What is usual?

[misshoneylikescake]

So, after previous discussions about daily schedules (one member of staff stays with little ones while other member of staff does the school pick up), our childminder dropped in last week that our child has been leaving the house to collect the older school children. Is this normal, or should we be informed she is leaving the premises (like in a primary school?) Our child is 2.

I think it's absolutely standard that a childminder will do the school run, taking with them any children that are in their care.

I'm surprised that you weren't given a better idea of what a typical day might look like but it's the norm.

Wow yes it’s really normal and permission doesn’t need to be sought.

Do they not go out and about to other places? I’m out all the time with my little ones. We’re exploring the world!

Yes it's usual, but your CM seems to have suggested otherwise. Maybe just clarify. It would be unusual for a CM to stay home all day, so I'm surprised they didn't discuss the kind of outings they do.

Usual for children to be out and about every day - park, toddler groups, school runs, library, soft play.

We go out every day, at the very least for a walk to the woods.

I give parents an idea of what we are planning each week via my business Facebook page but ultimately it's my setting and I decide how it runs and what we do, obviously keeping the children's interests and education at the core.

Completely normal.

Completely normal, my children would have done the weekly shop, visited grandparents, gone to coffee shops!

I'd find it more odd if they didn't go out.

One of the advantages of a cm is that the children were used to collecting from preschool / school, they knew the teachers, the room etc before ever starting there

Yes. Completely normal and to be expected.
I am out pretty much every day with the children doing activities the school run.
I'd say it was much more unusual to not be going out.

Completely normal. Some CMs have parental permission forms for routine outings such as the school run but not all do.

My DCs always used to go on the school run with the CM. Why would they need specific permission to take your child out of the house? Did you not expect them to go out and about? I would have thought all of this would have been clear from the start?

I'm honestly surprised you're even asking this

Normal....and very educational...number letter and shape hunts, spotting animals trees colours talking about roadworks, traffic safety physical exercise and building stamina. Understanding what school is and routine. Why would you want your child locked inside 4 walls and a garden all week?

Also, even in primary school you won’t be informed when they’re leaving the premises. We do blanket permission letters to cover the library / church / traffic survey stuff...

I do exactly the same for nursery for the little one (also 2).

Absoloutely normal here too, school run, nursery, park, library, shops, toddler group, other childminders house, woods, farm they are out and about all the time.

One of the joys of childminders over nursery is that they go out and about so much. Did you expect them to stay in the house all day?

Very very normal. School runs and daily outings to toddler groups are part (and a benefit) of CM care

Very normal, my friend takes her young charges all over the place including stay and play, coffee morning, library, supermarket shopping and yes the school run. Part of the advantage of a child minder is the breadth of experiences rather than being stuck in nursery all day

One of the reasons we didn't go with childminder is that DS would have spent over an hour a day traipsing to different schools and back.

I’m confused - are there two childminders then?? I have one, who also does school runs including for her own kids and yes my child goes with, I’ve never wondered about that do you expect them to spend all day indoors?

I'm surprised that you weren't given a better idea of what a typical day might look like but it's the norm.

My childminder didn’t specifically say to me DS would join the school run - she probably just assumed I would know, which I did (I mean, she’s not going to just leave him at home by himself ) It’s just common practice isn’t it?

Yep, normal for a childminder to take the dc on school runs. I see it as a lovely part of what I offer, they get to drop off and collect older siblings/friends from school and they get used to the building for when it’s their turn.

Totally usual to go on school run with cm

Tho some don’t want their baby /toddler dragged out every day to school if no need

If that’s the case then need to make sure the cm
Doesn’t have own older children or school run

The childminders I know go out to the park, toddler groups, to do activities and the school run every day.

Perhaps, at 2, your child is not considered one of the "little ones".

This is the sort of arrangement I try to do with DH, also a childminder. Ratios mean that one of us cannot legally stay with all the children at home: some need to go on the school run. The youngest children stay while the older ones go on the school run and meet the children and teachers they'll probably be mixing with in a few short years.

It's also possible, that some days, we might both need to pick up from separate schools but we keep that to a minimum. I always make that clear to parents.