Childminders - do you rinse out clothes that potty training mindees have accidents in?

[beansprout]

I was handed a bag full (and I mean, full) of wee soaked clothes yesterday, from accidents that ds had at lunchtime. When I arrived at 5.30pm, ds was in the front room in front of the television, while CM was in the kitchen cooking her dinner. Her husband let me as we arrived at the same time, so I hadn't need to ring the bell . All I am saying, is that she clearly had a bit of spare time there. I don't expect them to be washed but rinsed, just to get the worst out, would be helpful. This is not our usual CM. Usual one always rinses everything so am not sure if I have been spoilt!

Anyway - just wondered what is standard practice?

My dd is in Reception and has wet herself a couple of times, the teacher puts the clothes in a bag and sends them home, no-one would expect the teacher to rinse them so can't see why you would expect a childminder. Having said that, my mum is a cm and if her mindees wet themselves she washes and irons the clothes before giving them back, not on the same day but next time she is doing a wash.

My sister is a cm & always washed the kids clothes. & dries them & sends them home.

i had a mindee few weeks ago that was sick all over her thick coat, so i put that in wash (as i was washing anyway) and got it dry for next day

My dd goes to a nursery and I don't expect staff to have washed out her soiled or wet clothes. It is enough that they have to mop the floor, change her etc.

Doormat, does your nursery make it a condition that children are potty trained before they are accepted? Because my dd's nursery were very supportive of potty training. They had all the sticker charts. In fact, I am sure many parents used the nursery to reinforce the training, as their children spent more time there during the day than at home during the work week.

And I have never heard the word pull-ups mentioned. There is a thought of potty training which discourages pull ups as being counterproductive.

If I have time, I will handwash clothes, then tumble-dry them or put on radiator. If a child has a particularly spectacular accident (the full works ... everywhere), I've sometimes chucked it all in the washing machine - the thought of a poor parent opening up a bag of poo at the end of their day doesn't bear thinking about!

I don't necessarily think that it is part of my job as such, and I don't think my minding parents think I should to do it. I just see it as something I can do to make their lives easier.

I always clean out all their lunchboxes and the food containers in them as well (not the afterschoolers), and I know childminders who don't do that either.

I have mostly looked after babies/toddlers in nappies but no, I wouldn't wash clothes. I have had babies have really bad dirty nappies, which have come through clothing, in which case, I rinse the worst off under the tap and into my nappy bucket, but I wouldn't put dirty clothes into my washing machine - sorry if that sounds bad on my part but I don't think it's my job tbh.

I also cook my kids tea when I have mindees there and as my kitchen is seperate I have to leave them in the other room whilst I do this. I don't really see it as a problem, I think it's part of everyday life, and presumably what you would do with your own child. Yes, childminders are paid to look after other people's children but we also work from our own homes, normally, as a means to stay home with our own children and run our homes, so can't be playing/entertaining the child every second of the day imo.

before anyone slates that last sentance Quietmouse, i agree with you.
we dont do our 'chores' as elc suggsts but getting tea on the way at 5.30 is not unreasonable as the children are with us for day to day activities, when else would we get to eat with our families if thats what time the children are collected and as long as they are safe and entertained whilst we split our self in half for a minute, that is how it is.

my mindee regulary finishes at 5.30-6.00 and i do dd's dinner(sometimes mum doesnt want mindee to eat here)

oops, hit send!

so i do dd's dinner and dp's if he's on the way in...like already said childminders are in their own home, looking after the children whose parents have finished earlier and need travel time to get here meaning we have to adapt our times and everything, starting an evening meal so long as you are not ignoring the children in normal in my book

My CM makes her DD's and DH's tea (and my DS's) whilst my DS is there and he also helps to peg washing on the line, go to the bank and make meals all the things he would do with me if he was at home. I do not think that he needs to be stimulated and played with every second of the day (he does not get that with me on my at home days so I do not expect that from my cm) and I love the fact that whilst there he is treated like one of the family.

you put that better than me

Maybe we should start a wee poll to see how many Cm's prepare/cook their families meals at the end of the day when mindees are still there, and how many parents get annoyed that we do!
I have seen posts on here before from parents who seemed to think it was out of order for a Cm's children to be eating their evening meal when they picked their children up, or indeed some aprents have commented on the fact that CM's go shopping when they have mindees. Well i walk into the village every day to the shop with mindee, his mum doesn't mind

I won't slate quietmouse's last sentence as such, but I will disagree with it (in a really nice way!!)

I don't work as a childminder to enable me to care for my own children - they are all now working or at university. I started childminding when the youngest was 8 and obviously at school, I didn't work when they were little. Good childminders can offer home-based care for very small people which, personally, I think is a good environment for them.

I certainly don't work as a CM to "run my own home" though, and I do disagree (a bit more strongly!) with that idea. It doesn't sound like a very good selling feature to impress parents!

Yes, I am doing a paid job and maybe cleaning soiled clothes shouldn't be part of that job, but I guess I do it because I do have a good, friendly relationship with my minding parents.

I don't do housework when i have mindees, although i do vacum, because of the mess they make on the living room carpet when eating.

Christ almighty, are we employed as childminders or bloody well home helps/angels. A baby/child has messed thier clothes up, in a bag they go, when parents gets it, they put the bag (and if they are REALLY CLEVER even sometimes without touching it) into the washing machine. I am employed to care for thier child however i dont feel i SHOULD be expected to wash thier clothes too. Having said that I have done it and dont find trouble in doing so, but it shouldnt be EXPECTED. Today I had a one year old feeling very poorly indeed, just off colour really but a right little clinger. Other children were great, both had accidents (6 month old had a bit of a lively tummy and got her babygro mucky twice, her brother is being toilet trained and had two accidents) all coped with all kids happy, but all done whilst mindee 1 is clinging to my hip/lap/shoulder - you know........ sometimes, just sometimes...argh - its been one of those days, but they have all left happy enough thankfully. Just want to say that yes, in an ideal world a rinse would be good, but it doesnt always happen like that, and thats that - end of!

Happy weekend everyone

Madge XXXX

I have a clinger as well madge! His thing is though he won't sleep, even though the wee soul is shattered

madge7 - yep, I'm employed as an angel!!

My understanding is that childminders are to provide care in a home setting. That to me means that the home runs as normal when the mindees are there. My 4 yo mindee used to come shopping, help me hang out the washing, help cook the tea (the safe bits!) which he was to be eating later etc etc just as he would if he were my own child. But this was balanced with stuff like playing football, going to the park, arts and crafts stuff etc. I don't see how it could work any other way when you have mindees in the house all day, sometimes until after 7.30pm. He did have a couple of accidents and yes, I washed and dried his pants/trousers and tumbled them dry as his mum didn't ever send spares.

Mawbroon, when i first registered i was told that childminding is "care in the home environment" as well. I go to the shops, take the dog out, go to the bottle bank, hoover etc with my mindees,and as i said at the start, i wash and dry the clothes because the parents don't send a change, however if there are plenty chnages of clothes, then i would rinse them under the tap, and put them in a bag for the parents

However, as i also said in an earlier post, some parents do seem to have a problem with CM's doing their normal daily routine, I remember a thread ages ago where a parent commented on the fact that her CM had taken the mindee to the shop because she had run out of bread and milk and the comment was made "I don't pay her to go shopping". Some i think take their CM for granted and expect them to do evrything, and feel that they can just mess them around when they feel like it.

Just my observations

I know we've all had discussions about this in the past. It's just unfortunate that some childminders (and I do know some) think that "care in the home environment" means that they can carry on with their daily lives as if they aren't actually working - TV on all day (not necessarily children's programmes either), full weekly family shopping, doing all family washing/ironing, blitzing the house etc.

There is a huge difference between that and what (most?) other minders will do - going for a walk (perhaps getting bread and milk from local shop, dropping off stuff at the bottle bank) and the usual clearing up from lunch.

When i said I go to the shops, i go to the local village store and buy a newspaper and milk/bread whatever. I also hoover because they make such a mess on the carpet when they are eating. I don't however blitz the house, do the ironing etc. I know what you mean though prisoner, I know some Cm's who go to tesco with their mindees, or do the ironing - I would never iron with mindees in because of the risk they could burn themselves! and I'm shocked that some think it's acceptable.

On the other side of the coin though, I know a CM who had three under 5's. They were all sitting having their snack at the table, and the CM was sitting having a cup of tea. One of the parents arrived early and complained because the CM was drinking tea. The parents reasoning was "well I don't pay you £x amount every hour to sit and drink tea". The CM had the child on a normal day from 7.15 till 6.45pm, 5 days a week, obviously the parent expected her not to eat or drink in this time

Well i work very hard to ensure the house is clean and tidy before mindee's arrive at 7am. If i went out to work iw ould leave the house as i wanted to find it on my return so if no-one were there all day it would be tidy when i got in from work.

So i tidy as i go along, when babies are napping i wash up, wipes sides down, clean highchairs etc

I try to make sure the place is almost as it was, when mindee's leave as it was when they arrives - depends on how my day has gone as to how near i get, if it's not clean and tidy by the time mindee's go home i then spend my evening doing our dinner putting our children to bed and cleaning ready for the next day in between MN and msn .

I do deep cleans, bathroom and bedrooms and washing on weekends and usually mop in the evening a few times a week.