Childminding - would you recommend it?

[TuTu]

Have a 2.5 yr old and 7 mth old (and am back to work 4 days a week), and am toying with the idea of training as a childminder to be able to look after my kids at home, as well as bring in some money. Would be considering taking 2 mindees in at first. Know zilch about what I need to do, but before looking all that up, just wondered what you feel about your job as a childminder. What are the pros and cons?

With 2 children under 5 - you would only be allowed 1 under 5 and up to 3 5 to 8's (after school & in the holidays)

I love it but you do have to be very organised and quite business minded.

I'll come back to this later as I've got to do the mindees tea......

Hello tutu

It is very very hard work..........there is a lot of offical red tape to get through, Ofsted, first aid etc etc and you do have to be organised!

I love it but am so tired at the end of the day, most days I have three under 18months for 10 hours a day and two before/after school girls!

oh, as it was pointed out as you have two already you will only be able to have one more under five........you may need to work out if it is financially viable to do it for just one child during the day and before/after school care.

Also, how will it affect your children, partner, house etc.
Any questions then ask!!!!

Am hoping some positives will be my children will benefit from mixing with others, and that I will still feel I am there for my children more of the time than I am at present. Yes will need to work through the financials definitely. Is the Insurance for childminding at home expensive?

How does it feel being in the house all the time? Do you feel that if you had a choice over again you would choose to do childminding?

Thanks for the replies.

i love being a chldminder. Agree that OFSTED etc are a pain to deal with and starting up can take months. You need to do ICp and First Aid within 6 months of starting. Also need to do paperwork etc but there are lots of people on here who can help you and the ICP course prepares you for this. I pay £30 per year for the insurance and spent about £300 setting up and getting equipment etc but with small children already oyu should have alot of that stuff anyway.
Beofre going on Maternity i cared for 3 under 3s and in March im due to start back and will have 3 month old, 22 month old and 25 month old.
I love being around for my DS to pick him up from school etc. I would highly recommend getting to know other childminders in your area. When i started i knew none and it took me a long time to build up a social life etc.
When working now i have a great social circle and regualr groups i go to. Its a long hard day sometimes but very rewarding.

I started minding after my own children were at school (because I'm mad). I've been doing it for years and years and I love it.

If you're a childminder and have your own small children, there isn't the same guilt attached to being a working mum as there is if you worked outside the home, with your own children in daycare. However, it does mean that you don't ever have a break from children! I think it's really important to ensure that you get out and about during your working day.

You can get registered but not give up your current job until you had a firm offer of a minding job. It probably isn't going to pay as well, but then you wouldn't be paying out for your own to be in daycare.

I think your house tends to get "well-used" (or trashed!), but as you already have small children, there probably wouldn't be any difference.

You probably won't have to spend much on toys or equipment, you'll probably have lots already. Don't ever buy anything in advance for your minding business unless you're sure you're going to use it.

You would have to pay more for vehicle insurance (if you used car for mindees), public liability insurance isn't drastic. You might have to pay for 1st aid course.

ICP course is definitely not on any more, and its replacement course is certainly not yet available in my area (tutors not trained, manuals not available etc.)

Thanks so much for the replies.

Yes have enough toys/kit to start a small baby shop, so no extra expense there. Very lucky to have good sized back garden and plenty of room in house for children to play in. Real shortage of childminders where I live so wouldnt expect any great problem problems in getting work.

But my biggest concerns would be how I would cope with say having 4 children all the time. The responsibility of it all scares me. I am a natural worrier too, so this job might give me endless things to stress about! Still feel like I am constantly learning and struggling just to be a half decent mum to my own kids - do I have enough experience to look after someone elses?

On the plus side I do totally love being with children, and am very organised person.

Anyone got experience of how their children reacted once mindees were brought into their house. Think my 2 yr old might well be knocked out by this.

I childmind on a part time basis. My two are 6 and 2. Atm, I have a 1 year old 2 days a week (9.30-3) increasing to 3 days (8.30-5) after Christmas. This suits me really well as it doesn't effect my 6 year old too much, and gives me time to do what I want to do on my days off.
My 2 year old has been used to sharing me with other children as I have been nannying since she was 3 mths old (and before, when ds was a baby/toddler) so she is fine and loves the little boy I look after. She has her moments and is just getting into the 'mine' stage (I'm sure you will know what I mean as you have your own 2 year old!)

It may be a bit different for you, as you are starting when your 2 year old is at a bit of a 'difficult' age. I would advise you to start off slowly, on a part time basis, and just with one child, or could you consider before/after school? That may well be easier for your little one to cope with. It is hard for them, especially at that age, if they have not had to share you, to suddenly have to share not only you but also their home and their toys.

You do have to be organised, and it helps if you can try and keep to a routine. Make sure you get out each day, as otherwise it can be quite hard to keep on top of chores/mess etc. If you are not in so much, the house stays tidier!

And do make sure they have quiet time each day. If you can get your mindees and your own kids into similiar routines, then it's good for you to know you can get a little bit of a rest.

I would say getting out every day is important too

And I agree that starting with your little one being 2 could be difficult

Also what job are you doing now - are you good at paperwork/finance?

You probably wouldn't have 4 children all the time - maybe 3 and termtime and some before and after school - do you have resources (toys & crafts) for 5 to 8 yos? Can you discipline 5 to 8yos?

Katy you'll laugh - current job is as accountant so paperwork & finances are very familiar! Would be able to borrow some toys etc for the older children from cousin, and would probably enjoy buying some too.

Re disciplining the older ones - because this is unknown territory I do wonder would I be up to it. My current childminder is amazing - she looks after 7 (ranging from my 7 mth old to a 7 year old) and she has such authority. When she says NO it makes me jump! Afraid I'm just not on a level with that.

Katy you'll laugh - current job is as accountant so paperwork & finances are very familiar! Would be able to borrow some toys etc for the older children from cousin, and would probably enjoy buying some too.

Re disciplining the older ones - because this is unknown territory I do wonder would I be up to it. My current childminder is amazing - she looks after 7 (ranging from my 7 mth old to a 7 year old) and she has such authority. When she says NO it makes me jump! Afraid I'm just not on a level with that.

I think all minders would probably say that we are learning stuff as we go along. I only have daughters, so doing the "boy minding" was an education!! I certainly wasn't confident doing the nappy-changing at first.

I also had limited experience of caring for children with special needs, but you learn quickly when you are presented with that situation.

There are always lots of courses and workshops available for childminders (often free) - from behaviour management and child protection, to more fun topics like activities for older children and making treasure boxes.

I only have three children of my own (all big and grown-up now), but sometimes have ten altogether (on a bad day!!) after school. You soon learn to exert your authority, devise ingenious ways to keep them all happy at the same time, and keep relatively sane.