Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

childminders : some parents leave me speechless.

39 replies

kizzypie · 09/01/2006 14:26

No point to this post really just thought id share one of my mindees parents daft comments with you all.
Last week two of the mindees turned up with a bag with coloured pencils and colouring books. So I said jokingly "Are my books and pencls not good enough" , the mindees laughed and the parent turned round and said "I didnt think you had anything like that"
This isnt the first comment along these lines she has made. If shes not happy then why doesnt she f* off and find another childminder.

5 weeks till maternity leave and counting every minute

kizzypie (honest im a brilliant childminder)

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

WigWamBam · 09/01/2006 14:32

I'm not a cm but I clicked on this by mistake and thought I'd comment anyway!

How old are the children? Old enough to be telling fibs? Because it sounds to me as if that's what's going on.

Original poster

kizzypie · 09/01/2006 15:53

children are 9 and 5 and lie constantly so im not that surprised by the comment

OP posts:

agalch · 09/01/2006 17:13

some parents are just awful arn't they? my mindee(who leaves in about 5 wks hurrah) came on the 23rd of Dec having been sick twice in cot that morning,but mum said och goodness me shes fine. my dd stomach bug from 23rd to 24 dec and me and 2 ds's sick xmas eve till boxing day. xmas totally ruined!! when mindee returns says to mum and she says "its an occupational hazard when you work with kids". hah if she wasn't leaving i deffo would have given notice. i will be on mat leave from june so hope i get someone to mind short term.

Original poster

kizzypie · 09/01/2006 17:48

agalch, just being nosy, do you stay in Livingston too, just I thought I seen your name as an email address on another childminding site. If you do there must be some sort of unwritten rule here about taking your "babysitter" ggrrrrrrrr for granted. (sorry these mindees insist on calling me that and it does my head in) sorry if its not you or you dont want to say where your from, just thought id ask

OP posts:

agalch · 10/01/2006 07:34

Hi kizzypie
I am in Livingston too I had a parent who never bothered turning up for the first meeting yesterday so it just gets better and better. Do you have problems with your parents too?

ssd · 10/01/2006 07:54

Is there an abundance of childminders in Livingston then? There must be for the parents to think they can treat you guys so badly!

agalch · 10/01/2006 08:56

ssd,don't know anout an abundance but things like this hapen fairly often to minders where i live. does it not happen often where you are?

ssd · 10/01/2006 09:32

it does happen, but there are loads of us minders where I live and a lot of vacancies, I get the feeling some parents think they can take the mick as someone else will have their kids,

Redtartanlass · 10/01/2006 10:10

hi, sorry for hi-jacking thread, but where do you advertise that you have vacancies. I'm looking for one, been to www.childworks.co.uk and to www.childreninformationservice.org but there doesn't seem to be many vacancies!!

agalch · 10/01/2006 10:31

Hi RTL

You could try friends reccomendations or your health visitor.I put posters up if i have a vacancy sometimes. Whereabouts are you?

Redtartanlass · 10/01/2006 10:52

thanks algach, I'm in Gloucestershire. I don't have any friends who have kids this young and haven't seen HV for weeks!!

agalch · 10/01/2006 10:57

Phone hv,mine recommends me to parents on occasion.Maybe someone else will be along and help u out.

HellyBelly · 10/01/2006 11:25

RTL - I'm just about to collect mine from pre-school but I've just bumped a thread regarding online advertising places. I set this up to help other childminders and some of my own enquiries have come from these sorts of places so it may be worth popping on some of these sites? (netmums is quite a good one )

Good luck

Original poster

kizzypie · 10/01/2006 14:23

hello, what I really like about this website is that ive realised that its not just me who has problems with parents. Ive got 2 great sets of parents and one nightmare (but she does pay on time and in advance), I agree that its common for parents not to turn up or treat us like rubbish here. Algach are you north Livingston or South end of Livingston, just wondering in case you stay near me and recognise any of the mindees I moan about. I stay in the north end by the way.
kizzypie

OP posts:

jambuttie · 10/01/2006 14:39

I clicked to on this in error bt am now intrigued as I am from Livingston too.

I do not child mind though however I did consider at a point.

A few cm I have spoken too have been quite negative and that put me off.

jambuttie · 10/01/2006 14:40

oops forgot to ask, why do cm not work weekends?

I looked into this when I forst returned to work and found only 1 cm who's rates i simply could not afford, and got no help from tc either

agalch · 10/01/2006 15:32

kizzypie

i'm not sure which area i'm in tbh.not sure which is which really.will ask my friend which is which and let you know

Isyhan · 10/01/2006 15:33

Dont know about other childminders but Im a qualified nurse and one of the reasons Im going to start childminding is that I can work at home with my children and not have to work weekends. I could work weekends as a nurse it would be easier that setting up a business as a childminder but I would not see my husband or my 6 year old. I wont work weekends unless business is poor and Im driven to it.

Original poster

kizzypie · 10/01/2006 17:54

jambuttie, although we moan childminding is a great job to do, I guess when everythings going well we dont tend to say anything but like any other job when things go badly we talk about it more. I think (please dont all shoot me) that about here where I stay that as well as a lot of not so good parents there are a few cms who I wouldnt send a dead goldfish to, let alone a child. But the majority of us are really nice and good at our jobs we just forget to talk about the good points sometimes.

I dont know about others but the reason I think a lot of cms dont work weekends is because we already work monday to friday and need time at weekends to spend with family. Noones ever asked me to work at the weekends but I would only watch babies/ toddlers then I wouldnt take older children. Just my opinion while Im waiting for my dinner to cook.

OP posts:

jambuttie · 11/01/2006 22:57

hi folks

I agree there are a few cm around(esp livingston) with poor reputation but again you do only really hear the bad bits.

I believe this would be a rewarding job though and you may have swung my thoughts back to it, may rethink again about this.

My kids are young too so i now work evenings, would be nice to work in the day whilst being with the kids too.

What is the ratio of kids per cm?

I ahve 3 kids under 4 so not sure what i would be allowed to mind

Original poster

kizzypie · 11/01/2006 23:21

up to 6 under 16s including up to 3 under schoolage only 1 of which can be under 1. That means that at the moment youd be pretty much only be able to take 5 and overs. hope this helps

OP posts:

jambuttie · 12/01/2006 10:09

thanx kizzy that would suit me better actually having theolder children so may now look into it again

jillyjay · 16/01/2006 12:06

I have a new client who insists on phoning me atleast 4/5 times a day, has she eaten!, slept, drank, poohed etc etc etc. Is this normal, and how the hell can i stop it. I have tried not answering but she leaves bulshy messages.

she has also mucked me around alot. she is going soon, though she doesn't know that yet.

agalch · 16/01/2006 12:13

Jillyjay
have you tried asking her to phone at a set time,perhaps halfway during the time you have mindee? Do you do a daily diary? If you do she shouldn't be wasting your time!! Remind her that the more time you spend on the phone to her the less time you are spending with the mindees,which afterall is not professional.

jillyjay · 16/01/2006 12:16

I do run a diary system and she has one, makes no difference though. I really don't think she likes the child being happy she always asking if she has cried or winged, which she never does. I will take on board your suggestion, i have also added a note to my portfolio for future parents.
thanks

Flip

1 2