To ask how you maintain professional relationships as a Childminder?

[isaisaisabel]

Reflecting on this past 8 months of childminding I have done, I can't help feel that my terms and conditions of NMCA contract have been largely ignored.

Can any childminders tell me how you ensure parents respect your setting as much as they would respect a nursery setting without upsetting them or harming the relationship?

Examples:

Repeated lateness which has infringed on my family life and evenings with my own DC. It is usually 15/20 minutes but daily which really adds up. I cannot help feel that they would not do this with a nursery.

Repeated late payments which have cost me in terms of direct debits being missed. I need to keep good credit to keep on top of my mortgage and a good credit rating.

Bringing in children who are coughing or having a high temperature and generally quite ill. Sometimes their siblings are off nursery for these reasons but the same doesn't apply to my setting.

I have only been doing this for 8 months but am relying on a good reputation and really want to make the business work. I have had comments about how expensive childcare is from one father who seems to think the amount I'm paid is my net pay, which it isn't. It's a very long day which is fine but these issues and comments make me feel like I am being treated like a babysitter not a childcare setting.

How to build a good reputation and relationship with parents but nip these things in the bud before my business expands? I'm not good at confrontation and have left a job that I was at for over a decade where I worked quietly in an office, but starting up my own business has made me realise that I probably need to become more assertive.

Experienced CM's, AIBU and is this just part of the job or am I being taken for a mug.

Oh Sorry, turns out you’re stricter than me!

Definelty be firm and I like the reminder sent out idea upthread

1. Payment is every two weeks in advance. No payment - no childcare

1. Collection time is as agreed in your contract. Any late collections will be billed at £10 per 10 minutes per child and expected within the next payment.

1. Any children displaying the following symptoms on drop off will be turned away until they are PCR tested/no longer showing symptoms.

@Tillsforthrills

Oh Sorry, turns out you’re stricter than me!

Negative PCR for a new continuous cough or temp is reasonable and is guidance, LFTs shouldn't be used for anyone symptomatic and have much lower accuracy rate (they also work differently and aren't a replacement for a PCR). Nurseries definitely require one with new covid type symptoms, I'd be worried if people didn't to be honest, but if the same cold lingers on for ages then obviously don't expect test after test if they tested at the start.

@Toastmost

That defo makes sense, thank you.

I suspect it’d be very uncomfortable for a sole childminder to ask for an unpleasant PCR/ paid days off until results, from a parent without the backing of a professional nursery behind them so I can see why childminders are being strong armed by parents who chance bringing them in and count on the CM being too weak to enforce.

@Chickychoccyegg

I'm a childminder. 1: I advise getting paid monthly in advance, if fees are not paid, care is refused. 2: enforce a late payment fee, mine is £10 per 15 mins, I now get no lateness , same for people turning up early, again if its not paid you tell them you will be refusing care until outstanding fee is paid. 3: send a coughing, ill child home, every single time, do not be persuaded otherwise, if parents won't collect, you contact their emergency contact, they'll soon stop messing around when they have to explain themselves to someone else. 4: refer them back to the contract that they signed and agreed too. Don't engage in any chat about the amount you get paid, what you earn is your business, if you wanted you could point out how rude it is to talk about someone else's earnings. You'll toughen up in time, it's hard starting off. Do you have a network of other cms for support? I found that was the best thing to help me . I've found the firmer I am the more parents respect my position and my business, if you get overly friendly, or compromise too much, they will respect you as a professional childcare setting less. Good luck op, its a great job, but can also be really hard .

This is great advice.

It’s not about being strict OP, you are running a business. Having firmer boundaries will make it easier because people will push at them less. If you don’t have them, people push harder and then get cross when you push back.

Send out a letter now, announcing you are moving to one month in advance and late fees, and also underlying that sick kids will get sent home.

As others said you need to toughen up

Payment month in advance

No payment. No childcare

Late fees. Apply them

Illness esp in these times. Take temp on doorstep. If coughing send home

I read this with interest @isaisaisabel and I can echo your experience. I childminded for a few years both full time daily and for wrap around care. I still do wrap around for one family, though I now work elsewhere during the day. My honest impression is that people will always think you have an easier time and almost like you get to be at home and get paid to do it, they do not (mostly) see you in the same way they do a nursery. That impacts many things like late pick ups, late payment etc.

I would do it again, but would have to run it with far stricter policies in place. I would:

1. Request pay twice a month, and in advance of the following two weeks. So for example the 1st and 15th. This means if people pull out you've had 2 weeks pay and aren't out.

2. Have stricter times. I had one family start dropping their baby off before 7 am, sometimes even 6:30 am. We agreed 8 am. She was working from home and liked to go to the gym and have a coffee with her Mum before work. I would make it very clear what my hours are and unless arranged in advance, not shift those. For me I think the reality is with 3 dc myself at home, they'd need to be 8-5 to not feel like it was encroaching on my life. When I child mind I'm fully present - crafts, outings, music sessions, sensory play so it isn't like I'm getting on with my own things during that time. I find once it's after 5 it majorly impacts my evening with dc and their hobbies and after a long day everyone wants to go home. The friends I do wrap around for currently is supposed to be 5:30 but most days it's 6 pm and that last hour is very challenging. This is our year and I wouldn't' do it this way again, despite it working mostly well. We need our own evening.

3. I wouldn't do it for friends again. I've done this 3x now and it's worked very well once, somewhat well once and terribly once. I think it is easier to have stricter policies, charge more appropriately and enforce policies when it isn't friends. It's lovely friends think highly of what I do, but I think it's very hard for them to see you in the professional way they should.

4. I personally would drop to 4 days/week and not 5. There's always appointments, things that need doing, paperwork and planning. I've not stuck to 4 days so I could help out friends, but if I ever do it again that will be non-negotiable and another reason not to go with friends.

5. I would have paid time off. One lot of friends insisted on this and the difference was huge. Several childminders around me have one week at Christmas and three/four weeks in summer. Not sure I'd charge for the weeks in summer, maybe a total of 2 weeks paid leave a year and 2-3 weeks unpaid as I'd want to be fair. But I really think your own dc need time with you when other dc aren't there. I'd set these dates as standard and build it into contract. For example, I do not work December 22-30 inclusive, nor do I work the first four weeks in August. Like I said I've never done it, but if I ever child minded again, I would.

Childminding is a fabulous profession, but I think often requires you to do the leg work in terms of respect & boundaries. I've definitely had to learnt that the hard way.

Why would you worry about offending crap customers. Let them shit on someone else

Do you have a late fee in your contract and do you enforce it?

I think you're absolutely right and reasonable to be annoyed at people treating you like this, but that (sadly) you're probably wrong that they wouldn't try it with a nursery! Possibly the late thing wouldn't be as bad - it's easier for people to kid themselves that they're not putting you out if you're in your home, turning up to a nursery with almost all the lights off and your kid as the last one there is much more immediately guilt-inducning - but definitely the illness and late payment are problems for nurseries too. I think it's a real problem with childcare and it stems from the fact that people pay a low hourly rate but that adds up to a big monthly bill, so a lot of parents feel hard done to/resentful about childcare and so take the piss, while not recognizing that the people doing it are actually low paid and aren't 'ripping them off' as they imagine.

My childminder was absolutely lovely but ruthless on the business side. Paid holidays, late fees, no nonsense. I completely respected it and we are still friendly now.

Don’t give reasons why you need clients to comply - they will only argue back. Just state the policies and enforce them.

Good luck. Decent cms are worth every penny.

These responses are great, just what I needed to hear and have confirmed.

After reading this thread I sent out an email about late payments and lateness as the 10/15 minutes a day adds up more than they realise. I'm looking forward to building up my business and becoming more professional with this great advice.

I've had assurances from all parents that they understand that closing time isn't the time they should collect, they should have left by closing time and that they'll be paying on time.

Thank you all again.

You’re making it too personal - you don’t. Need to give the reasons for your closure time, just specify the time.

Ds nursery charge £15 for 15 mins late. I can phone if I’m stuck in traffic etc but that’s happened once in 4 years and so they didn’t enforce as it was a large incident on a local A road which the nursery were aware of.

Bills are received the Monday before the 1st of the month for the month in advance, if I haven’t paid by the 1st Friday in the month his place is refused.

I’ve had calls for ear infections, vomiting, coughing (over covid) fever and had to collect every time.

If you don’t treat it like a business then your clients won’t either.