PANIC! 10 month old are water beads at childminders!!

[Ramallama]

My 10 month old had a dodgy nappy with something very strange in it that was a soft ball. Later I saw photos on Instagram from the childminder that showed him playing with water beads!

I’ve read that they can cause all kinds of problems if eaten, and they really shouldn’t have been around a baby.
He’s constipated and not eating much but breastfeeding fine and not vomiting. I don’t know whether to go to a and e or not in case there’s more in him?

Also would you report this to ofsted?! Having swallowable toys around a baby seems like a very obvious bad move, and surely childminders should know better?! I’ve asked the childminder and she said she wasn’t going to do water beads again, but I’m surprised she did in the first place.

That’s how I feel as well. This is such bad timing with starting a new job tomorrow. Instead of reassuring me she has made me feel worse and I’m quite angry now to be honest. I don’t want to reply because I don’t want the care of my child affected

Go to a&e and report to Ofsted

She should have never had them around under 5s in the first place and clearly isn't taking it seriously.

I'd remove your baby from her care immediately and report to Ofsted, including your message and her reply.

I'd also be taking the baby to the GP first thing tomorrow.

When she keeps saying 'we', is she in a team with and assistant?

Her message does seem apologetic though, not rude.

These things used to be all the rage a few years ago and a lot of settings used them, until the hazards became known and most Early Years settings then threw them out for safer alternatives.
I have seen a few activities online that still suggest their use and I wonder if she saw one of those activities and decided to try it.
I agree it's not an activity I would ever have used with very young children and she's made a mistake in allowing your baby to play with them.

What do you want to happen, Op?

It sounds as though the childminder is taking it seriously if she's thrown them away and will not be using them again, so she's acknowledged and is dealing with the problem.
She does sound apologetic to me, too, but it's easy to misinterpret written words. Maybe talk to her next time you go in.

I think, in your place, I would raise a written complaint with her. She's obliged to address your complaint in writing and it will come up at her next inspection. Ofsted always ask for any complaints made since the last inspection so they can see how the complaint was handled.

You'd go straight to Ofsted if your childminder refused to take action, or had done something to cause significant harm to your child - I mean broken bones, for example. That doesn't seem to have happened here, though you may want to take your baby to the doctor for reassurance, or call 111 to check with them.

What Ofsted is currently doing in a lot of cases is shutting down childminders for 6 weeks on receipt of a complaint. See an earlier thread on this board for an example.
Only you can say whether your childminder really does deserve that.

Just acting impartially but what was your child wearing? Is it possible that it fell
into his nappy from his clothes, ie if his nappy was slightly exposed?
I work at a nursery and we often find bits of twigs, stones where they’ve been maybe sitting outside and it’s entered their nappy through the bum crease if that makes sense?

Thank you this is a detailed answer. I do feel that she is a caring and fun childminder and that this is probably just a one off mistake that she has now addressed.
I am upset at her commenting that “it isn’t a nanny service” and other children don’t put things in their mouths. That is suggesting that I am the problem because I’m asking for “one on one care” (I’m not) and my child is a problem because other children don’t put things in their mouths (they do!).

It makes me feel like maybe she doesn’t want to be caring for a baby. There is high demand for childcare locally and she might prefer just having toddlers.

No, he ate it on a Monday and it came out in the nappy on Thursday at home!

Your baby is more important than your job. Trust your gut.

I would call nhs 111 or go to the hospital because I’m sure they are problematic when eaten. Report the childminder too and I would sue her ass.
We trust them with our babies-🤬 she should be banned at least- and I would wanna knock her out to be honest. I get so angry with neglectful MF’s

i would report to OFSTEd to be honest. I have recently seen in the news, someone loose their license for having unsupervised water beads in their setting. It is lucky nothing happened and your baby is fine but could have gone very differently! What if he needed surgery etc?! its very unprofessional of her. It is obviously shit timing but she is lacking common sense and knowledge of standard baby behaviors to me

I read it the same - that rather than it being her fault for having dangerous items in her setting and failing to properly risk assess the activity, it's the baby's fault for ingesting something dangerous while not being supervised 1:1.

If you want to keep your baby there, I would ask to speak to the childminder in person and let her know that the message made you unhappy, see what she says.

Please report this woman to ofsted, her reply is absolutely shocking, never had a baby eat anything?! What a load of nonsense babies pick up stuff all the time ! It's the fact she thought it'd be a great idea to get these out despite being a choking hazard that is so so worrying. She only put them away when a child tried to eat one? She didn't have the common sense before?!

I know, this is exactly how I feel.
So last night, knowing I won’t sleep well with all this on my mind, I asked to speak to my neighbour who is also a childminder. She was surprised, she is friends with this childminder. Luckily she might be able to take my son!

It’s strange as in all my years childminding and being a parent, i have never had a child eat something.
*
What total bollocks.* All babies /toddlers eat things they aren't meant to.

You keep an eye on them !!

Apart from
That she did seem apologetic , said they would be removed

I wouldn't complain to ofsted but I would have something written down to cover your back

My god Op, so not send your child back here. My friend lost a baby through choking. Yes they're not a nanny, but they are meant to provide a safe environment!!!!!!

I'd be asking for a full report including how many staff were there. It's a totally unsafe and hazardous thing for under 2s let alone babies.

Also I'd be interested to see whether her legal ratios are what they should be. Any extra kids in the holidays taking the ratio up?

It's so unsafe. Do you have any other concerns? Though I appreciate this is enough!

I don’t think they have more children than usual, although her own 2 preschoolers will be there during the holidays. It’s 2 adults usually, although I know sometimes one won’t be there as they split up to do the school run. What are the current ratios for childminders?

I do want to say though that despite these concerns, the children do love her and my son has always been happy to go into her arms each morning. It’s an 8 week notice period, so I just hope she will be more cautious now I’ve brought it up.

@Poppy2394 reading her message a couple of times, I’m not sure that her message is nonchalant and accusing or if she is tryIng to reassure you that in all her years of parenting and child minding, no child has ever managed to actually eat something- ie. she is on the ball and has always managed to stop any issues arising. The tone of a text message is easy to misinterpret. She sounds apologetic and as soon as she noticed there was an issue, the toy was removed immediately and will not be used again.

I think you probably need to speak to her in person before you can decide if it was a one off moment of poor judgement or if she really should be reported. If you feel your child is not safe, you need to write to her saying you are removing your child immediately. I would not expect to give notice under these circumstances.

You’ve resurrected a post that is 5 months old; it’s probably been sorted by now.

Oh bugger 😂. I hadn’t realised.