Childminers: Urgent advice needed, should i get rid of this child?

[Diddle]

Hi,

I have had a call this morning from someone who needs a CM for 2 days a wk for her 3 month old. The only way i can fit her in is by getting rid of someone who pays half the money and is leaving me in Jan anyway. Should i remove the child who's leaving in a few months, and how do i tell her mom, should i be honest and tell her i am looking after my business in not so many words??

[ayla99]

Bobbybob, thats not quite the same thing - if you take a gig on New Years Eve that pays peanuts and turn away 4 that would have paid you 2ce as much you've still got a chance of getting a few more gigs before your next mortgage payment is due.

I had the same dilemma as you Diddle - I've been telling parents all summer that I have 2 spaces in November but no-one has been prepared to wait. Now dh is jobless & because I felt I couldn't give notice to the 2 leaving, in a couple of months my income won't be enough to pay the grocery bill. We've already had repossession notice on house last time we got in arrears so bank have made it clear we will lose house if we get behind again.

So, by doing what I thought to be the "right thing" - for the sake of not wanting to upset 2 families now - I may lose my home and my business and also end up letting down the remaining families.

Diddle, I do hope Ofsted give you permission - do write asap. Or could you compromise in some way eg if the overlap is on a Tue & Wed, could the new family manage without the tue til Jan & the old family be reduced to just the Wed from now til Jan??

[Diddle]

ayla99 - so sorry to hear of the preicament you are in, i hope you manage to sort it out soon. Could you rhusband get a temporary job for a few motnhs, i bet there are loads going in the run up to xmas on short term contracts. Another way of making money that has made us quite a bit to tide us over, is to go through all your old stuff round the house, and sell it on Ebay.
I have a form coming from Ofsted to apply for the extension of numbers. But i can't really give them any info until i have a commitment form the new mom and i can't commit to her until i hear from ofsted, so it could get quite tricky.

[skeptic]

My opinion is that if you have said you can look after the part-time child until January, then you should follow through. It's the decent thing to do.

If you don't want to take on part-time children, you shouldn't have done it with this one.

[ayla99]

thanks diddle, its a bit complicated but dh could have had a temp job but wasn't allowed to start when they needed someone to start cos of the agreement he's signed with previous employer. Also there are health issues which complicate everything further.

Great minds think alike - I've got a pile of stuff to photo for Ebay!

I think I would say to your new mum that you can only accept her child before January if Ofsted give you permission to do so. Ask her to write you a letter asap to support your request (maybe give her a deadline so you know where you are.

Hope it works out

[Diddle]

ayla99, good idea about the letter, thank you.
I will be doing what you have suggested, and will ask them to write a letter to support my request. Thank you. Hope all works out with your DH, and you manage to sell everything on EBay.

[blodwen]

Diddle, I have had a similar situation on several occasions in the past, but slightly different in the fact that the new baby has been a sibling of a current mindee. On two or three occasions, one of my cm friends,(very well known by the child and the parent) has been able to take the eldest (rising 5) one day a week for me, while I have the new baby. The 4 year olds have found it exciting to go to someone else for 1 day a week, telling me all about it the next day. Very often we are all out together anyway! I am currently in this situation again. Ofsted have increased my numbers to 4 under 5, but on one day a week, I needed 5 spaces. I decided that my current 4 year old would be better suited to keep his 3 days with me, but the mother of the new baby was happy to have 4 days with me and 1 with my friend. We are all happy with the arrangement! Good luck Diddle, whatever you decide!

[ThePrisoner]

I had a similar situation with one long-term child leaving for school, and a request to take on a new full-time child three months beforehand.

I had enough notice re. both jobs to have time to have a friend police-checked so that she could work for me as an assistant just for that period of time. All parents I minded for were happy with the situation. I don't suppose you would have time to do this yourself, unless you know someone who is already police-checked?

I wouldn't have thought that OFTSED would allow you to temporarily have extra children because one of them is new business.

[ssd]

Diddle, how long do you think it'll be 'till you hear from Ofsted? I hope you get some good news soon, but do you have any idea what you'll do if they say no? (sorry to sound pessimistic, just concerned for you)

[Diddle]

ssd - i have had a letter from them this morning, i ahve to fill it in and send it back, then i guess it will take "forever" to hear from them again. I will stress that it is quite urgent. I have had a call from the prospective new mom and she still wants to come and see me, despite to complications about whenshe may start if she decides she likes me. So thats a plus point. and the new child is currently in nursery, so i guess her mom might not mind ehr staying there until Jan. we'll see. if oftsed say yes i will be thrilled (and knackered) but it will be worth it. Another child has said they will be cuttign there hours in jan too, so i'm getting quite worried, thats 4 now, goign to school and playgroup etc. fingers crossed.
thanks for worrying, i'll sort something. maybe we'll live in a tent and have a gazebo as a playroom for the kids
Its not that bad yet, DH will have to cover more of the bills and we'll have to cut back on some stuff thats all.