Is this a normal thing for CM to do?

doctors and dentists are a no brainer, do you expect the cm to not take her own children to those? or should she book time off, like you would, to take her own children thus leaving you with no after school care?

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I agree, its is very hard to get an appointment with a doctor so sometimes you have to take mindees with you. You can't always get time off from parents if they can't get back from work in time so what do you do?

I do think the cm should have left the child in his/her class though and come back to pick up, I know its hard, the kid wants Mum to watch but the mindee is bored, I know I've also have had the same when my son was first playing football, I used to take one of the mindees into the park next to the sport centre if the weather was ok and only watch now and again.

I wish I was getting £6.50 ph, we are lucky to get £3!

I wouldn't be happy with the weekly class. Dr appointment ok, though.
Of course cm's dc should be able to attend activities, but not while I'm paying her to have my ds. I'd be happy to work out an arrangement where she took ds to the playground nearby or even used an assistant or cover cm to look after my ds (as long as I'd met her myself and approved of the situation), but not for ds to sit and wait through the class, regardless of if he had toys there or not.
Fortunately, I do not have this problem. My cm is perfect in every way She really is, I completely lucked out!!

Can I ask, how do you know it was 1.5 hours at the doctors? Did the childminder confirm this? It just seems a very long time for any doctors appointment to me and I am wondering if it was shorter than that but seemed like an hour and a half to your child? Sorry if I am wrong, its just a thought. The Doctors thing wouldn't bother me as the CM has to think of her children too and I assume that she has other children on role too? So going on the days she doesn't have your DD might mean she just has different mindees to take?

As a childminder for many years I would personally not expect children to sit through my own children's activities. I have taken minded children to short dental appointments in the past because its impossible to get appointments at late evening or at week ends. It should have been explained to you what the children would be doing, and what do your children actually think of having to wait? It might seem like being paid to do nothing to those of you who are not childminders but in actual fact we have to go through an awful lot to get our registration to prove that we are capable of being very responsible people trusted to look after children, we attend a constant stream of training courses covering many subjects and we have to be able turn outings into eductional exercises that encorporate the 6 areas of learning and be able to write up observations on each child. Does the CM in question make these outing as interesting as possible?
I have found that I suddenly become a bad childminder when someone owes me some money!

I'm a CM and yes my own kids don't do any classes anymore as I have to give priority to my business.
But, I keep one day free for my own familly as some parents expect you to be available for 50hrs a week when you have your own children.
It gets easier if the CM has older children as the activities are held later.
Pity the OP's CM does not have a friend who could take her own child to the activities.
Must be hell for the kids, watching for one hour

I wouldnt mind the doctors appointment, presumerably she didnt want to sit there for 1.5 hrss either but hoped for a 10 min job

I wouldnt make my own kids sit on a bench for an hour while the other had a class, i would take them to leisure centre cafe/for a walk/to the closest park or whatever.

Are you sure the judo isnt every week now but that she only had to stay for first session and from next week will be able to just drop him off?

Did she ask if it was okay to watch the judo or tell you it was happening?

I wouldn't mind. My cms ds regularly has to attend hospital appointments and she takes dd2 (and dd1 if its during the school holidays) with her. She always asks if Im ok with it and they are not the type of appointments you can choose a time or a day to fit in with when you are working.

I also wouldn't mind the judo club, but I would think that she should take along something to entertain the other children.

I decided to use a cm so that my dds have a more home like environment than a nursery or after school club, and dd1 thinks of it as her second home.

Docotrs appt - if an emergency/unplanned but necessary it wouldn't bother me.
A general appt though would as it could have been planned for a time when there were no mindees to consider. An hour and a half in a doctors surgery is not a good idea if it can be avoided.

The club is a little bit as well. I would want to know what the mindees are doing during the hour that the club is on. Are they being entertained/are there activities or a safe place to run around in and let off steam?

Ok for the doctor's appointment (these things can happen), but for her mindees to have o sit through a judo-lesson every week is not acceptable.
Speak to her, maybe you can find some form of arrangement? Maybe she shouldn't charge you for the time her ds is at judo?

Both would be fine by me but not waiting at the docs for 1 1/2 hrs! Also, if she's taking them to watch clubs then she needs to make it fun for all children, maybe they can join in (depending on what age they are) or take something to do. Or can she take the others to the park while ds is at his club?

Children are children and they should be treated equally regardless of who they are. While a CMs children shouldn't come first, neither should mindees.

You do seem to be paying alot for after school care though.

I would really object to the judo class bit. I work to 6 p.m. so my kids miss out on any clubs that start earlier than 6.30. It's just the way it is. You are PAYING her to look after your child - not to sit and watch her own.

also have ot ask, how do you know she waited 1.5 hours at the doctors? if so the person I feel most sorry for is the cm, must have been awful for her coping with bored kids...

anyway always best to have a chat with her first and agree ground rules, though as Rosie girl says it is all part of life and children dont have to be stimulated 24/7 do they? whats wrong with a little bit of bordom... makes the stimulating times more stimulating doesnt it? good luck..

doctors and dentists are a no brainer, do you expect the cm to not take her own children to those? or should she book time off, like you would, to take her own children thus leaving you with no after school care?

My 10 year old is old enough to be dropped at classes by herself now.. does the mum have to stay to watch?

I do agree its not fair for your child to be sat at a judo lesson for an hour if you hadnt been asked, and if it bothered you in the first place, thats not fair to you, but I think unless you paid for an after school club or a cm who has no chldren then its par for the course

On of my DD's goes to ballet which is in a village hall next to a playground, so I play with any mindees in the playground, in winter I take books, paper, pens etc to keep them entertained. All parents have given me permission. As long as it is handled OK, it doesn't hurt children to go to activities as this is part of everyday life.

I work from 7am - 6.30pm so sometimes mindees have to come with me to doctors and dentists. I always make parents aware and obvioulsy use it as a learning experience.

Blimey Noplacelikehome! Where do you live?
£4 an hour round here is a about the norm!

my the 1st part of my post applys more to younger children rather than after school children. i do tend to do my appointments during the day when i have less children rather than after school when its very busy.

although a lots of parents chose a childminders so they do every day things and will still being cared for and taking part in a range of activities.

i have taken children to appointments. these are things they would have to do at home so should get used to the doctors setting the talk leading up to it and meeting the doctor. it will help them learn and reassure them for when they have to go to an appointment. i try very hard never to inconvience parents by saying you need to pick up early or i can not work this day due to appointments, class ect as i know my parents would find it hard to take time off work or arrange something else so i am more than happy for the children to come with me.
i started childminding just as i feel pregnant i had a 10month old and a 1 and a half year old they both came with me to my appointments and one even came to my 2nd scan. if it was the parent that was pregnant then most of the time the child would have to attend these things with them its a great learning experience and helps them be involved.

the same with groups if you have brothers and sister then at some point the boy is going to be sitting waiting on his sisters dance class then the girl will be sitting while her brother at swimming or football. thats all part of life and things children need to learn thats its give and take.

my daughter attends takwando on a wednesday 3.45 till 4.30 i only have one other child at this time and have no interest in taking on another especially not an after school as they would be harder to take along as they are to old to join in. orginally the 3 year old i mind was going to join but his mum visited it and wasnt impressed instead we comprimsed that he would go every second week and watch my daughter and the week in between me friend would take my daughter as her son also attends.
personnaly my daughter loses out on a lot due to my job so if there is ever things/groups she wants to attend then my job will not be the cause of her not attending i would arrange something even if that group became part of the service i offered i paid for it.

I am a CM and used to take children along when my daughter did kick boxing. This was agreed in advance with all parents. One mindee was also enrolled in the class with her. The others sat outside at tables with me, with drinks and snacks and activities to do.

I had to take a mindee to my son's swimming lesson when they changed the day for a term, but I asked mum and I took a football, books and a ds to keep him occupied, I certainly didn't sit watching the lesson ignoring him.

But I wouldn't choose to do it, and I would tell parents that i am not usually available on the swimming night unless they were happy for me to take the mindee.

With regard to the doctors as others have said its not a regular thing so unless she has a dh who could have finished work early then I wouldn't be too concerned.

Depends whether you have an option to send your child elsewhere.

IT depends on what she is doing with the children while the judo is on. If she brings activities which are stimulating and enjoyable for them to do then why would it be a problem?

I treat childminded children as my own. I wouldn't expect my own child to sit there bored and neither would I expect a childminded child to do it. If she isn't keeping them entertained and stimulated then she isn't doing her job and that counts for at a judo lesson and at home.

I'd focus more on what they were doing than where they were doing it.

I would be fine with the doctor's appointment.

With the Judo - it depends. My CM ends up driving her dd to dance classes several times a week while looking after my dd and other mindees but they do not wait and watch the class but go home again usually. Once a week my CM does stay to watch the dance class but on this occasion she pays for the other girls to also participate in a dance class. Win-win all round in my opinion. I am happy with this arrangement but then I have a great CM who is really flexible etc so it works both ways IMO.

I am not a CM.

As a one off thing the doctors visit wouldn't bother me. it is not ideal, but I dount they expected to be 1.5 hours; it was probably just bad luck.

The judo class would bother me. If I was paying someone to look after my child after school i would expect them to be doing child centred activities with her - playing, going to the park, etc I ould not be happy with having my child sat on a bench, especially having already spent a day at school having to follow rules and being more sedate. I would also not want to feel like my DD had to join this specific club just in order to avoid sitting on a bench for an hour.

TBH I would look elsewhere.