Childminder

[Solak]

Just wanted to gauge what's a normal contact from a childminder to yourself during the day with updates if your child goes to a childminder.

Thanks

I never had any contact with mine when my children went to a childminder unless there was a problem or I needed to rearrange something.

I'm a childminder now and usually post a couple of photos on an app during the day. Some parents whatsapp me at lunch time to ask how their child is, most I have no contact with unless they are running late or the child is ill.

I used 3 different childminders when mine were little. I don't recall ever having contact during the day unless the child was ill.

All of them used to write in a journal about what they'd eaten, what they'd drunk and when they'd been changed and when they'd slept. 2 of them used to then write more about what they'd done that day, what had been fun or interesting etc sometime with a photo or two. The third just did a more verbal handover, only writing down the basic info.

They are busy looking after children during the day so I wouldn't expect updates throughout the day. If they do it for your child, they're then doing it for every child and before you know it 20/30 minutes has been taken up just with keeping parents updated.

Thanks that’s helpful to know. Our childminder used to send me regular updates with photos etc but has completely stopped now and will only let me know how he is only after I send her a message to ask so I was wondering what’s a normal amount of contact during the day.

The cm is busy with the children, surely? Not sure why one would want updates unless anxious parent or new placement/settling in.

Usually nothing. DH and I have a WhatsApp group with our CM and she will occasionally send us a photo or we'll remember something to tell her such as 'it will be nana B collecting DC tonight'
Otherwise everything goes on the book or we have a chest at pick up

Yes thanks that’s what I thought too. I think something is gone wrong somewhere as the updates went from several quick ones to nil. My son is happy there and doing really well so I won’t be saying anything.

Did she send lots of updates while he was first with her/settling in? It's normal to have lots of contact at first to reassure you - now he's settled trust your childminder will contact you if there's a problem and you can chat to her about his day when you pick him up?

Maybe different phone tarriff (sp) making sending photos expensive? New mindees taken on recently?

Why not just ask?

Yes it’s new placement for my son and we go a long way from home to her house and he’s normally anxious to go in. I drop him by the door and go and he’s usually crying when I leave. She used to send a quick message to say he’s okay now and eaten a snack, had a good day playing with his friends with a pic of him, eaten lunch as he has some issues surrounding eating, etc but now nothing.

It’s on watsapp not text messages.

I would trust he's fine and she'll let you know now if he's not.

Maybe he is settling in fine now and she assumes you don't need the reassurance anymore?
As in, the photos were only a temporary thing?

These are all helpful and I appreciate the different views.