Questions to ask prospective CM's

[glendathegoodwitch]

Hi

I've looked at the similar thread and have copied the list of questions but as it will be my (then) 4 mth old dd I will be entrusting I wondered if there were any important/relevant questions to ask??

I have no experience of cm's so am clueless - here's the couple I have thought of:

If dd is restless and fractious for most of the day, how would you calm her and look after your other charges??

If dd started to cry, how long would she be left before being comforted?

Is also want to know what her policy is on taking children out, if he has anyone helping her / round regularly and are they CRBed, what her waning policy is and does she attend any groups/would she be willing to?

:)

I'm interested to know what a "waning policy" is? I don't have one!

I say to new parents - Go with your gut instinct, ask yourself, can I see my child in this setting, do I think she wold be happy here, visualise her on the floor playing, pop her on the floor and look around her, does it feel right.

How does the childminder react or speak to her, some will approach straightaway, some bide their time until the child has been there a little while, judging when to pick up your little one.

Most childminders are very experienced at settling i new babies, I look at those in my setting and take into account who already have and their developmental stage, is it right for them too, to have a new baby at that time.

The dynamics make a huge difference to the setting, I have turned people down as I did not think that they or maybe their child was right for me and my setting, after all I have a duty of care to those children too.

For me, it's about getting the balance right, not just taking on a child because I have a vacancy, I wait for the right family and as some of those families have been with me for over 7, 9 and 11 years, the least has been 2.6 years.

I agree with Mindingalongtime. I am concerned with the dynamics of the group and looking for children and families whose requirements are a good fit with what I can offer. Meetings with new families are not in my view about giving the "correct" answers to a huge list of standard questions (many of the factual, practical and logistical issues can be dealt with beforehand by phone or email); they are about trying to establish whether we have similar values, priorities and parenting styles and whether we can work together successfully and co-operatively. If these basics are right, minor details can be ironed out and the relationship will last. I think it's better to talk about what is important to you than to try to plough through someone else's checklist and ending up with a number of boxes ticked and no real sense of the person. Do you like each other? Do you trust her judgement? Does she seem warm and caring? Is she a good listener? Remember that she will be trying to form an impression of you too and that you need to "be yourself" which might be more difficult if you get too bogged down in the detail of your lists.

Was meant to be weaning, sorry!

Ah weaning I did think of other possibilities, different letters for the first and came up with caning!

minderjinx Good post