to think male childminders arent a bad idea

[threenoisyboys]

I work full time and DH ( works flexibly within the police) has always done majority of childcare. we were chatting and he thinks that he might like to start childminding at some point. he loves looking after children, would like to be self employed and is rather good at it!
mentioned this to a friend ( who has never men DH) who looked aghast! she thinks that it is a bit creepy that a man would want to look after children fulltime.... and said that no one would employ a male childminder.
who is right?
is it a bit odd for a man to want to be a childminder???
honest opinions appreciated ( which is why I've posted it here!)

"never met DH" ooops crap typing

As someone who may be a single parent in the future, I would use a male childminder simply to have a male involvement in my child's life :)

Plus the fact he had been vetted by the police would put me even more at ease.

I know a husband and wife who both childmind. Lovely people.

I would say "unusual" but only in the literal sense that it is not usual for men to be childminders or childminders to be men but its not unheard of. Its not odd or creepy. Lots of people would prefer a man.

DP has considered it - he'd be fab at it. Adores kids, really patient, very good at unselfconsciously playing. But I've never been convinced that all the people who say they think it's a great idea would put their money where their mouth is.

DDs childminder works with her husband. I would have absolutely no problem with a male childminder.

not at all - DP and I are lesbian parents to DD (19 months) and whilst she sees her dad regularly, I would be delighted if she could go to a male child-minder, so that she had a constant male role model in her life. I was also struck by the fact that all the nursery assistants where DD goes are women - so she has already started to be presented with a model where looking after children is thought of as women's work - which of course it shouldn't be. But the problem is that women are often as (if not more) inflexible in their views on this as men. I wish him luck - but really there are so many kids without models of good, caring, nurturing men in their lives that he could do an awful lot of good, too. Good luck to him, I say.

I have had male au pairs in the past.....no problems at all...my DS loved then as they were prepared to play football and build dens all day.

She is BU. I wish there were more men in roles which involve looking after children- nursery workers, teachers (especially early years) and childminders etc.

she is BU

I think it's a good idea, but you may find it hard actually getting many parents to go along with it. He might have better luck with older kids (after school care?) You might have single mothers who want their boys to have some male influence in their lives.

I am the only man at our coffee morning group and toddler group and the little kiddies seem to like a male around the place
I think they enjoy meetng and interacting with males and there is nothing wrong with that

thank you for your responses. I too am unconvinced that people who say they think it is a good idea would put their money where their mouth is.
I do wonder if people think that a man wanting to look after children must have a dodgy motive. especially if they have little girls. we live in a rural "conservative" area as well which i think makes a difference.

we have however been spurred on tonight to look at what he needs to do in order to get registered so we will see :)

My DP also wants to work in childcare. Going by how the two of us are, I'm living proof that being female doesn't equal "good with kids", and he's living proof that being male doesn't equal "bad with kids".

My childminder's husband retired last year and is therefore at the house most of the time and helps out. My ds adores him and has spent most of the summer in the garden helping him with his chores. I think it is brilliant that a man would want to do it.

I feel that there is too much of a gender imbalance in early years childcare. There is not one single male at my dd's nursery school which I think is a shame as both female and male children benefit from growing up feeling that both sexes should be involved in childcare

My brother is childminding - the mums he childminds for are the envy of all their friends - he is brilliant and could do a lot more work if he wasn't pursuing other things.

I also know one other male childminder (not doing it any more) again he was adored by all the kids and was brilliant with them..

ds1 was minded by a couple of cms and they were fab. I would consider a male cm.

Totally unreasonable. Dbil is a reg childminder. His recent Ofsted was outstanding and he has a substantial waiting list of parents wanting to use him. He loves his job and being in the sw of London earns v. good money!
When our dd went to nursery we purposely chose one with a man as assistant manager - dh had worked shifts and done a lot of the childcare since she was tiny and we didn't want her to go from that into an all female environment.
If your dh wants to be a childminder he should go for it.

I had a male childminder for my ds and dd. He was lovely with my dd she was nine months when she went to him. He was a tall broad man and she used to cling to him like a monkey.

It made absolutely no difference to me. My husband was less sure, but he trusted my judgment. His gender was a plus as so much of my childrens' time was spent around females in one guise or another.

Go for it, what I look for in a childminder is gut instinct and what others say.

Sorry have just reread your thread title - your friend is being totally unreasonable!

Oh dear - what planet is your friend on??? Not every bloke is a potential child molester....how ridiculous.

DD loves men, they're different to Mummies and, in her view, much more entertaining (she's almost 2). There is one bloke at her nursery and she adores him - follows him everywhere.

I agree that your husband will likely come up against some prejudice from a narrow-minded minority but he shouldn't let that stop him.

Good luck [smile}

I'm trying to imagine my husband being a childminder.

Suitable games include "Bundlers" where you all pile on top of each other, preferably with the youngest most delicate unsuspecting member underneath, and British Bulldogs.

Outdoor activities include Getting The Kids to Water the Garden and Do the Weeding and if they pick flowers by accident then frightening them by yelling out the upstairs window.

Quiet time of reflection means Peppa Pig on no more than Volume 7.

Dinner is beans on toast. Or, beans on toast. If its a special occasion, AND you've been shopping, beans on toast WITH cheese.

Standards of supervision apparently include leaving the children in the car watching a DVD and instructed to not move, not even a little bit, so they dont set the alarm off.

If other men are a little more aheam talented at minding children than my DH, then I think it would be great. I'd use one.

cheers everyone.
I'm glad everyone thinks she was BU.
I'm not really one for traditional roles but I thought it was just me. sheis quite anti-man as well which doesnt help.

DH has also had a read and is feeling very encouraged. we'll have to wait until ours are a bit older first but in a few years it's something he has been thinking about for a while.