to think that this is misguided at best, irresponsible at worst?

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

Just seen an advert from a parent looking for urgent childcare to look after toddlers start immediately (ie. this week), 12 hour day. Advertiser says they don't mind if this is a temporary arrangement, like a student on a break from University .

AIBU to think that's just not good enough? When you think of the rules around childcare in nurseries, schools and at childminders.

It's definitely not something I would do as an ongoing arrangement, perhaps as a one off occasion babysitting evening.

Maybe they're desperate?

How do you think people normally employ nannies etc?

Find one, check references, hope for the best.

It doesn't matter if the checks take a day, or months.

I would hope most people go through a formal interview process and spend quite some time checking references.

I can't think of any circumstances in which I would leave my toddlers in the care of someone I had met that day.

Don't you think a 12 hour sole charge day with toddlers needs someone with a LOT of experience?

Desperation makes people do questionable things sometimes.

I was at home on a Wednesday afternoon when my DS's nursery phoned to say that due to an 'incident' OFSTED were closing them down with immediate effect.

That phonecall left me and the parents of the other 18 children with absolutely no Childcare from that day onwards but still with jobs to go to.

Myself and many of the other parents had to make them choice to leave our children with people we barely knew (other Childminders and unregistered minders) out of pure desperation until we could make other arrangements.

My family has (and is) living around the world. DH and I both work and have nannies, as do most people we know.

References take a phone call to check. Not everyone can take time off work when childcare doesn't work out.

When you're hiring a nanny, the "formal interview process" you speak of is usually a chat over a coffee and getting a feel for the person. Do you think it's different?

What do you mean by "not good enough"? CRB checks aren't worth the paper they're written on (I say this as an employer of only CRB-checked people). References can be faked. You really have to trust your gut and remember that children are much more likely to be killed by their mothers than anyone else. Don't let stranger-fear rule your life.

"Don't you think a 12 hour sole charge day with toddlers needs someone with a LOT of experience?"

Yes and no. You can be a parent with no qualifications in child care and no experience. I was. You muddle through as parents and can pass on important 'they like / 'don't like', 'we do / don't do' to a child minder making their job much easier.

Goodness, that must have been an extremely serious incident Writer.

But surely everyone needs back up childcare? And in this case, the person is talking about a full time nannying job which is just about to start. If it's a genuine emergency, why aren't they using a specialist agency where the nannys supplied have already been interviewed and referenced checked?

Parents (who often get it wrong, yes) learn on the job though don't they? To be in sole charge of more than one toddler for a 12 hour days is a tall order. You can't ask your au pair to do it.

But surely everyone needs back up childcare?

What kind of "back up childcare" do you mean?

My son was in a Nursery....do you think I should also have been paying a childminder a weekly fee to keep a potential space open for him just in case I ever needed "back up" in an emergency?

No, of course not.

By back up childcare, I would include the child's parents, a trusted friend, or an emergency childcare agency.

When your child goes to school, there will be times when you have to magic childcare up out of nowhere. So be prepared.

Err, how exactly can everyone get hold of this 'back up child care'?

Sadly, many people's lives mean they don't have a support network filled with people just twiddling their thumbs ready and waiting to step up should a childcare emergency happen.

Many people also don't have the luxury of being able to drop their jobs for weeks at a time to do the recruitment process in the long and drawn out way suggested here. Or being able to throw money at it to somehow take away the perceived risk.

Although I'd argue that's it's no protection either way you recruit, yourself or through an agency. And I'm afraid ive had personal experience very recently of the reality of that - you can minimize risk but there's no way to eliminate risk.

As an aside: How do you know that the parent advertising won't check references or ask for dbs checks? A first sweep to see if there's anyone out there doesn't mean that's the sum total of their recruitment process.

Being a good parent means keeping everything together and juggling all the things a child needs. And that means making really tough decisions.

No income = no home and no food. Clearly a good parent must keep life running ok, as it doesn't matter how long your recruitment process is, if you're homeless.

You said very naive and very judgemental OP.

What kind of world do you think we live in when most families have back up childcare to hand?

Myself and my husband both with FT, all three grandparents work full time and surprise, surprise, the majority of my friends work too.

It's not quite as simplistic as there always being someone on hand to look after your child at short notice and some parents just have to manage as best as they can.

So we are meant to have grandparents or friends with independent wealth sources, plus keep plenty of cash set aside for an emergency nanny agency?

What about those of us unprivileged types whose families live on the other side of the planet and who all need to work to keep a roof over our heads...?

Check your privilege OP.

I think back up childcare is a bit much to be fair. I'm unsure how you propose people get this. Normally if child care goes down, a parent has to take a day off work. I've never heard of an emergency child care agency,

I do a little understand what you're trying to say, but think of many au pairs, young adults away from home doing rhe job basically for the first time. Child care has been like this since the dawn of time and I'm sure the parent will interview candidates and only employ someone they are comfortable with and feel can cope.

Do you think this person who is looking for a nanny to cover a 12 hour day, permanently, is short of money?

I've just found a local emergency childcare agency. Costs less than £10 per month to be a member.

I am that anyone thinks sole charge of more than one toddler for 12 hours per day, full time, is a job suitable for a student. I am indeed.

Bluntness, in a previous answer I did say that I consider parents to be the no. 1 source of backup childcare.

I used to do this kind of thing when I was home in the school holidays. My mum had friends who needed help so all of a sudden I am spending 5 days a week looking after someone's kids! it was a long time ago but it happened several times and everything was fine!

I am hmm that anyone thinks sole charge of more than one toddler for 12 hours per day, full time, is a job suitable for a student. I am indeed

I'm sorry I don't understand this. Students are adults, plenty of them may have brought up younger siblings, plenty of people that age are parents themselves. We are probably talking about people that are twenty or twenty one years of age plus. The fact they are also studying doesn't make them any less capable of looking after children.

What if they are studying to be a doctor? A nurse? Had their own child? Had young siblings? Would that make them ok in your eyes?

I don't think the advert is that weird. There may be a sudden problem with their previous childcare arrangement and they can't miss work. Not everyone has family nearby etc. This is no different to having an au pair or nanny surely. Presumably they will check the person out who applies.

YABU. Childcare emergencies happen. Many students are quite competent at looking after toddlers. I was. I don't see what an agency would offer, other than convenience.

I consider myself quite protective of my kids, but I would certainly consider advertising for a short-term arrangement like this if I were left in the lurch and needed childcare for my own children.

In such a case, I would be looking for someone able to keep my kids safe. If they had a fun and stimulating time with someone who did everything perfectly then so much the better, but I would be prepared to compromise on that. For example, with stopgap childcare for a week or two it wouldn't be the end of the world for me if my kids were fed unhealthy food, left in front of the TV more than I'd like, heard some bad language or got put on the "naughty step" though that isn't how I discipline them.

I started working as a 'mothers help' as a teen with 3 under 5, my previous experience was a few mornings at my mothers preschool and I helped run a drama group for little ones, so I had experience of being with children but was thrown in at the deep end with collecting from nursery/school, doing homework and spellings, making 3 dinners, doing bath time and nit combing and then stories and bed. I had one interview where I met the children and started a few days later, sometimes it can take a long time to find someone suitable and mums end up in a rush, especially if they have to fit childcare around going back to work. It was my favourite ever job, the children were lovely but certainly not angels in terms of behaviour and I worked for their mum for a few years before I moved to London. It wasn't that difficult, some people are just well suited to looking after little ones no matter their age. Children aren't some great mystery, they need to be clean, fed and entertained. I'd trust my teenage DB and his girlfriend with my 8mo although they've not got much experience.

Do you think this person who is looking for a nanny to cover a 12 hour day, permanently, is short of money?

I imagine anyone who works regular 12 hour days is doing it to make ends meet abd pay bills and therefore probably is short of money.

You know nothing about this woman, her life, her problems, her financial situation, her work life, her social circle and family situations etc so I think being so critical and judgemental of a choice she's probably HAD to make is actually quite nasty.