

sure, gess, if it's wipe clean wall paper. what if they needed re painting? IME 'wipe clean paint' doesnt wipe clean v well.

Actually walls are far easier to clean than mesh.

Really? With young children? It's only a bit of poo- if you don't want to work with poo (or vom) then really childminding isn't the job surely? A 2 year old can't help what they do with their poo.

ok, can i just ask a quick question? what if he'd fallen asleep on the sofa and he'd smeared poo all over that? or all over the walls? i think that this sort of clean up job is a bit beyong the call of duty, tbh.

am with f and z on this one.

ok, can i just ask a quick question? what if he'd fallen asleep on the sofa and he'd smeared poo all over that? or all over the walls? i think that this sort of clean up job is a bit beyong the call of duty, tbh.

am with f and z on this one.

I'm always tempted by the 'there's no need to stare I know I'm cool' t-shirt on that website. Would be better than me muttering madly to myself under my breath as I do now

ds is 23 months and on many occasions i have found him peeing and crapping in both his cot and travel cot....i just had to clean it as i wasnt going to pay for another one that he was more than likely going to do the same to.Even if she does get bought a new travel cot whos to say that the same thing isnt going to happen in the future with another child she looks after???? will she expect another cot of that person as well.

more like sleepsuits, although I think a straighjacket might have suited ds1 more! I think they'll do the sleepsuits back to front if needs be. I linked to them on my website here. Your child doesn't have to have SN to use them! They're very friendly and would certainly help with an ongoing smearing problem.

gess - are they a bit like straightjackets?

For anyone with this problem, Fledglings sell houdini suits. unfortunately when ds1 was going through his strip off and wee in the bed every night phase he point blank refused to wear one (as he knew he wouldn't be able to get it off). They work for some though and also have lots of advice about preventing poo smearing.

I meant F&Z, not F1Z

F1Z - yes we did speak to the creche about it, and got a referral to a nurse specialising in behavioural issues. I have to say, it's one of the biggest challenges I faced yet as a parent. Fortunately my mil was sympathetic as one of her children did the same thing.

Hopefully the childminder will buy an easily washable cot - it can't be that unusual for a child to mess it up - with vomit for example.

I suspect it's an English Thing.

When we, as a nationality, damage someone's property, we are apologetic - and if it is another English person's property, then etiquette dictates that they insist it is no bother at all, that you should not mention it. Then YOU should insist on making a contribution, and so on, until an agreement is reached.

What I think we are NOT used to dealing with is "X has been damaged. I expect you to pay for it." It jolts our etiquette sensors, and we react with outrage.

No belgo, I did say earlier that I knew there was no stopping some children [half grin half sympathy]

You would have warned the CM, though, if it had happened before?

F&Z - ime, there are no clothes that stop a determined child's inquisitive hands doing this. Except duct tape, and believe me, we contemplated using that

sorry should have said "whose responsibility" rather than "whose fault"

I don't think there is a fault here, unless QE knew that her ds was likely to do this and didn't warn the childminder / put him in clothes that stopped him from doing it

No, I think the vitriol on here must come from something other than this simple difference of opinions as to whose fault it is.

The terms the childminder has been described in have been pretty unpleasant and it's been suggested she is lying, negligent, moneygrabbing, etc etc. All this from asking the employer to pay for an item that was damaged by the employer's child. She may or may not be in the right to ask this, but even if you think it's her responsibility to clean / replace it, it's quite a stretch from there to say she is a negligent, greedy liar.

I've known a few poo smearers, and I don't even know that many kids. At 2.5 I can't imagine any but the most eloguent and restrained child remember ing that they are not allowed to do something they really want to do - isn't that the whole point of the terrible twos? They do as they please and hang the consequences?

A professional would know this too, I would expect. Some 2 year olds are just like that.

oh a cream carpet and children just don't mix!

YES, it's technically the CM's responsibility but the CM doesn't think so... is it really worth potentially souring the relationship by putting your foot down? i don't think so.