Would you use a childminder with a dog?

[PashunFroot]

Just that really. We want to use a childminder rather than a nursery, purely for logistical reasons as they can collect older child from school. However all the childminders locally have dogs. I’m not a dog person, and I’m quite wary of them. I know they will be kept shut away from the children but would I always be worrying about it while I’m at work?

aibu for even being worried about it?

@famagusta I think you've gone off on a tangent. My dispute is with your comment that a childminder would have their license (we don't have licenses but ok) revoked if a dog was not kept entirely separate. This is not true.

I don't doubt there are terrible childminders and dogs that aren't suitable around children and children that shouldn't be around dog.

But you shouldn't post untrue things just to enforce your point that you hate dogs. And childminders.

I do, I've never even thought of it being a problem. In fact, children with dogs in the home are less likely to get asthma. DD is 2. The childminder and the dog (black lab) are both lovely. I think the dog is shut behind a stairgate during the day but I wouldn't mind if it wasn't.

Nope. People are stupid about their dogs 'oh he wouldn't hurt a fly' until he does.

Gone off on a tangent
posted untrue things

enlighten me… where?

ofsted, childminders and dogs

a relevant

but you’re a CM with dogs who is ignoring ofsted by allow your dogs and charges to interact when the inspector on the report cites a child patting a dog through a stair gate as unacceptable - so hardly objectove

thankfully most of the posters on here, including a number of CMs - agree with me that children, child minding and dogs is not something positive

@famagusta I've had several inspections over the years and not once was my dog listed as a concern because there are measures in place and the inspector observed the children interacting with my dog. There are good childminders and unfortunately some who are not so good just like there are some good dog owners and some bad, but guess what sometimes you can get a good childminder who's also a good dog owner and vice versa don't tar everyone with the same brush!

but you’re a CM with dogs who is ignoring ofsted by allow your dogs and charges to interact when the inspector on the report cites a child patting a dog through a stair gate as unacceptable - so hardly objectove

The inspector on that report cites it as unacceptable because that sleeping dog reacted negatively.

So, that childminder didn’t keep her charges from disturbing her sleeping dog when her dog doesn’t react well to being touched when it’s asleep.

Thats not remotely the same as a blanket rule that charges and dogs have to be kept separate.

One childminder I’ve looked at got slated in her report for not having stair gates on her stairs as they were open tread and big enough gaps for a child to fall through. That doesn’t mean every childminder needs stair gates.

You’re extrapolating one report into a rule.

But surely “curling up on the sofa” with a dog and a young child presents the very real possibility of the child patting the dog on the head whilst it is sleeping!

Exactly she's not actually looking at the cause and effect and that's why that particular childminders report is as it is. On the stairgate front I don't have any and refuse to have them as they are deemed dangerous for children over 24 months and pose more of a risk than a safety measure in my setting.

But surely “curling up on the sofa” with a dog and a young child presents the very real possibility of the child patting the dog on the head whilst it is sleeping!

But it’s not a problem to pat all dogs on the head when they’re asleep… It’s a problem to pat that dog and that CM didn’t prevent it so her charge got a negative reaction from her dog. That’s the issue in that report.

Thats not the same as a blanket rule, no matter how many times you try to make it so.

@famagusta Every dog is different though why is it so hard for you to understand that ?

But how would ofsted know that your dog also didn’t respond like that unless actually witness a child patting your dog on its head whilst sleeping.

hence ofsted reg that peta and charges are kept separate and no hands through stair gates to where dog is clearly not permitted either!

As I say
thankfully on this thread the majority even including CMs are one the same page. The page being that dogs and childminding and charges do not work on a safety level.

🙄

I'll leave you to stew in your own froth here, it's a strange thing to get worked up about when no-one is forcing you to send your child to a cm with a dog.

And I will keep working with my lovely families, children and my dog.

Best wishes.

No what you'll find from this thread is a mixture of people who are categorically saying no never, some who say they'd like to meet and see for themselves before making a decision and quite a lot who already use a childminder who has a dog or other pets. You also have quite a few childminders who have dogs who've risk assessed and been through multiple inspections with no issues.
There is also a lot of misinformation from yourself regarding childminders and dogs which simply isn't true.

Read through the responses

overwhelmingly a big fat NO!! 😂

I’m crossing fingers that your child doesn’t incur any injury

Wow, talk about passive aggressive.

I know they will be kept shut away from the children

How do you know this? (Apart from the "no dog hair" in the area, and that could be because she'd hoovered before your visit)

Yet despite the number of times you’ve insisted this so far you’ve been unable to show any Ofsted link stating anything of the sort,..

Love all the parents intercepting CM defensiveness with flat “NOs”!

I’m not a childminder and I didn’t even have a dog until my children were older but crikey, we are talking about a dog not throwing our babies in with a pack of wolves. 😂

Except the ones that aren’t…

Not to mention the fact that CM’s with dogs wouldn’t exist if all parents were “flat NOs” as they’d have gone out of business

Children's health and safety are significantly compromised. The childminder does not recognise and remove dangers relating to the pet dog.
Additionally, she has failed to recognise the risk posed by poor hygiene practice, particularly in relation to the pet dog.
Activities indoors take place in a small cramped area. This results in children constantly snatching, pushing each other and crying. This does not support their emotional well- being.
The space utilised indoors by the childminder is not sufficient for the purposes of childminding.
The childminder does not obtain written permission from parents to administer medication or keep a record of medicine administered, as is legally required.
Teaching is variable. The childminder does not consistently provide good learning opportunities.
The indoor environment is poorly organised and does not support the different ways children learn. This limits children's ability to engage in purposeful play and hinders their learning and development.
The childminder does not evaluate her provision well enough to identify weaknesses or take action to improve the quality of care and learning for children.
The childminder does not follow robust recruitment procedures to ensure her assistants are suitable to work with children.

The example being used repeatedly on this thread as “proof” that Ofsted don’t want dogs and mindees interacting is from this report…

Very selective quoting indeed. It was a shockingly poor childminder who also had a dog. Not remotely indicative of Ofsted policy at all

So that childminder is a poor childminder and dog owner.

So even without the dog she would be rated inadequate.