To think that CM was really out of order today?

[SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore]

I took dd2 to a toddler group and there were a few childminders there. Which is fair enough. I think it's nice that they still get do things like that even though the parents have to work.

But at snack time when all the parents were around, they started discussing the mindees parents, after one of them called his CM mum.

One of them was bad mouthing them saying "Oh yes and they never see their kids, they drop them off at such and such a time and then take them home to bed" and another one sayng things like "Well my parent doesn't even work and she still drops her son off, I couldn't do that to my child."

I mean if it wasn't for them having to work or needing a break the CM's would have no job and this wasn't a private discussion it was in front of a room full of virtual strangers.

I'm not surprised that they were having a moan - everybody does.

I think it's off that they did it in front of the kids though.

I don't know ANY parent's who would hire a CM that is at least a level 3. On top of that you have to do Unit 1 of the diploma in Home Based childcare, have a paediatric first aid certificate and child protection training.

It's up to your local authority what you need but I live in Torbay and we have to be qualified.

I wouldn't consider parents to be an employer, I would consider them to be clients. There's a difference IMO.

How nice

Why are they doing it if they disapprove of working parents.

and you can gain all the qualifications while sstill looking after children.

Orm there are plenty of nursery staff that have posted on MN about how shit nurseries are and how cruel it is to use them

Among the fab childcare profs of course

I know burning. I've seen them. I find that quite sad too.

They may well be talking in front of friends of the parents. When I was a SAHM the groups I went to had CMs who looked after the children of friends. I'd have been a bit if I'd heard them talk like that. Fortunately they were all lovely, and dicreet.

I knew plenty of nannys who would slag off their employers. Not in the children's hearing though.

Yet another reason to pick a nursery - your caregivers are safely penned in and aren't rampaging the urban jungle moaning about how crap you are...

Not all of them wannaBe, you have to have the Diploma first and the first aid and child protection training, but your right about parent's being a client, I am SELF employed.

Please don't lump us all in one box, you will get CM's who are crap, not highly qualified and act unprofessional, just as you would with any profession. But, you will also find maany who are highly qualified professionals and provide great care.

"CM need less qualifications that nurserys i think"

nope - a cm has to be ofsted registered and have some kind of quals

i have been in a nursery where the some staff didnt have any quals, only crb

same with nannys - many are qualified but many also arnt

its my big bug bear that in theory anyone can call theirself a nanny and work with children

what these cm were doing was unprofessional to moan WITHIN ear reach of other people

what they do with their friends/dh at home is up to them

A CM has to jump through a lot of hoops to even be registered now, and keep jumping through them. CMs regularly do training unpiad in their own time.

I used to work as a CM and now work in a nursery, IME generally cms I have come across are much more emthusiastic and genuine about their work, and more up to date in terms of training, than nursery nurses.

The cms the OP mentions are unprofessional to gossip and moan in front of their mindees, bit daft of them especially at a community play session where other mums are listening!

I'm not at all surprised. I am sure that lots of childminders and other childcarers have a good ole gossip about the parents and aren't too bothered about who hears.

As long as I don't hear it, I find it easy enough to ignore.

Nursery childcarers will be just as bad.

"CMs regularly do training unpiad in their own time." But it's not their own time is it? When you're a cm you are running a business. Therefore you put in the hours required to keep that business up to date. CM's are not marters who give up their time to become qualified, they are people who are putting in the hours in order to run a business.

Yes wannabe you are right

I am not saying cms are martyrs, I guess I didn't make my point very well, cms put hours into training to improve the service they/ their business/ childcare setting provides, whereas nursery staff get paid to go on training, as dictated by their manager. I am probably not explaining my point very well. Never mind.

Soupdragon..... what do you mean by that?

CMs are more 'professional' as a whole than nannies - they have to be qualified, insured, have 1st aid, go on training courses, be registered....

Most nannies have 1st aid, a lot are qualified, a fair few have insurance, some are OFSTED registered and a minority go on extra training courses. You can employ a monkey and call it a nanny but a monkey can't be a CM unless the rules have changed hugely!

I'm with Blondes and the rest here - the only unprofessional thing is that they were complaining within earshot of other people.

of course cms can have a moan about parents of their mindees.

Who doesn't about their clients/bosses at some point.

Shouldn't be in the DCs earshot though that is horrible. No child wants to hear either of their parents slagged off.

As my cm is VERY professional, far so more than any of the nurseries I looked round.

Her experience and expertise is phenomenal.

I think it is unacceptable to say such things in front of the children. Surely nobody can come on here and say that they think that is reasonable - it's ok to say in front of a child that their parent obviously doesn't care about them? Is anyone seriously saying that's an ok thing to do?

Talking among themselves - no kids - fine. I am sure much worse is said!