To not want to register with Ofsted for looking after friends child or to offer regular babysitting?

[cakefaced]

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8277378.stm

The BBC is reporting that 2 police officers are being threatened with prosecution for being an "illegal childminder" because they offer reciprocal care for each others children. Am I being unreasonable to be utterly enraged by this threat? Where will this all end? You now can not even let your child stays with a friend and play on a regular basis unless your friend is registered as a childminder? Whilst I support child protection, I fail to see how this protects children. Is it the end of informal baby sitting arrangements and regular play dates?

Please tell me I have misunderstood and am being enraged needlessly?

Loads of threads on this atm

babysitting, between 6pm and 2am, is not affected

childcare, for reward, may be.

But the website says "reward" may not necessarily be financial but "in kind" ie return offer of babysitting?

How does it work when the nursery nurses at my daughters nursery babysit for cash? Do they need to be registered as individuals with Ofsted too?

Sign the petition on the no 10 website!!!
This gov want to regulate the colour of my pants but cannt stop more than 3 million children living in poverty

it does seem extreme

Ok

If it is in the child's home it is exempt

If it is family it is exempt

If it is for less than 2 hours it is exempt

If it is in your house between (I think) 6pm & 7am (but they could be totally wrong times) it is exempt

For play dates I was 'told' that if it could be cancelled without any hassle (ie not needing to take time off/cancel work) it would be exempt

This really really annoys me.

My MIL, when my dh and SIL were kids entered a reciprocal arrangement with a friend which enabled them both to go back to work.

It's absolutely ludicrous that a similar arrangement now would be against the law.

Yes, by all means have accredited childminders, but ridiculous that as a parent you can't choose to trust someone else who you know well without becoming a criminal in the process.

As has been pretty much said here, the government propose such bloody ridiculous legislation but it can't take measures to deal with the issues that really matter. Huh!

I'm spitting feathers about this report. I'm a lone Mum, as is a close friend down the road. Neither of us have family for miles. Our children are also very close friends and one of us will often have the other's DC for more than a couple of hours and sometimes for sleepovers whilst one of us is ill/at the hospital/dealing with an emergency concerning wider family some distance away or, horror of horrors, going out for a meal with other friends.

My pal and I have known each other for 8 years and trust each other entirely with our respective DC. I would far rather my friend looked after my DDs than any of my family or a registered but completely unknown childminder and so would my girls, even if we had the choice, which in a small town we often wouldn't dependent on the advance notice/time and length of stay and so on.

Even two parent families with double the chance of having a convenient (and responsible, caring, willing) family member to rely upon will be affected by this - for lone parents it could end up as good as discrimination to bring in this mad idea.

petitions.number10.gov.uk/reciprocalcc/

The no 10 petition website, for those who wish to sign it.