to not be keen on a childminder who can't spell or use basic punctuation or grammar in her ad?

[ChopMonster]

Ok, I'm probably being judgy. My own grammar isn't always the best. But surely when you have an advert for your childminding business (or any business for that matter), it should look professional, not like it's been written by a 15 year old on Facebook? It just puts me off going to meet and her find out more about her.

Oh and before you say it, yes she could be dyslexic or have other SN. But for a business advert, you'd get it checked, no?

Do I need a hard hat?

Might English not be her first language? If that's the reason for her poor writing, she could teach your DCs an additional language, and being so young, they'd pick it up fast. A friend of mine speaks to DD (20mo) in Slovak for an hour a week, and DD is already able to understand much of what she says...

Jimmy what has any of that got to do with spelling?

YANBU. Poor grammar really puts me off on adverts, ebay etc.
It just says to me that they are too lazy to pick up a dictionary or user a spell check.

Use not user

That's not true at all Nancy.

My DDs have been to 2 CMs, both wonderful in very different ways.

But what I most value about each of them is how kind they are to my girls and how fond my children are of them.

Poor spelling (or use of comic sans font :o) I can overlook as not being remotely important.

I wouldn't judge her on her spelling. I'd rather someone couldn't spell and was good with children than the other way around.

Meet her, and your instincts will do the rest.

Ds1's childminder has v.poor spelling/grammar skills and the dairy accounts are often an interesting read, BUT she only has ds before and after school and he loves her. As said already, it depends what ype of care you are after. i wouldnnt put ds with her during the day ( instead of a nursery IYSWIM ) but before and after school, when no ' teaching' is needed, is fine.

Ridiculous sweeping statement from Nancy66.

In the words of another MN poster a CM should be 'Bosomy, kind and know her way round a fish finger sandwich!! (She was thinking about after school care but similarprinciples apply!)

It wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me as (as others have said) there are other more important qualities you want in a child minder.

However it would mean I would ask some searching questions to check she was on the ball in terms of health and safety (including food hygiene) and first aid.

Being able to look ahead and anticipate problems/accidents does not require top level qualifications but it does require intelligence.

A British 3 year old fell to her death from a high balcony here in Singapore a few days ago while left in the care of a helper. You need to be sure that anyone you leave your child with will keep them safe.

My dad's spelling and grammar isn't great - he left school at 14 to support his family - but I couldn't wish for a more loving or caring grandfather for my kids. I have a degree in English lit but I can't plumb in a washing machine or lay a patio or sit patiently with my kids fishing for hours on end in the freezing cold.

YABU. Obviously it is your decision to look elsewhere but still unreasonable in my opinion.

It would put me off and I wouldn't use her.
I would want one who was good with DCs and a good standard of literacy. I wouldn't get beyond the advert-I wouldn't contact her.
I dare say I need the hard hat, but it is the truth.

Nancy66
I beg to disagree - I am a nursery teacher and have a BEd, an MA Ed and I am a qualified EYP.

YABU - I don't necessarily want a childminder to be thinking massively along business lines anyway. DS' childminder doesn't, she could definitely take on more mindees for example to make more money and have stricter rules (for parents) but I like that she's quite laid back about things like drop off/pick up times, short notice extra hours, DS bringing toys or taking them home, etc. She was actually recommended to me so I haven't seen her ad (if she has one) but I'm happier for her to be concentrating more on the children, including her own children, than about creating the perfect business image.

Empire I sort of agree, but I wouldn't be making the assumption that just because someone can spell well that they have the common sense and foresight to avoid most accidents. Some people are really clever but totally clueless. I'd ask those questions of anyone, regardless of the spelling on their ad.

Very true Bertie- I would do the same.

For some reason about 90% of my friends are dyslexic - their intelligence and common sense varies massively. Bad spelling and grammar doesn't necessarily mean stupid, and it's pretty shortsighted to think that it does.

Sorry if my point wasn't clear Honey. Spelling and using punctuation properly doesn't guarantee common sense and logic in any given situation. My uncle is a prime example of that. He's a retired Principal, former teacher and has a degree in English and Literature. He can't even change a lightbulb or cook but can spell and use punctuation better than most people I know. Spelling and punctuation isn't going to help my uncle survive if he was stranded on an island, would it?

The common sense in those scenarios was the 2nd CM using the phone to 'transfer' consent and get treatment quicker than the 1st CM insisting the mother get out of work and consent to treatment herself IYSWIM.

HTH

Totally agree, reasonable or not, I wouldn't be keen on my children going there. Admit that could be totally unreasonable but touch luck!

I am a childminder and of course I 'teach' children. And they teach me.
For example in one day yesterday we looked at the globe to find out where England is and to see how far away Australia is. We leant what wombats are and look like. The little ones learnt that the blue areas are oceans and they in turn taught me about places they had been on holiday.
I taught the children a new song and we practised clapping together.
I taught the children how to hold a knife safely and how to top and tail French beans for our lunch and we learnt about other vegetables.
The children found a snail and one of the children explained that snails lose their shells and turn into slugs. So we investigated the question and found out the difference between snails and slugs on the internet together.
I think that it is sloppy to not ask someone to check an advertisement if you know that you have problems with written words. Overall however if the childminder can express herself verbally and values books and conversation then he/she would still be worth finding out more about. So I would still give him/her a call and then judge more after chatting to them.

SO glad that Nancy said what she did: it gives me the chance to tell MN that I am a childminder and am half way through a Masters degree in Early Years Education.

Nancy, for example, is a twat.

I have no idea whether the CM I used could spell as she was recommended to me so I never saw an ad. What I cared about was that she was a warm person, she liked babies, she was out and about every day with him and her own children were happy, well fed and nice to DS.

I think you need to ask yourself what you are looking for in a CM.

You can only tell if you like a childminder when you visit. I wouldn't make a judgement based on a lousy ad, no.

It would put me off and I wouldnt choose to visit that childminder.