question to those childminders who walk to school to do pickups.

[helsi]

how safe do you feel with children being "loose" around you when walking home?

I am really nervous as I am taking my baby (in pram) and 3 yr old to CM from Nov and she doesn't drive. she will be walking to school with my pram and dd2 to pick up dd1 and friend from nursery.

I am really worried an thinking all sorts although I trust her and she is good part of me keeps seeing my dd2 running into the road.

Would you be offended if I insisted that you walk with dd1 holding the pram or your hand?

This could be part of my depression that I am feeling creeping back up on me but I am adamant that dd1 should ot be allowed to run in front etc.

am I being too paranoid?

Yu will probably findshe will ask your 3yo to hold on to the pram in fort of you....to get your back up

She may ask an older child 7 or 8 to hold on to her hand

She will be against the children running away.

It's silly but most C/Mers are far more cautious than most parents because they aren't ours (iyswim)

I like parents to tell me stuff they stress about - as in the nbeginning it is a little problem and in 4 weeks it will be a BIG MAJOR DIASATER.....

You are not paranoid

i keep drilling it into dd2 that when she goes to X she must always hold on to the buggy even if her friend wants to run ahead. I do feel silly but I am uneasy with them going to CM anyway - I HAVE to go back to work so there is no option. I might just tell the CM how I feel and see what she says.

Tell her you are worried. TBH it doesn't seem that big a problem to me in that there are not hoards of children. And there is a solution. Each child cna hold one side of the pram. But if it is on your mind it is a problem until you have discussed it with her.

I see our local childminder do the school run with buggy and a number of children around her.

Every one of them is 'restrained' in some way, be it in reins, hand holding or holding on to buggy. I'm always quite impressed how she manages it, but as someone else said, she's probably more cautious than some mums.

Definitely tell yours though. They are your children and you do everything you can to make sure they are safe. This is just one of those things.

i alway use wrist straps on children under 5 when walking to and from places
never use my car as i always have too many children for car journeys

I worry about it when I have Lo's more than when they are my own - and I am seen as strict with them compared to lots of other mums doing the school run.

At the mo I have 2 lo's in a double buggy and my 3 year old walking. She must hold the buggy or my hand and if she forgets more than a time or two I put the reins on her to make sure she is safe. The two older boys also either hold the buggy or each others hands and have been "trained" to stay with me and hold the buggy and each others hand when we cross roads regardless of what others do around us.

I am very conscious of how many children I am looking after and am very careful and strict to make sure they stay with me and I am sure your CM will be the same

I'd suggest having a wrod to let her know you are a bit concerned and get her to tell you how she will manage. She won't mind and should put your mind at ease a bit.

Definitely tell your childminder how you feel - most of us are safety conscious, but I have seen a few that a little bit more laid back than they should be.

I use buggies, reins and wrist straps when walking anywhere - I am also paranoid about children running off, and it worries me more that they are other peoples' children.

Do you use reins or a wrist strap yourself? You could always offer to leave it with the childminder, and then she would definitely use it!!

I dont want to offend anyone, but please dont use wrist straps! If a child falls over it is quite easy to land up with their entire bodyweight on the wrist, which can cause a facture.

er... meant fracture!!

I only use wrist straps on a child that is perfectly capable of walking unaided (ie. doesn't need the safety of being supported from falling as with reins). The wrist strap is purely to stop a child from running into the road or running off, I don't hold them so tight that they are restrictive - I don't see that a wrist strap makes wrist fractures more likely??

i'm same as the prisoner, its for my peace of mind the children are capable of walking themselves but its incase they run into the road
i would rather have a broken wrist than a run over child!

my dd and mindee will be either one in buggy one with wrist strap on(yes i know the bad publicity about them but i choose to use one to prevent runing into road) or two holding my hand.
when it gets to more, itll be all on reigns/wriststraps

i agree with km who said cm are much more safety concious with other peoples children i was very liad back until i started minding now i am very aware of things that can happen. The hardest part of this job is being responsible for someone elses precious child, its very stressful imo.

There have been cases of children having broken wrists when using wrist straps. Even if you dont hold them tight, if the child pulls away suddenly and then trips, it is possible that momentarily you will have all of their bodyweight "Hanging" off their wrist, which can result in a fracture. Reins do the same job but are much safer as if the child falls, their bodyweight weight is distributed much more evenly.

I don't think it would be appropriate to put reins on a 4 year old though - I use the wrist straps solely to prevent older children from the road.

I think that if I offered parents a choice, I'm pretty sure that they'd opt for a fracture than being squished. (I think I will just check tomorrow to make sure though!!)

I use reins on a 4YO and he is quite happy about it - not the winnie the poo ones through!I also put mine in hi-vis wasitcoats - they dont mind wearing them and whilst they dont actually prevent a mishap, they do make the children more visible. The wrist straps worry me because I know of a nursery who used one on a farm visit, a child was injured following a trip and they were investigated for malpractice as apparently there are safety warnings about them. The child didnt have a fracture, just a sprain and bruising. I,m not sure what came of it through.

At the end of the day, everyone has to make their own decisions about their own situation, and of course the children. I have a 3YO who is very sensible whilst walking, and a 5YO who has me permanantly on edge!

think that the last thing thing you need to do is worry about agitating the childminder....think it is a key role that they play in listening to parents and then reassuring them...all will be fine...its all in the delivery...you dont want squashed kids because you were too polite to mention your concerns or were too nervous about a potential negative reaction...if you get one sack her!!

I don't doubt she'd be careful-but do do ask her what she's going to do.
Could you get a double buggy, with a buggy board, or put baby in a sling and DD1 in the pushchair.
Why is the CM also collecting a friend? Is that mindee too?

PS I am always nervous with 'loose' children.