Childminder to bathe child ready for bed

[LongStoryShorty]

I am a new childminder and I am not sure where childminders would stand with bathing a child in the evening so he is ready for bed by the time parents pick him up.

he is going to stay with my until 18 and my own children go to bed at 19 so we would be doing the evening routine anyways and I imagine both his parents would be quite tired after work so I think this would makes their lives much easier. I will only have 1 little boy staying that late, he is 1years old.

i just can’t find anything about it online. I have a friend who is a nanny and she does it regularly, but is it different for childminders somehow?

I don't think it's something that childminders do often.

I think it's good that you'd be open to doing it if they asked. I think you offering to bath him when they haven't asked is a bit weird tbh.

Lots of parents enjoy the bedtime routine, particularly if they haven't seen their child all day, so they may not want you taking that time from them, they might not want him to go straight to bed when they get home.

Never heard of a cm doing baths, 6pm isn't that late of a pick up.

Definitely don't do it without checking, my dc have very sensitive skin and we have to be very careful with bath products and limit baths or they break out in a rash.

I'm a childminder, I have been for 10 years.
There's nothing to say you can't bathe children from a safeguarding perspective- after all we change their nappies, and I have showered children before after a particularly messy poo!
However I'd think about it carefully- once you offer this service it's not something you can then withdraw easily.
You may get another child needing to stay that late, your own children may resent the extra time needed to be spent with just this one child, your children may start a club you need to drop them off at/pick them up at.
Or you may in time decide working until 6pm does not fit in well with your family.
It's a lovely thing to offer though, if the parents have requested it x

Childminders don't generally do bath time. A nanny would but she's caring for that child in their own home and wouldn't have other children around.

6pm isn't a particularly late pick up time. I would expect the parents to do bath and bedtime when they get home. It's their opportunity to spend some time with their child.

There's also potential future complications.

• You may have other children stay until 6pm in the future. Just because you don't currently it doesn't mean you won't in the future. You can't be bathing 1 child with other minders in your care.

• As a PP said, your own children might go to clubs when they're a bit older. You'll want to be getting them ready then, not doing someone else's child's bath time.

It would be perfectly reasonable to say no yo this request. I certainly would.

No, I wouldn’t expect a childminder to bathe my child, and I wouldn’t do it if I was a childminder. A nanny is a different situation, nannies are paid to provide one on one care like a parent at home. Childminders will have other kids, they’re not expected to provide care like that.

It’s not something I would offer to do. As others have said, a 6pm pick up is not really late so time for parents to do bath and bed routine when they get home. If you start bathing one child, then the next child is with you until the same time, you could end up bathing that one too and then it becomes quite tricky.

I would think it would be best for you to move your own dc bathtime a bit later so you have finished work when it starts, also to make sure your dc are getting some time just with you. I’ve found that to be really important over the years.
that said, there is nothing official to say you can not bath a child. And I have done on odd occasions Eg after really messy nappies, painting which has got a bit wild or the odd occasion a child has slept over for what ever reason.

Thanks for all your replies! Yes I think it will be better not to offer this service. I just wasn’t sure as the nanny that I know does do the bath in her own home with her own children around as well, she looks after the child in both their homes. But yeah I think it could get tricky. Probably I will just make sure they are fed and put my kids in bath just as they have left.

I mean if she’s a nanny she shouldn’t really be looking after children in her own home - that’s not usual for a nanny. Either way she presumably will have only one family she works for, while childminders might have several of varying ages, so best not to offer special extras right from the beginning. Much harder to change it when you’ve already got into the routine of doing xyz.

Don't offer. How will you supervise unless you have your own child in the room at the same time.

I wouidnt offer as once you start hard to stop if have other mindees etx

6 isn’t late for collection

so he gets collected. You are up in bathroom 6.05 running bath with own kids

If i personally heard a childminder had bathed my kid just because she wanted him ready for bed rather than he was really dirty i wouldnt be happy. If asked too then i would but if not asked i wouldnt risk the allegations.

Oh God no, don't be offering baths or later than 6pm pick ups. You'll have some cheeky fucker who will be late picking their kids up everyday and not be with you until 8pm. Then turn up passed or having spent the extra two hours in Primark. And will never pay you for the extra time.

Why is she looking after children in her home? Nanny's work from the child's home.
Your going to want and your children will need time with you the more you offer the less time you get for your family. Parents can really push the boundaries if you start opening the door.