Questions from a potential childminder to parents

[rattieofcarcassone]

I've been a nanny for 6 years, had my own daughter in November and am planning to start childminding later this year. However there are a few things I'm concerned about.

Would any of this be a concern to you (as a parent looking for a childminder):
Our back garden is quite small, we're planning to put a sand pit in it and I'll be buying a tuff tray for other outdoor activities, however we do have a larger front garden (fully fenced in, I will make sure that the gate is lockable) which I plan to use for more active outdoor play when we are at home.

DH and I have pet rats. They will be kept in the kitchen where the children would only be allowed in when supervised, but just in case we'll also be buying a room divider and putting that up around the rats during the day, as much to stop our own DD putting her fingers in the cage (when she's bigger) as any mindees! Their cage is not one that can be moved during the day and there is nowhere upstairs that it could go (it's a big cage).

We have a small living room/playspace indoors. I would try to be out and about as much as possible but obviously we will spend some time indoors doing activities so I'm concerned that this may be an issue to some.

I wouldn't intend to have too many children as I feel like it'd end up being overcrowded, I would tell prospective parents this. Is there anything you'd want to know/see that would make you feel reassured if any of the above is a concern?

The number of over 8s is still limited....as in your insurance has an upper limit pacey I believe is quiet high at 12 and you must prove that you can meet the needs of all the children under 8 in your care. if for example you have a living room only at your disposal that has a floor space of 4ft square it would not meet the needs of the babys if it then had 5 10 year olds rolling around it making it unsafe and impacting on the square footage needed for an under 5. The number of over 8's can be hard to manage with a small space as they come out of school very boisterous especially if they haven't been allowed out to play and you can't get to the park on the way home. My 14ft lounge and conservatory can be very busy with 3 under 5 and 2 8 year olds. You will also need to check your local council as having an assistant does not up your allowance if you do not have the room or if their are planning restrictions.

I don't intend to have many over-8's (if any, I'll only have school-aged charges at the moment if I have their younger sibling through the day, as I said, I'm looking forward to not doing the school run!) so it won't be an issue. I don't intend to have an assistant either, most of the childminders in my area work like that but I'm not interested in running a mini-nursery and after-school club, which is essentially what they do.

Nothing you have said bothers mea- I thought rats were supposed to be quite clean and friendly. Anyway, main plus for me would be you saying only having one maybe two and a complete aversion to the school would be a huge bonus. I wish you were local to me as I would snap you up!