In a bit of a pickle..Help me!

[MumChildminder]

I got laid off my job in the summer and hope to go back to college next year to study for my dream job. The course is very hard to get in to so cant guarantee that i will even get it, i applied last year and did well but not well enough to get into course (was only a few points off) . In the meantime, I wanted to start childminding from home as i have childcare experience and am at home with my two toddlers.

I started advertising a few weeks ago and met two family's this week. One is a a toddler whos mum is a teacher so would be collected by 3 every day and id have midterms off etc but best of all, i wouldnt have him for the summer so wouldnt feel so bad if i get into college as they would have whole summer to find someone new. They were a nice couple but they were half an hour late for our meeting, only texting to apologise when i texted them to see if they were lost. This kind of rang alarm bells for me. They havent got back to me yet but ive heard from manager that they rang for ref so prob will say yes.

Today, I met another couple with a baby (will be 6 months wehn starting in Feb). They will be gone from 8-5:30 four days a week. They were so lovely and seemed really respectful of my job. They were just a genuinely lovely couple.

As they were leaving i told them i had met other couple aswell. They rang me 30 mins later to say they were really impressed and would love me to mind baby. They said if other couples hours were shorter they would negotiate with boss so i chose them! They were really nice as was baby.

If i didnt want to go back to college, I would choose the second couple in a heartbeat but i dont want to lead them on. If i chose them i wouldnt be starting until feb and all going well with college would be finishing in sept! The baby would only be settling in and they have to uproot her again :(
but then again, i may not get into college.

Please help me choose!!!

Sorry can I ask, have you Registered?

Yes, I have registered. Im not in UK btw

I was wondering the same thing...

whichever child you choose you will have to uproot them
do you know why the toddler is changing childcare?
have you told the parents you may be starting a course after summer?

Why, What difference does it make? Where I am you dont actually have to register unless you are taking more than 4/5 (not exactly sure) kids including your own.

Because when I posted your own post saying you aren't in the UK hadn't appeared & in the UK what you are proposing would be illegal if you weren't registered.

The toddler wasnt in childcare. The mum was on a years ML.

No I didnt mention anything to parents. As I said it is VERY hard to get into course i want to do and I didnt mention this in OP but If I didnt get it I may even defer for a year for financial reasons

Primarily because the word 'Childminder' in England & Wales is an actual title (like nurse or doctor or solicitor) and you can't call yourself Childminder unless you are registered.

Now we realise you are not in the UK people will lay off about the 'registered' bit

Oh right. yes its different to UK where I am. If you only have below 4/5 you dont have to reg, I have voluntarily registered but didnt have to.

could you not take both children?

Sorry in second last post I said if i didnt get if i may defer, i obviously meant if i DID get it, I may defer for year.

DMO, I could but dont want to take on too much as I already have two toddlers myself.

Its more the dilemma of college. The first couple, he would be off all summer with his mum (teachers get 8-10 weeks here) so it would not be so much of an issue for that family if i didnt get into college.

But I much prefer the other couple and think they would have more respect for me. The first couple were 30 mins late which made me think, would they be like this when im minding their ds?

In my experience parents that mess you around before they've even started continue to mess you around. If that helps!

My current nanny was late for our interview 15 mins and she didn't text or called me to say she was running late. When she came, she apologised and said she did not have credits on her phone to call me.
So far she is proving to be very punctual nanny, so even though I was very concerned about the late interview, I am glad I gave her benefit of doubt.

I find MOST first time parents are late for appointments and tend to cut them some slack especially if they arrive flustered and apologetic. But I would expect a phone call if they were running half an hour late. I do expect people to behave considerately and respectfully.

But I would also let parents know if there was a distinct possibility of me giving up minding in the foreseeable future - I think that is only respectful to them.

I would suggest trusting both families with your plans, pointing out that it is only a maybe and that if it does happen you will give plenty of notice/help to find alternative care etc and see if either or both can work with you. Otherwise you could be setting yourself up for a lot of bad feeling just down the line.

Thanks for replies everyone : )

I decided to go with my gut (the fam who weren't late). I told her the truth about college and she was really happy i was honest with her and still wants me to take her dd!