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 3 4 5

Original poster

VERY UPSET CHILDMINDER HADLEIGH

111 replies

lovingmumof1 · 01/10/2006 21:17

I have been childminding for just over a year now and haven't had the best of starts, I have been told on a number of occassions by my colleagues that people have been telling friends not to use me as I have a dog. Now I think that is totally unfair towards me and the dog as this is my living and if these people came to see us they would realise he is not bad, OFSTED wouldn't have registered me if the dog was bad. I know with what has happened resently about dogs that may put people off, it would me, but how am I supposed to make a living as I love working with children and being at home with my DS. PLEASE COULD HADLEIGH PARENTS GIVE ME SOME INFO AS IT IS GETTING ME DOWN

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Jimjams2 · 06/10/2006 20:36

I don't have a dog. DS3 and ds1 go to a childminder with a dog. Bloody brilliant she is too. She has guinea pigs as well.

Jimjams2 · 06/10/2006 20:37

oh and I'm fairly sure this childminder has no shortage of work - the dog doesn't have to out people off, although I think you do need to be clear about boundaries- but you sound like you use that anyway with the gates etc.

hadleigh · 06/10/2006 22:09

Lovingmumof1 - I don't think that anyone is trying to put you out of business there are plenty of children needing care in Hadleigh for all childminders.

However because you have a dog you are going to reduce your prospective parents (as many have said on this thread they just will not use a cm that has a dog, regardless of the cm). Parents will not phone to ask about your services if they are not looking for a childminder with a dog (Calling would be a waste of their time and as I am sure you know we parents don't have a great deal of spare time)

Hadleigh is a fairly small tight knit community and the majority of parents all know each other in a round about way. I don't think that anyone is conspiring against you and spreading rumours. Through word of mouth you are just known as the childminder with the dog.

Parents (myself included) have an "ideal candidate" in their mind for who will look after their children. Out of all the childminders in Hadleigh I would only be prepared to leave my child with two of them as the rest do not fufil the requirements i am looking for.

There have been some really good suggestions on this thread from people trying to help. Ask someone (who you trust but who will be honest with you)to come round and offer their opion on your setting and their view of your dog, Advertise in a dog magazine (you will be attracting the attention of people who you know won't be put off by a dog), send a questionnaie to the parents of past mindees asking for their feedback. Be prepared to work on their views.

It is unstandable that you want to do things your way (its your business after all) but if your way hasn't been working then maybe it's time to make some adjustments.

Lou1979 · 08/10/2006 10:54

I'm a childminder and have 2 very small dogs. The children love them! My intention was to keep them away from the children but this is impossible as the children beg to play with them! They dress them up and play with them like dolls!
I also have a rabbit. I think it's a good way of teaching responsibility. They learn how to look after pets by feeding and cleaning them out and also it's a great oppurtunity to teach basic hygiene.

Peanutgant · 08/10/2006 19:17

I deliberately chose my nursery for DD because they have all sorts of animals there: sheep, donkeys, horses, goats, dogs and cats! we have two dogs and two cats too so for me animals are a bonus That said I wouldn't let her go to a house with a known troublesome breed i.e. Rottweiler, bull terriers etc but Pointers are lovely so for me no problems there.

Twoandabump · 11/10/2006 07:46

I have had my post removed as you feel that it could do your business harm.

If you ask a question on an open, public domain like this, then you should accept that you may get an answer that you may not want to hear.

I appologise if I have caused you upset, but I thought by answering your question truthfully, you could escape any more worrying about why you do not get called. By doing it in this way, I thought that you might listen to comments that have been made rather than not taking them on board when we have tried to talk to you, but I was obviously wrong.

Sorry

FreakyFloss · 11/10/2006 08:05

We went on our cm hunt 6 months ago now. I met one lovely lady, two ladies who would 'do' and one awful one. The two ladies who would do did not have dogs. One had two young DD's who even in the interview got obviuous preferential treatment. The other had no sleeping facilities for DS.

The awful one had two huge dogs, wasn't in when i arrived (on time) and when she did get there sat down and said 'ALRIIIGHT?'. nO TOUR, dogs loose and one small, minimal toy room. The lovely lady had a dog, a bird and guinea pigs. The dog is a small breed and does always seem very friendly. However, she is always kept in a partitioned off part of a room. AS others have said, there is also a special poop section of their garden.

On the whole we are very happy with her, DS woke up this morning wanting his shoes on and was calling her name. For us she shone through because of her professional friendly open approach, that she was so happily prepared to help us and be flexible and of course the fact DS settled in the house immediately and took to her straight away. But as others have said, our cm was chosen because of all these reasons and in spite of the dog.

gigglinggoblin · 11/10/2006 08:31

if people are actively warning people about your dog, the thought occurs that maybe other people do not see him in the same way as you do. could other people view him as a threatening dog? to you he is a member of the family so you are more likely to forgive him any character flaws which other people would worry about. tbh i wouldnt trust a baby gate to keep a dog out of a room, my ex had a fairly small dog who could easily jump over their garden wall and that was a foot or so higher than most gates

while i would not dream of putting my kids in a house with a strange dog, i also wouldnt badmouth a childminder with a dog unless i thought the dog was a cause for concern. while none of us like to admit our kids can be badly behaved, other people are often a lot more blunt about what they see and in the case of a threatening dog i doubt they would feel the need to be very kind im afraid, i certainly wouldnt be if i thought it was possibly a danger

jenkel · 11/10/2006 08:33

I think by having animals you are reducing your pool of possible mindees.

I wouldnt go to a cm with a dog, I dont know any dogs, my kids dont know any dogs and I am a bit nervous of dogs, which I think is a sensible thing to be, certain types of dogs can do kids a lot of harm.

We have a cat, I wouldnt imagine a cat could do as much harm as a dog, they just arent as big and powerful as some dogs. But saying that when we have kids come to play some are quite nervous of our cat, so I make sure she is out of the way for the whole time they are here.

mumandlovingit · 11/10/2006 09:37

i think its bad that people are talking about you to put people off using you as a cm but if it is a small town then people will talk.i dont know alot about where you live

i dont use a cm but to be honest i dont let my children near dogs full stop.both are allergic to them and cats and we cant take them into someones house even if the pets are in a different room.alot of children have allergies and i think that needs to be considered when being a cm.

we didnt know our children were allergic until we'd explored all other avenues and the symptoms eventully died down once our dog had been put down from cancer and we weren't visiting relatives with pets too often.

i would try to appeal to a different market of people and openly advertise that you have a dog and make people clear of your policy regarding it with the children.

my mil's westie went for my son twice and thats the most placid dog id ever known.you really dont ever know where children and any animals are concerned and i think that is why people might be put off any cm with an animal.

its hard but please see both sides.im not keen with dogs and yes children need to learn responsibility towards animals etc but as a parent i would rather do that with them in my own home and myself than have someone else teach them that in a way that i have no control of.

i hope you can get this issue resolved.

anniemac · 11/10/2006 10:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

flis · 18/10/2006 18:44

Just to add, although I would chose a childminder for her and not the animal companions, I would think carefully before putting my dds with anyone who DIDN'T have some sort of pet.

HappyMumof2 · 18/10/2006 19:31

Message withdrawn

Isyhan · 18/10/2006 19:59

Its interesting that a few months ago we had a thread on here about whether dogs put people off and I think I was one of the few people who said I wouldnt be happy to use a Cmder with a dog now suddenly because of the recent press everyone agrees. How fickle we are!! No seriously, my daughter wants a dog but because Ive started cmding I wont get one. Thats the reality of it Im afraid. However my cat did pee the OFSTED lady off I think by sitting on the table and staring at her!

Imaminda · 04/01/2011 22:22

Im a cm and I have a dog It has been trained to wear a basket muzzle whenever there are children here and although it is very friendly this safeguards me and the children, reassures the parents and means that the children can smooth it without fear. Its a rescue dog that is quite old now so most of the time it stays out of the way but when it needs to go out the garden etc its safe. The way we see it if it did bite a child it would be life changing for the child and life endng for the dog so the muzzle works fine and parents are reassured by it. The dog is muzzled before I open the door to the first mindee and it comes off when the last child leaves - its just a normal part of my routine here now just like hoovering before the crawling baby arrives

UniS · 05/01/2011 10:00

Dog would normally put me off as DS dislikes dogs. I have chosen not to look into using 2 local CMs who have/ had dogs and took dog in car with mindees or let dogs roam house with mindees.

BUT- his occasional ( afterschool and holidays) CM does have dog. Dog is kept in large cage in separate part of house when there are mindees there. Only taken for walks with mindees IF CMs teenage son is there to walk the dog. DS says he likes this dog, BUT he actually has practically no contact with it.

StarExpat · 05/01/2011 10:03

Haven't read the whole thread, but... I wouldn't use a cm with a dog. DS is 2. Some people wouldn't mind using a cm with a dog. But I would. Sorry.

Nothing against you or dogs and the dog could be the most gentle enjoyable dog in the world. I still wouldn't use a cm with a dog, though (even if s/he says it's kept locked up).

You'll have to accept that some parents will want to use a cm with a dog, some won't mind, and some won't want a cm with a dog.

It's a parent's choice whether or not they want an environment with a dog for their dc or not. Yes, valuable lessons in caring for a pet...etc... but still, some people (me included) will not want to place their dc with a cm with a dog.

StarExpat · 05/01/2011 10:04

OH LOL just seen how old this thread is. Why/how to people drag these things back up into active? It's confusing!

happychappy · 05/01/2011 10:39

I was a childminder with a dog for a period. I never had any difficultly getting work. However as a parent I would want to meet the dog and see the pet policy and see how owner and dog interact before making a decision to leave my children with them.

Nuttychicken · 07/01/2011 18:42

I'm not from Hadleigh either.

I have just changed to a new childminder and she has a dog. I have to say that, were my son a small baby I may have been more hesitant but I want my son to be around animals and actively encourage him to be confident around all animals. That said I did rule out one childminder with a snake...

You may find that it will put off some parents but others may not be bothered. If you are clear in your advertising that you have a dog but that your house is clean, that the dog's toilet area is separate to the children's garden area etc and that your dog is used to children and fully vaccinated, you'll hopefully meet like-minded parents.

Sorry you are not having much luck.

Sequins · 07/01/2011 21:21

Sorry, not read whole thread, but I wouldn't generally choose a childminder with a dog either. Having said that, lovingmumof1, your description of your setting sound fine, so maybe it is just a question of trying to get more people to actually come and meet you?

Sequins · 07/01/2011 21:22

LOL wonder if OP is still checking this thread 4 1/2 yrs on and still has a dog? Hope your business has improved, if so!

andrea315 · 07/01/2011 23:08

Im i childminder with a dog and the parents and children love him he even got christmas presents off them all. One parent sent her children to me because i have a dog and her children were afraid of them and she wanted them to be around one so they wouldnt be , i can say that now they are the total opposite and are asking for a dog.
I wouldnt be without my dog he is a great friend to me and a great friend to the children,some people wouldnt send their children to a childminder with a dog but i can honestly say in 5 years i have only had one child that didnt start because i have a dog. oh and my midwife always told me that cats were worse for diseases !!

new2cm · 09/01/2011 17:59

I have cats.

When I asked for feedback from the 5 prospective parents as to why they did not chose my services, 3 of them stated my cats, which is fair enough.

I love my cats but I accept that I will lose business because of them. As someone already said, that's life.

kingjam76 · 21/02/2013 21:21

Looking for a childminder in Hadleigh. Do you have any vacancies?

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Swipe left for the next trending thread

*****VERY UPSET CHILDMINDER HADLEIGH*****

VERY UPSET CHILDMINDER HADLEIGH