Is it really that hard to get started with Childminding?!! advise please!!!!

[Lizziekid]

Hi there, I have just been to my first introductory class for childminding (the ofsted one) and we went through the general basics. The one thing that is worrying me is getting my house, garden etc suitable for mindees! It seems so much, which is understandable, but is it really difficult to get everything up to scratch? And also, what sort of costs are involved?

I'd be really grateful for any input on this!!!

Thanks x

Although I am not a childminder (I am a nanny), I have friends who are childminders who I helped through the setup process, thus I feel able to comment on this.

Much is common sense. If you have young children yourself then you will have most things already in place. Things that you may not have would be items such as a Fire Blanket. Things in your kitchen may need to be moved around a bit such as knives into a place of safety, removing cleaning products from bathroom. If you have young children, expect most things will be out of their reach anyway, so you may find that you do not need to do very much.

Glass in doors can be an issue, though you can get safety film to put on.

For your registration inspection you do not need to have everything in place, but you do need to have it in-hand/on your list of things to do.

Is there any particular concern you have regarding your current home? Do you have children of your own?

Thanks very much for replying! Yes I have 3 children of my own aged 7,5 and 4. The things that are worrying me are things like electrical wires eg behing the tele, i'm aware i will need to get things like stair gates, socket plugs etc. I keep cleaning things in cupboards, would these need locks on? or moving to a higher place? I think the other main thing is the garden, i'm not sure on how to make sure it is child friendly, although i have my own children i'm concious that it may not be up to scratch for other children and inspections! It just all seems quite daunting!

No, it's not difficult to get things to the required level - as nannynick says, much of it is probably common sense, and you don't necessarily have to have everything sorted so long as you have an idea of what you might need to do.

It does sound really daunting to think about doing it all in one go, but you won't need to get it all done immediately, just tackle things bit by bit. You will get advice on your course and, much more importantly, from us lot!