Would you use a newly pregnant childminder?

I haven't been CM for well over a decade, so I can't say for sure, but things I've read here have suggested to me that yes, CM can go food shopping with mindees but they have to write it out in advance like a lesson plan - "We'll go to [supermarket/greengrocer/butcher/whatever] and find [list of things to buy] so that children learn about [picking good quality produce/weighing goods/handling money]." In my day the children learned the same stuff, but we didn't have to articulate it in the same manner.

But I'm sure there are folk with more up to date knowledge than I!

OLKN - are CMs not allowed to shop with mindees? I see loads in my local supermarket with their mindees tagging along.

Our CM is pregnant and planning on just taking 2 weeks off, which will form part of her annual holiday. Not entirely sure how it will work at the time, but she does work with another childminder, so I guess that gives some flexibility for cover.

Also not sure what happens if she's early or late, as she has told parents which 2 weeks already, and we are going away then.

Shit, there is a law! Well, you learn something new every day - thanks, RachieB.

ah 19 years ago,no wonder then lol

"The law does not allow you to work for two weeks after childbirth and this period is known as Compulsory Maternity Leave. You will not be allowed to return to work during this time"

www.askbaby.com/returning-to-work.htm

LOL @ RachieB, I don't think there's any law that says you can't return to work whenever you like, just that your employers can't make you. There was, famously, that woman just recently who returned after a fortnight or something - but in any case, when I went back to work two days postpartum, it was 19 years ago. Everything was different then.

To be honest, as my youngest mindee (3 yrs 8 months) was the same age as DS1, (the others were after-schoolies) I found they entertained each other so as well as the "break" while they were at nursery I had less running around to do with two than I would have done with only DS1. Mind you, we didn't have all this target-setting and stuff back then. It was even Ok to do your shopping with mindees without having to dress it up as "They'll learn about fruits/veg/healthy diet/how to weigh things/how to pay for it" etc.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, btw, just that I can see why people are dropping out of CMing. I certainly wouldn't do it these days.

"........ As it turned out, he was so late that he was born on a Sunday, I got home Monday and returned to work as CM on Tuesday......."

wow is that even legal ?! or does that not apply if SE?

i had an easy birth with my youngest son and was home 6 hours later,and moving house ( 1.5 hours away) 5 days after that! lol

but wouldn't have fancied being "back at work" that soon !!!

i wouldn't because of continuity of care. It can be a lot of upheavel moving childminders and can be upsetting for children. My ds for example would find it upsetting, my dd less so. You know your children best. If a current childminder got pregnant,that would be different as we would have a relationship with each other already and the kids would know her well and so I would wait till she went on maternity and play it by ear then but I wouldn't choose that from the start.

"Obviously it will depend upon the circumstances and ability of the CM I choose"
You have hit the nail on the head there fourarms.
There are good and bad in every profession.
Yes, I am a professional, as are a huge percentage of childminders out there. I wont bore you tooooooo much with the ins and outs, but it would be nice to give you a little perspective on what we do.
I am governed by Ofsted and have inspections every 3 years. I educate and care for the children in my care according to the EYFS (which is the same set if standards that nurseries conform to)
I attend first aid training, and keep up to date on lots of training courses. Safeguarding children, Social and Emotional development, Makaton, Learning through Play, and speech and Language development to name a few that I have been on in the last year. I run all my of own accounts. Does it sound professional now?
We are so often under-estimated, as babysitters making a bit of pocket money, which really saddens me. This is my career, something that I have chosen to do, and find it incredibly fulfilling and rewarding.

Having said all this, she could be a rogue one with no paperwork or professionalism. It's nice that you will keep and open mind, best of luck, I hope that you find someone that feels right for you

I am a childminder, and I have a 16 month old dd. I looked after a 1 and 2 year old when pregnant, and had no problem doing my job, even though I had SPD. I am fortunate to have a MIL who is also a CM, and covered my appointments.
I worked until Dec 23rd and had by daughter on January 3rd. I had 4 weeks off, by which time I felt fully comfortable returning to work.
I hear your comments:

"I wouldn't want to do that pg with three children"
"potentially unreliable form of childcare"

You might not want to do that (fair enough too ) but that is her job. It is what she is trained to do. She is a professional, and should be able to factor her day around taking trips out. It's not really that difficult tbh.
The second point is also understandable. However, someone with a one year old could be just as unreliable. Or someone with no children! I am entirely reliable, have never let any of my parents down, and I do a great job (even if I do say so myself!)

I hope you read this with the good will that is intended to you. Give her a chance, meet her, ask about her prior sickness record, and phone the parents of her current mindees.
You could miss the chance of getting a wonderful childminder because you can't see past how you would cope in her shoes

Why would you need to "rethink the whole childminder issue"?

Just because this one doesn't quite meet your specs doesn't mean that there isn't a fab CM just waiting to be found

We've dealt with disruptions dues to CM pregnancy but I would still prefer this type of childcare to a nursery. Yes in some ways the possibility of disruption is greater with a CM because there is (usually) only one of them but IMO this is more than made up for by the added flexibility that they provide (especially when you have a mixture of school and presechool ages).

When I was CM, I "planned" DS2 to be born during the summer holidays, when my then-current charges were not in my care, so that I'd have a few weeks to recover. As it turned out, he was so late that he was born on a Sunday, I got home Monday and returned to work as CM on Tuesday. I recognise that I was lucky that I was healthy enough to do this, and that my youngest charge was the same age as DS1 (and they'd both just started pt nursery that day, so I got a couple of hours break every day) but it was perfectly do-able.

Only thing I would worry about is maternity appointments, being pg isnt the issue, after all a lot of women work up to due date, what I would be concerned about is hosp / doc's anti natal etc and personally my pregnancy was a nightmare spent most of it in hospital, not saying this is the case with all pg but it's a consideration.

I agree with bakergirl - it's about continuity of care for your child.

"I imagine that being heavily pg with a 12m old, 3yr old and 5yr old might be a bit much during the summer hols."

TBH, what happens when parents get pg? They have to look after their own kids and do so without neglecting them. I found this remakrk a bit patronising. I was expecting my 1st child when I was a nanny, and carried on after my dd was born. Brought her with me with consent of parents. It can work, but not with negative attitudes from the off.

Agree with posted who said, that kind of comment wouldn't be allowed in the general workplace.

I do hope you get something sorted.

I don't think it is about double standards. It is about wanting continuity of care for your child.

I wouldn't. I've gone for very long-established cms every time as it's quite common to be a cm for a few years and then change job. And I couldn't do with fretting about the maternity cover.

I didnt mean that you are sexist. Honestly. I am sorry if it came out like this. But this is something i have noticed many times here and made me wonder

The only reason I wouldn't is you need to think about childcare for when she is on maternity leave and would your DC's be unsettled to move from her to someone else and then possibly back again.