I am finding it really hard to chose a childminder for my son. There isn't a lot of choice in the area and I have been lucky to find two childminders with space, but I cannot decide which one. I tend to over analyse things and worry about making the best choice for him. Both childminders are ofsted registered, their references were good and have been childminding for the same amount of time. My son will be going 4 nights a week for after school care (he will be in reception). A summary of the two
Childminder 1: has three daughters one of which will be in same year as my son, she has a dog, not walkable to school and a little less practical for us for pick up, tidy, up together house and well organised. She was good at getting across her enjoyment of working with children.
Childminder 2: has two sons (7 and 10), walkable to school, didn't come across as overly warm but her children were very nice, house not so well kept, it was hard to read her
My thoughts are I like 1 but the dog is a bit of a concern (son gets v nervous round them), it's all girls- will he get bored in the long run? But she will have child in same year. With 2 she will be better from a location perspective, he will have boys to play with. We didn't gell but mainly as it was hard to get much out of her/she wasn't selling herself- but her children were very nice which says a lot about someone. With 1 she seemed more warm (possibly too soft) but 2 would be more firm (which I don't necessarily see as a bad thing). So as you can see I am muddled! It's the boy v girl thing that seems to be concerning me as worried in long term he will be bored or not have playmates with similar interests. Help! (Be gentle with me as I am thoroughly stressed out!)