Some advice please (childminder asking) thanks

[MUM2BLESS]

1. My son is now 16. I paid for him to be crb checked because he is living on the premises, can I claim as an expense? He's not working to pay for it himself.
2. How do you manage to get little ones to sleep at the same time. One is allowed to sleep as long as she needs to the other one is allowed about an hour max. What do you do?

Do you mean as an expense against your tax accounts? I don't see why it isn't an expense. You wouldn't have to pay for it unless you were working as a childminder.
The nap thing, do they both sleep at roughly the same time already and one needs to cut down, or are they napping at completly different times? I've worked really hard to get my mindees to nap at the same time, it's the only way I get a break and some days it's really welcome. It's now just their routine after lunch, they have a nap. Without knowing their routines it's hard to know how I would do it, but maybe cutting down/stopping morning naps, so they both go down in the afternoon, stretching how long one goes until nap time and bringing forward the other ones nap time till they meet in the middle may work?

I'm not a CM but DD goes to a CM.

When DD was still napping, CM would just put both toddlers down to nap after lunch. Peer pressure seems to help massively with getting them to sleep. Even my dreadful sleeping DD dropped off on cue from her first day there. DS was the same as a baby at nursery.

Are you having problems getting both off to sleep at once, or is it the 1 hour napper waking up the other one when he/she wakes? Have the little ones been with you for long, perhaps they just haven't settled into your routine yet?

I completely messed up DS's DBS check & wasted the first fee as I didn't sign up for the update service (a further £13.00 annually) submitted it to Ofsted on my Government gateway number to finish the EY2 application. Ofsted rejected it as it wasn't my DS submitting it (my argument was its my business, I paid for the DBS, my DS isn't employed by me etc) by this time the DBS was over 19 days old therefore new application (plus further £52.00) needed.
I cried!! My DS is never here when I'm working.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Yes, I wanted to know if I can claim for the crb I paid, when doing my tax return, as an expense.

Child 1 is with me five days and I have a routine (mum wants her to sleep however long she needs to). She hasn't been with me as long as child 2. She is more clingy, if I can use that word.

Child 2 is now with me only two days instead of five (in the past she was the only one with me) To ensure she sleeps earlier in the evening only really allowed an hour sleep. Been with me for quiet a while but days have been reduced this year. Came back and saw another little one with me.. At the end of the day I have to pay my bills.

Double up two days with both. I take child two out the room to prevent child one waking up. Child 1 sometimes wakes up during sleep and dislikes being alone. I do manage sometimes to get her back to sleep again. Trying to keep child 2 quite.

Its been a challenge getting them off to sleep at the same time even though I can see they are both tired. One of the little ones will some times make such a fuss when its sleep time. Not sure why. I think its easier to get them both to sleep together. My routine has changed as I have two little ones now. When you've got one you can do one to one. When its sleep time I keep quiet and let the one who is sleeping sleep. You now have to ensure the one awake does not wake the other one.

Sorry so long but needed to explain.

Please don't feel you're short-changing them in any way by having two together. DD's CM has three little ones sometimes (two 2-yr-olds and a 3-yr-old) and they have a ball. It's been such a plus for DD. Feels like she's getting the socialisation of a nursery setting but the consistency of care and the variety of experience of a CM.

And please don't be resentful of the limit of an hour on naps. My two have both been a nightmare with too much nap. It's a vicious circle, nap -> unable to settle in the evening -> tired the next day and needing to nap even more. (Not saying you are resentful, but if it's making things difficult for you it would be easy to be.)

Does Child 1 actually need the longer nap still? If she's waking up and being hard to re-settle, perhaps she's not really needing the extra sleep cycle any more. Might be worth a try just letting her stay up if she wakes up. I think any progress you can make towards her settling herself for her nap would also help her to re-settle on her own if she wakes when she still needs more sleep.

Thanks catkind.

Child 1 does need the sleep. She is sometimes up early at home. She doesn't like to be alone and will go back to sleep if I am in the room. Of course I have to leave the room again for different reasons. I do listen out for her and keep the door open. She has settled but still sticks close to me. I know every child is so different. I have four of my own.

The hour goes so quickly for child 2. I can understand that mum wants to limit her sleep.

Little ones have to also adapt to being at my house which may not always be easy.

I have a spare room downstairs which I use and I have a downstairs toilet which means I do not have to use upstairs for childminding.

Would it not be easier to also use upstairs for childminding? I only use upstairs for napping children, I have a travel cot in two bedrooms, but it does mean that awake children arent waking up sleeping ones and because the sleeping ones are in Seperate rooms they generally don't wake each other either.