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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

childminder left 9 month old in car

98 replies

snowywol · 12/12/2015 21:42

Hi my sister has just started leaving her 9 month old with a child minder and when I went to collect my nephew the other day he was sleeping in the child minders car. The child minder said he had only been in there because he had been crying a lot and she needed to change other children she had and didn't want to wake him as knew he would be crying. She said it wasn't long but she was in the kitchen when I arrived so not changing the other children. The doors were open but still my sister and I were very shocked. I also have a young child and would never do this or expect my child minder to. My sister is just working out what to do and wondered if anyone else had had a problem like this?
Thanks

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Thaila · 12/12/2015 22:58

This is not on at all and I would be furious about this. If I was your sister I would switch childminders immediately.

NeededANameChangeAnyway · 12/12/2015 22:58

She is paid to look after him, leaving him in the car is not looking after him no matter how long it was or wasn't. As a pp has said you don't know how long he was in the car for - could have been much longer than she said. I'd remove him and report her.

OurBlanche · 12/12/2015 23:05

Legally, it is an offence under Section One of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 to neglect or abandon a child under the age of 16 for whom a parent or carer has responsibility.

But the law gives no clarification as to what amounts to neglect or abandonment. Prosecution would depend largely on the circumstances

Quoted from a lawyer in a newspaper, sorry, I clicked away...

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11249091/Father-prosecuted-after-leaving-daughter-in-car-for-ten-minutes.html Sounds like a bit of a daft sod, but no presecution.

The NSPCC only gives guidelines.

The deciding factor seems to be the likelihood of harm www.gov.uk/law-on-leaving-your-child-home-alone Updated Sept this year, includes cars.

Which leaves Childminding Standards, Section 6 Safety;

6.17 Children are not left unattended on outings or in a vehicle.

So, was the child unattended or just loosely attended? That is the only question. Not having seen the set up, I don't know.

OP, if you do choose to report, then Section 6.17 of the Childminding Standards is what you think was breached.

Lweji · 12/12/2015 23:06

If the op approached and entered the house without having been seen, I'd say unattended.

Janeymoo50 · 12/12/2015 23:08

You opt for "cheaper" childcare, you take the risk. By this I mean....you have not employed a one on one person for your child like a nanny. There are only so many eyes/pairs of hands she has. Your DN was not harmed was he??? Let's get real here.

blatantplacemark · 12/12/2015 23:09

Put very simply, it's FINE to make this choice with your own child and most of us have done it. As a paid childcare professional you are NOT allowed to do it and some posters seem to be having difficulty grasping that.

blatantplacemark · 12/12/2015 23:10

Having said that though, I wouldn't be 'furious..' But the rules are clear and she's breached them

abbsismyhero · 12/12/2015 23:11

www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/tragic-death-11-week-old-6778527

gives a list of guidelines about sleeping in a car seat it seems to imply it is not safe to leave a child unattended sleeping in the carseat as they could asphyxiate if they slump down they can't get themselves back up again yes its about a younger child but the message seems to be clear don't leave them unattended in a car seat and in a car is unattended

Rinceoir · 12/12/2015 23:12

I would be annoyed too. It's not something I would do myself either.

abbsismyhero · 12/12/2015 23:15

www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/safety/parents-warned-not-to-leave-babies-sleeping-in-car-seats/

little more scaremongering seems to imply you should have another adult in the car with you to watch the baby at all times and your child could die in as little as four minutes which i do feel is excessive but the list of advice quotes the NHS website so i thought it might be of some use

wannaBe · 12/12/2015 23:16

Given childminders aren't permitted to leave children unattended I imagine that if anything had happened her insurance would be invalid.

I would remove him with immediate effect and report to ofsted.

OurBlanche · 12/12/2015 23:19

They are just guidelines though, the law is not specific. So that alone is nt enough to condemn the childminder

www.gov.uk/law-on-leaving-your-child-home-alone

As I said, that just leaves an interpretation of Childminding Standards Section 6.17

Was the child left unattended or loosely supervised. Only OP, her sister and the childminder can have an informed opinion on that.

plannedshock · 12/12/2015 23:30

I would be really cross. I would not want anyone making the decision to leave my child in a car, no way! The fact that you walked past the car and to the house and she hasn't clocked you?!?! Maybe it's not a sackable thing but I would definitely be voicing the fact that it's never to happen ever again!!!

icandothis64 · 13/12/2015 08:28

I think we have all done things simile with our own children from time to time. That said. These are not her own children and you are paying her for a service. And as pet of that service I would not expect this. I am sure when she is putting her credential together she doesn't say ' will leave children unattended in the car on driveway'. Of course she wouldn't and therefore you should see this as a commercial engagement and demand a higher order of care. IMHO.

icandothis64 · 13/12/2015 08:31

I once had to talk to my childminder when I discovered that she would leave the house from time to time with kids in care of au pair. In one level that was fine the AP was lovely and very capable. But. She couldn't speak English. So in an emergency would not have been able to call 999. Similarly she once left her elderly mother in charge whilst children sleeping in cot. All good as long as they didn't wake up and she was incapable of lifting them from th cots. So unreal think one should make it very clear to your childminder that no harm in this occasion but please don't do it again.

HortonWho · 13/12/2015 09:07

Just goes to show how useless those Ofsted ratings truly are. It's by fair to truly outstanding childcare providers when people don't report. Ofsted isn't law - but they do have standards you must abide by if you wish to be accredited with them. This childminder has broken those standards.

HortonWho · 13/12/2015 09:07

It's not fair

AppleAndBlackberry · 13/12/2015 09:08

I did this when my children were toddlers (not babies) but I'd leave a car window open and the front door so I could hear, or in the winter I'd sit on the sofa in view so I was watching constantly. Not ok for a childminder though, it's an unacceptable risk to take with someone else's child. A 9 month old should still be in a rear facing carrier, so he could have been carried in first and left in a quiet place while she dealt with the others.

BondJayneBond · 13/12/2015 09:11

I wouldn't be happy about this.

I do occasionally leave my DC in the car while I unload shopping from the boot, but in that scenario I'm constantly in and out.
Leaving a sleeping child in the car because you're worried he'll wake and cry when you've got other children to change is entirely different and not something I'm comfortable with.

If she's changing other children - which could take quite a while if there's messy poos or leaky nappies - she may be listening for your DN crying if he wakes, but she won't be able to watch the car at the same time. OP was able to walk past the car unseen so clearly the childminder wasn't watching the car all the time.
Temperature - if the car windows were closed, then the inside of the car can get too hot on a sunny day even in December. If the car windows were open, then the inside of the car could get too cold quickly because it's December and certainly around where i live it's been freezing temperatures outside recently. Either way you can't rely on the parked car being a suitable temperature for the baby.
Not sure how much of a risk asphyxiation if in a car seat too long is at 9 months.

Kingfisherfree · 13/12/2015 09:32

No I would change settings and report to OFSTED. I was a childminder once and I would never, ever leave a child in the car no matter how inconvenient. I may have taken a risk with my own child but not someone else's that is just not on and also taking the piss. I never minded too many children than I could handle tho.

Jojay · 13/12/2015 09:40

As a parent I did things like that all the time.

A child care professional should never do it though. There's a big difference.

SurferJet · 13/12/2015 09:41

The sleeping in the car thing wouldn't bother me if the car was in a locked garage & my baby was being closely monitored. But in this case anyone could have walked up to the car & taken the baby, the CM wouldn't have even noticed. Just goes to show what a joke ( some ) 'outstanding' gradings are.

NewBallsPlease00 · 13/12/2015 09:45

I do leave my sleeping dc in car when I can't move the seat- but at 9mo their seats unclipped out so I would have just brought him in??

ExasperatedAlmostAlways · 13/12/2015 09:53

I'm surprised so many people leave their child asleep in the car. Iv always just lifted them in to their bed or lifted the car seat (even stage ones) in with the baby in it asleep.

I wouldn't be happy at all. Firstly if the door was open, how cold was it. Secondly, you managed to walk into the garden and house, someone else could of. Thirdly, she clearly can't cope with the children she has when she's saying he'd been crying and needed him asleep to change others. Sounds like too many little ones.

DelphiniumBlue · 13/12/2015 10:07

Not OK. I would not have done it with my own 3 dc, although I have sat in a car and read while the baby slept on.
Yes it would have been convenient, but no, she clearly wasnt watching the baby and as another poster pointed out maybe she has too many children to manage.
I'd speak to her and tell her explicitly that the baby is not to be left alone in the car. It does make you think what else might she be doing, I d probably have a trust issue with her, so I'd start looking for a different CM.

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