Male childminders

[PhyllisDoris]

What do people think about male childminders?
My DH, recently made redundant, has thought about becoming a childminder. He's great with babies and kids and I think he'd be really good at it, but do you think people would be prepared to use a male child minder?
He'd be comfortable looking after boys and girls (we have two DDs), but I thought some people might quite like the idea of a male childminder for boys.

Extremum, a question for you.

You have 2 CMs available to you (these are not reflective nor typical of anyone, this is merely a hypothetical question):

CM1 is an extremely competent male CM that approaches his job in an ambitious way, has glowing references from the parents, is adored & respected by the kids he cares for, is known for keeping up-to-date with legislation, is known for the varied activities & experiences he provides for his kids, & was rated 'Outstanding' in his last inspection.

CM2 is a female CM that took up childminding because it seemed like an easy way to make money, has been seen berating & sometimes swearing at the children she looks after, does very little in the way of development for the children, does not involve herself or the cared-for children in the community at all, & was rated 'Satisfactory' in her last inspection.

Are you telling me you would still choose CM2?

extrememum so glad the parents that use my DH whos is a registered CM (Im not) arent as small minded as you, he is fantastic with his mindees and is even in demand in our area, after a very slow start. In fact he would have registered years ago but was wary because he thought people would think like you do. Your post is offensive, not just to male CMs but all men - are you really saying every man has the potential to abuse children - really?

Men can make wonderful cms, but if they're not accompanied by a wife or partner, personally, I'm not supportive of it do you realise how offensive this is for example? So all men should be chaperoned with children now? And as someone else has mentioned does that include Dads?

To all above, fairly unexpected responses, a little hostile too if I may say, seeing as I'm only voicing my opinion. And perhaps you should take a moment to think why an individual would have opinions as I have before you go making statements like small minded etc.

If 2 cms presented themselves with exactly the same credentials, only one was male and one female - whom would you choose?

And please don't cite one reported instance of females abusing children and equate that to all the reported instances of males abusing children.

unexpected responces, really? you did not expect to be put right on this? I dont think it is fair of you either to put such an offensive unreasoned post to then say people should take a moment to think about why you have that opinion. because I do feel regardless of why a male childminder would not be an appropriate choice for you, you can not validade such an inflamatory post by any experience, yopu would have been better explaining due to terrible experiences you have personal reasons for never wanting to chose a male cm. for just the same reason you take issue with a female abuser being used as an example.

turnigitonitshead I have been put right on nothing. I gave an opinion and whilst you may disagree with it, you cannot disagree with my right to voice it. In MY opinion I do not support the use of male cms. Nothing more than that. Mumsnet is about giving opinions and advice and getting into discussions about matters that improve the lives of our children. I would not wish my children to have a male cm, you would and I entirely support your right to say so.

Im not sure what your problem is other than spoiling for afight on this, very odd, to post the way you did to then be surprsied that people should react. read my last post I have not disagreed with your right to post, just pointed out how you may wish to think about voicing that opinion if you are going to be surprised by the reaction you get.

I am a female cm and we have a male cm who is part of our local group and he minds 3 small children. We get together weekly and he is like a magnet to the other kids and he is very tolertant , caring and patient with the children and a very good role model..... isnt that what we look for in a cm regardless of their sex?
I know its always in the news about men being 'abusers' but they are a minority and i think lots of people panic when they see a man anywhere near a child. I was brought up in a big family of males and had male primary school teachers and male sports coaches etc (back in the day before crb checks were heard of) and you know what, none of them abused me in any way, they were all lovely and could be trusted to be around children like millions of other men can.
As a single mum i would definitely have used a male childminder had there been any when my kids were younger.

And perhaps you should take a moment to think why an individual would have opinions as I have before you go making statements like small minded etc.

Sorry no, you original statement - in my opinion which Im allowed to - is showing you to be samll minded. At no point did I say you werent entitled to your opinion, you are and youve showed it cleearly here, so dont act all huffy now.

In the next village to us there's a very popular husband and wife CM team. They never have a vacancy.

One of the dad's in our village has become a CM in the few months. He has no vacancies either. I would use him as a CM. I wouldn't think that of every male CM just like there would be female CM's I'd not touch with a barge pole. It's personal preference.

extremum - I think that is a very offensive way, women are just as capable of doing things to kids (look at the Vanessa George case, she was in a nursery and was photographing the children and sending them on to paedophiles).

ManAboutTheHOuse - Any chance of moving up to Greater Manchester, I would have you as my cm and I could go out to work!!

My husband is frequently home early on Fridays and I have 2 after schoolers. He has never been in trouble for anything and has a CRB as does my 21 year old who is away at University but will be living at home full-time in July until he can afford a house of his own

Hello there, I am the wife and childminding partner of ManAboutTheHouse.

In my opinion, Childminding is an industry which is very highly regulated by Ofsted and local councils.

ManAboutTheHouse is watched like a hawk by everyone we meet, at playgroups, out and about etc. initially with very quizzical stares (by people who do not know him), then after a short while, with admiring glances as people watch how he manages lots of small toddlers with confidence and professionalism. He has gained a great deal of respect in the local area an is often asked for his advice from fellow childminders and local parents.

I can think of no worse industry for a paedophile to go into as there is so much suspicion around, that the slightest inappropriate action would be jumped upon. I would imagine that most would want to go under the radar, un-noticed which is not possible when you a man in this industry!

I feel very sad for our society if we assume that any man going into the industry of caring for children is doing so for his own dark reasons. Thankfully most of the posts here are more logical and rational.

We use a husband and wife childminding team, they're both absolutely fab, our boys love doing 'boy stuff' like football etc with the husband and my youngest in particular has a really close bond with him. Part of the reason we chose them was because having both husband and wife means it really feels like a home from home place for the DCs.

Hi. I just moved to UK from Finland and when I say I am the boys' (who I take care of) nanny and not father, I've gotten mostly aaaa's / that's nice 's. I have noticed that in Britain the male carers are not valued as much as in Finland. Here the people who value the male nannies, know the worth of us. Those who don't, hire someone else. There will always be people who look male nannies like we are second grade citizens but that is their problem, not ours. If you are a male and great with kids, go for it! Lets make our 5% up to 6% from the nanny population! (correct me if that percentage is wrong) =)
J