CM Club : what age are your mindees, can you answer this for me please

[saltire]

and what do you do with them when you

A) Go to the toilet
B) Go into kitchen to make snacks/lunch

I've got a 1 year old and my kitchen is next to the room I use, with a stairgate across it, so I can see exactly what she is doing all the time. As for a wee break, if Im desparate, I put her in the buggy for a minute, otherwise I usually wait till shes asleep! When I have had toddlers in the past, I take them with me and sit them with a book on the landing. All doors shut and stair gate on stairs, obviously! With the toddlers and the kitchen, we make lunch together or they are already in the highchair if too little to help.

I just wanted to check. I have mindee 1, who is 2.4 and mindee 2 , who is 2.10. If I go to the loo, I have one downstairs, and they sit on the bottom step of the stairs. there is a stairgate on the bottom of the stairsand one on the kitchen door. Mindee2 managed to open the gate, get in the kitchen and stand on the door of my washing machine to try and get to my food cupboard. In the process he smashed 2 wine glasses, 2 cereal bowls and a mug which were on the drining board. This isn't the first time things have got broken/damaged by either of the 2 mindees, and i thought sitting them on the stairs whilst i went to the loo would be a good idea, but obviously not, mindee 2 did this in a matter of seconds.
Whilst I make lunch or snack, i try to get them to help me, but so far this week they have pulled my net curtain at back door down, broken the door on tumbel dryer, broken 2 cupboard doors by standing on them, all in lightening quick time while I'm in the same room. I don't know what else to do, short of not drinking all day so I don't need to go to the loo.

Oh hell! What a nightmare! I guess you just have to hope they grown out of it quickly!! I think you're doing the best you can. Will the 2.10 be going to nursery soon? [she says hopefully!]

Do they nap? can you pop them in travel cots while you go to the loo?

i have a 3 yr old, who will happily sit doing something 'quiet/calm/while i nip to loo, or she plays with dd, then i have a 13 month nd 16 month old, of whom both come with me when i go to loo(i dont usually have them together, only when 3yr old is off), i close all bedrrom doors, lock gate and they play with a toy on landing while i go to loo..when im making lunch, they sit on rug in kitchen with me or in breakfast room and play with toys on floor or magnet toys on fridge freezer...

I have a 3 month old, a 16 month old and a 2.4 year old.

Loo downstairs so 3 month old is put in travel cot in playroom, 16 month old given toy to play with outside loo door & 2 year old given toy and told to sit on bottom stair. I call to them to check they are still there. They have been taught that when I go to loo they are to stay where I put them - gosh that makes me sound like an ogre doesn't it.... All children are brought into kitchen when I am in there with an activity...

i am lucky i have downstairs toilet so leave 18month and 8 month old playing and go with door open (our job is so glamorous!!!) there are gates ob stairs and kitchen also at lunchtime they sit in highchairs and play while i cook

one trick i had when dd was younger(but obv not baby) was to sing a song and get her to join in then i could hear her and knew shewere ok as she were still singing

I used to do the singing thing too, until I realised that my loo window is always open and the neighbours could hear me!!!

sod the neighbours, i sing louder, something really OTT like sound of music..gives them a giggle too.the hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillllsss are aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiivvveeee.......

We also have a downstairs loo. I always say where I am going, and am well-used to at least one of the little sweethearts flinging the door open whilst I am in mid-stream.

It's far more fun trying to go in a public toilet ... if they are not in the cubicle with me, they wait outside the door and we all have lots of chat (so that I know what they are doing) ... and then their little faces all appear under the door when they lie on the floor to see me!

i have 2x 2year olds & nearly 4 year old & 4 year old plus my own 2 year old obviously not all at same time !!! loo is upstairs and i have a series of stairgates none off mine have worked out how to escape yet!if a quick wee i risk leaving them (i can hear them) if i need to be longer i stick telly on !!!

I have downstairs cloakroom and tend to take advantage of nappy change or toddler doing potty run to use toilet myself! Am a flexible ad-hoc minder so don't have many children at once but wouldn't leave a baby with toddler in same room if I was out of room. I do leave a 2.5yo mindee and my own dd aged 4.5 together if I need the toilet but only because I know I can trust them. Depends on the children I guess, a sister (aged 4) and brother (aged 20 months) I mind occasionally I do not leave alone together as she's not too kind to him sometimes!

I have stairgate at kitchen door to prevent unaccompanied access or keep the children out if oven is on, and can see into lounge if I'm in kitchen doing snack/lunch and they're not in too, sometimes they are with me and doing eg colouring or jigsaw while I prepare food. Again I'd keep a baby with me anyway, have baby chair/highchair I'd use.

I usually try to 'go' at nappy changing or potty time.
It's fab when you are having your period and everyone wants to have a look and talk about it. I try not to change my mooncup with an audience!!
My grandson once accompanied me to the loo in Coffee1 and before I could grab him opened the door as I was 'performing'.[shock)I think it was worse for the poor man drinking his latte at the table opposite.
After leaping to the door and slamming it shut I thought I was going to die!! But I came out with a big grin on my face and said, 'Poor you!!'; he was dying of embarrassment!!

what do parents think of everyone wanting to have a look and discuss it ?

LOL at earthymama, I can hear lots of people going 'Mooncup, whats one of them?!' They are fab inventions, no more tampons/pads in landfill or sewerage system! And much much cheaper - around £20 for one and then that's it! I try to change mine surreptiously but it's not easy, although fortunately they need emptying far less often than ordinary sanitary stuff needs changing! OK TMI now, I'll stop!!

maximummummy - I think the information given to us by mindees about parents has far more embarrassment potential than any stories about me!! The things that parents do in front of their children tend not to be the things they will see me do.

And I always ask for permission to share this information at toddler group or with the other parents!! (And they often say yes!)

theprisoner i meant about earthymummas period comments

sorry earthymama's

i'm not a cm but i think what i would do is leave the baby in the room with stairgate on door and make the toddler stand outside the door.

AskABusyPerson - I did wonder what a mooncup was. at first I thought it was a nickname for a tampon until I read your comment and I had to google it!! they look scary!!!!

they also sound quite fiddly especially if you dont have sink in toilet area so guess you'd need to buy 2 and use alternate or run back and forth?!?!

I have heard/seen these mooncup thingies but not sure I am brave enough. I really like that lack of impact on the environment (we are slowly becoming greenies).

Nevermind that disposable nappies we are throwing away on a daily basis!

I have heard/seen these mooncup thingies but not sure I am brave enough. I really like that lack of impact on the environment (we are slowly becoming greenies).

Nevermind that disposable nappies we are throwing away on a daily basis!

darn, sorry

Mooncups do take a while to get used to and you have to deal with the contents yes, I take a bottle of water in to a sinkless toilet on the rare occasions of using a sinkless toilet!

I think of doing my bit for the environment - I used washable nappies (simple terry squares with waterproof wraps/pants') with dd (wasn't a cm then) and hope to with No2 (not yet a twinkle in daddy's eye!) although may use eco nappies during day whilst childminding! You can get gel-free eco friendly nappies in main supermarkets - Nature Boy & Girl which are 70% degradable.