I am a cm. I was talking to a parent this morning who was saying it would be really nice if we could get together after school and in the holidays so the children could meet up (she only has one child, on my busiest day I have seven) and have a play. In principle I have nothing against meeting up with parents and their children, but I tend to find it quite stressful and wondered what other cms think/do.
When I take toddlers or lots of children to the park, I know that they won't want to stay together and will run in different directions, meaning I have to negotiate with one to play somewhere else or have eyes in the back of my head to keep an eye on everyone. For this reason, in the holidays, I tend to prefer going to the park quite early in the day, before it gets really busy or going for walks in the countryside and taking a picnic and ball with us to play with (less people around).
If we go to the park, I find the other mums are sitting half watching but chatting to friends, enjoying half an Hours peace but obviously it is completly different for me going as its my job and even though friend who wants us to meet up would want to chat, by the time I have pushed child A on the swing, helped child B up the slide 10 times and made sure the others are all safe it doesn't leave much time for anything else.
So I was wondering, do other childminders meet up with parents much over the holidays or do you tend to stick with meeting up with other childminders as the dynamics are easier. Do you find parents understand your reasons for not meeting up with them or do they think you are being a bit fussy of the children you look after (this was the impression I got from parent this morning). (Fwiw, I don't think I am fussy, but I am paid to do a job and despite what some think, it's not really like just having your own children again).