First time in A&E with mindee, I feel terrible

[BornToShopForcedToWork]

After 5 1/2 years of nannying no accidents have ever happened to me. Today my LO fell into a champagne bottle that was next to the hob while I was cooking his dinner. Sitting in hospital now, waiting for his mum to arrive and hoping she won't be mad at me...

How on earth does a child fall into a bottle of champagne? How big was the bottle?

Sorry, that doesn't help

Is he badly cut?

And I'm guessing if you're a nanny not a cm it was their house and they'd left the bottle there.

yes, not a minded child but a charge

Gosh, headfirst into a champagne bottle sounds a bit scary; I hope all ends well

Mindee broke his arm at my house last week. He slipped off a dining chair and put his hand out to stop himself and somehow broke both bones in his forearm. I was crying more than he was when I saw the parents. Luckily they were really nice about it and basically said accidents happen. Shook me up a lot

I really hope that their reasonable about it and your charge is ok.

@Headfairy: All the wine and champagne bottles are in a shelf next to the hob, it's a bottom shelf so it is very easy for the child to grab it. It fell down, broke and he slipped on the liquid with head first.

Sorry, yes I am nanny not a cm and English is not my first language, so I assumed mindee and charge means the same. So yes my charge hurt himself. Luckily it looked a lot worse than it actually was but it did bleed a lot and I guess it was a bigger shock for me than it was for him. Once we got to A&E he was all smiley and happy. He is such a brave boy.

Yes, his mother came back straight from work and she wasn't mad at all, neither was his father. Mother was joking and said I should have better drunk that bottle and that I deserve my holiday now even more than I did before.

I am so glad that he is okay. That was my biggest fear that one of my charges hurt himself badly while I am looking after him.

neither mindee nor charge are appropriate terms to refer to children we 'care for'..if my child was called that I would not like it....sorry my view!
I do not call my children mindees or charges!

As a nanny I refer to the children I care for as my ' charges'. Not all the time but in instances where I feel the person needs to clearly know straight away that I am not their parents

What would you call them?

With friends who know my charge I use their name .... but when I talk about the child I care for to others and wouldn't know who I was talking about I call them my charge.

I think Mindee is a lovely, affectionate name

Nannies have charges

its the name for a child who is cared for by a nanny... its just the english language

teachers have pupils / students
doctors have patients
nannies have charges

its just how it is

OP pleased to here that your charge is ok and that it looked worse than it was, and that parents "didnt mind"
Yes its horrible when a child hurts themself, esp when they are not your own child and you are in charge.

Glad the LO is fine and all is well. Out of interest Italiana what do you call the children you care for then? I assume you're a childcare worker.

Aww accidents happen but I can imagine how scary it was for you.

Glad Lo was ok and his parents were.reasonable.

Charge or mindee sound fine to me.

Charges = child you are in charge of, have responsibility for.

Mindee = child you are minding for the parent.

What's the problem Italiana??

I think the parents would be a bit miffed if you went around saying 'my' child/children.

As mogandme pointed out, to people who know me/them we use first names. To others, we use charge/mindee.

Simple as, always has been, always will be.

OP it is horrible especially the first time. Been there myself (not with a bottle tho ).

Accidents can and do happen at any time. As long as you know you have done everything in your power to prevent as far as is possible that's really all you can do.

I also think "mindee" is a bit formal and cold. I would use the term in the abstract, say when discussing with another CM what paperwork we might have in place for mindees. But when talking about the specific children I care for, I tend to say "the children I care for". Though English is a strange language - I was thinking only the other day that this makes all other children the children I don't care for! The "children I mind" is just as bad, making everyone else "the children I don't mind".

I don't particularly like the term childminder either. It suggests something altogether too passive - sort of keeping an eye on them without actively engaging with them. I think childcarer is a better reflection of what we actually do.

Sorry BorntoShop, I went off at a tangent there and completely forgot to offer my sympathy for your horrible experience and to wish you and the little one all the best.