Hi.
Just looking for outside opinions on our situation. We have a childminder for my 3 children, she has 2 children of her own. She started with us in September as I went back to work as a primary school teacher. The first week that she was due to work, she telephoned me to say that her two children had chicken pox and so she couldn’t work. My mother travelled 250km to mind my kids that week. Then one weekend my child had a rash. We had him seen by two doctors who concluded that it was contact dermatitis and therefore non contagious. Sent him to Childminders on the Monday. Brought him to doctor again on Monday evening along with our baby as baby had started to develop a rash. It turned out that it was hand foot and mouth disease. All three of my children caught it then. Minder’s child also caught it. I stayed off work on the Tuesday and then I asked her if she would take my kids as they all had the same virus. She refused as she had to look after her child. The following week the minder contracted it and took the week off. Now today she couldn’t work due to her child being ill. On the whole, she has minded my kids for 4 weeks and 4 days out of an 8 week half term.
One evening recently when I was parking the car, the minder was outside her house on the path with all of the kids. When I pulled up, she turned her back/seemed to step into the house. My 5 year old ran to my car, aiming for the driver’s door. Luckily I was stopped (but in the road of a cul de sac). There was a car coming up behind me but very luckily it was going slowly and it stopped.
The 5 year old has mentioned that the minder has told him to stop talking for 5 minutes - “she doesn’t like me talking”. He has also mentioned that her 3 year old pulls on my baby’s legs all the time and upsets him.
Another thing is that one day a week one off her children is in a club. So my 3 have to go and eat lunch in the nearby community centre (not a restaurant, just a place with hang-out chairs/tables).
Sorry this is so long. Anyway, we are at our wits end and really don’t think this arrangement can continue. Would I be right to get another minder? What would you do? Thank you for reading!!