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!)

My daughter has a male key worker at nursery and we think he is great.

One of the reasons I choose DD's nursery was because there was a male nursery nurse, so I am putting my money where my mouth is.

DD had a male childminder for a couple of years. He was a lot better and more reliable than the next 2.

I will probably never need to use a CM, but if I did, I would be more than willing to use a male CM. It really makes no difference to me at all.

Nope, absolutely not unless he is thoroughly organised.

My DH looks after our children and my DD still goes to nursery in her pyjama tops! Hubs doesn't realise that some long sleeve t shirts are tops rather than t's

I would bite his hand off, we need more men involved with children.

One big reason why we choose the school we did was that there were male teachers there.

DD had a male keyworker at nursery as well and she loved him. I'd use a male childminder no problem. I'd be looking for someone caring and competent who could give my child the best care possible in the absence or me or DH. If that person is male then so be it.

My daughter's nursery room (the babies room, for under 2s) has a male and a female carer on the days she's there. Which I love. The female minder puts on the Wiggles and does fingerpainting, the male childminder puts on the Cranberries and teaches them ball kicking skills. My daughter is obsessed with footballs, train sets, painting and dolls, and I'm not the one who's introduced all of those things to her.

I'd be comfortable with a male childminder who worked solo - it's not like CMs work without any guidelines or oversight.

I think it must be nice to have the option of a male child minder.
but some people will object for odd reasons. for instance, dd is about to get a male phiso, I was pleased as she works well for men, but ds was horrified as only a 18 year old over protective big brother can be!!

I would employ a male childminder.

Probably not a good idea to have a young, immature male childminder

I'd love DS to have a male childminder as he spends a lot of time with women - I have a series of friends who help me out babysitting when I get unpaid work or job interviews and one of the best ones is a boy who is brilliant with my son.

I bump into a male childminder on the tube quite a lot, he's divorced with 2 of his own children and so childminds a 3rd and takes them out every day, normally on public transport (phil&teds + baby backpack as they're all under 3) to the Tate or various city farms or the museums in South Ken....DS is lucky if he leaves our local area!

Hi from Mr threenoisyboys, thanks for all your comments...good food for thought and i appreciate the feedback. Gabbyloggon you say no to young immature male childminders how about old immature ones? :)

gabbylogon Or young immature female childminders?

Mr Threenoisyboys If you do go for it please do come back and let us know how it goes? I know my DP would appreciate it

I would have no problem with it at all, it would be great to see more men doing this, and working in nurseries and primary schools. I don't think it's odd or creepy at all - plenty of men are fantastic with children (and many women are rubbish), it's a real shame for them to be put off working in childcare, or struggling to find work, due to unjustified prejudice.

Riven - that's a bit of a different situation, I think. If we're talking about teenage girls or adult women who need that sort of care, I can totally see how it would be more appropriate/they would prefer to have a female carer. For little kids though, it shouldn't matter.

Our childminder's partner has been CRB checked and is involved in a peripheral way with her childminding business (he mucks in and helps when he gets home from work). He's absolutely fantastic and all the children love him. I frequently use my PhD student brother as a Manny. Again, he's fantastic, adored by his nieces and nephews.

There's nothing to say men can't be childminders. Given that DH was a SAHD, I probably have more of a relaxed view of male childminders than the "all men are paedophiles" crowd, but I wouldn't hesitate to send DD to a male childminder if the need arose. I also think a male childminder is a selling point for all those children without positive male role models. I imagine his police background would be a good selling point too.

"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."

I'd echo that sentiment. I'd imagine there's lots of people who would act aghast at the suggestion that men could not be suitable child-minders but privately would never actually hire one.

I think your friend has a very prejudiced narrow-minded attitude... why on earth is it creepy? She's made me quite cross! Its attitudes like this that make men terrified to be near children incase they're accused of something.

I think its lovely your DH wants to childmind. Go for it!

For the gents thinking of becoming or are childminders there is www.childmindinghelp.co.uk
there are several male minders on there and its a fantastic sire all made welcome

So your friend thinks your DH is 'creepy' ? Time to get a new friend...