People still not aware of the childminding rules?

[Ripeberry]

Hi, just been on the AIBU thread and its amazing how many people still don't realise that if they look after a friend's child for more than 2hrs a day then they are breaking the law.
It seems quite common for friends to have each others kids for the whole day and return the favour and not think anymore about it.
Why are we busting a gut, trying to become registered?
Just really annoys me as we have to do SO MUCH now this EYFS is coming in and potential customers are just doing everyting ad-hoc.

Um, last time I looked mothers don't have insurance, first aid, child protection etc etc....and yet we're allowed to look after our own children all day

asking a friend to have your child for a morning while you have a haircut/go swimming/go to hospital is a far cry from using a regular paid childminder.

they're two completely different markets, iyswim.

i think that some of the child minding rules are just over interference from the state to be honest

and more to do with stopping non taxed work

but im sure no one thinks twice about having friends children to play all day in the holidays

it would really odd if all social interaction took place in registered premises with crb checked people

apart from the fact that crb checks are not infallible anyway

"The reason, it is illegal to regularly look after children without being registered is because it is not safe!". In what way exactly? Imo it doesn't actually matter whether the cm has insurance or not does it? if something were to happen to the child it will be tragic regardless of insurance, no? Insurance is only really relevant in the event someone wishes to sue, and if a child is seriously injured the last thing on most peoples' minds would be compensation, surely?

The reason people have insurance is because of a potential lawsuit. Insurance doesn't prevent things happening to the child, it is there to protect the childminder.

besides, isn't the difference that when you ask a friend to look after your child, you know them and trust them.

When you first start with a CM, you have no way of knowing what they're like, so the registration and checks etc are to make sure that you know your child is safe.

exactly wannabe

sorry - your child is likely to be safe.

no checks can be 100%, just as you can't predict accidents, whether you're looking after your child or your friend is.

You're busting a gut to become registered because you want to earn money from it. As opposed to doing a favour.

Nothing wrong with close Family looking after your DS it is totally legal.

Zippi, it is not always the case.

Family here used a Friend instead of a CM, the child fell from the top of a climbing frame and was seriously injured. The Friend who had no first Aid picked the child up, causing further injury.

The mother had to leave work to be with child in hospital for a long time.

They sued the Friend for lack of care.

The Friend had no Insurance.

accidents happen tho

tragic but true

Which could of course happen with family as well.

And I think the really tragic thing about that is not just the child being injured, but that the parents sued a friend that they weren't paying to look after their child. Like that bouncy castle case recently.

Life is risky. That child might have fallen when in its parents' care - who would they sue then? God?

If they were paying the friend, then that's illegal and I agree. But if it's a favour, then it's a favour.

They sued a friend? Some friend, eh?

who would the mother have sued if the child had fallen while she was in her care?

She sued because she could. Because society seems to think that accidents are no longer possible and that someone must always be to blame, and pay.

most parents dont have insurance to cover their children or first aid qualifications

if your child has an accidnet in school you dont sue the school either

at least i have never have

actually I've just re-read the op:

"Just really annoys me as we have to do SO MUCH now this EYFS is coming in and potential customers are just doing everyting ad-hoc.". potential customers. so actually this is more about the people who are using their friends and not paying the op to do the same think their friends can do for free.

Childminding is a job like any other.

You are busting a gut because you wish to earn money. Let's not pretend that you have the interests of the children in mind - you don't agree with people looking after their friends' children because it takes away your "potential customers".

zippy my MIL was chair of governors at a school where a child fell off a climbing frame (at a time when she shouldn't have been on it) and two years later after the child had left school the parents sued the school. they lost.

She sued a friend knowing she had no insurance? What a cow.

It's a sad day when its risky to look after someone's kid in case you get sued.

I'm definitely not having anaphylactic kids to tea (discussion from earlier in the week) without someone signing a disclaimer form.

well my ds broke his nose and his colar bone in school both during sports and it never occurred to me to sue

nor should it tbh

Ripeberry, I appreciate that it was me that sparked this for you.
I wasn't meaning to be offensive.
I do have the greatest of respect for CM.
And what they actually have to go through to get registered in the first place.

life is a risky business you cant always blame or claim

and there is a stroing argument that insurance makes people complacent ..rather a careful parent/friend than someone insured up to the hilt

and insurance isnt al;ways all that

insurance companies are very careful to not pay out if they can avoid it

it can take many years to get a settlement at all

not to be relied upon

well quite zippy. If something serious happened to my child my child would be my priority, not the £££ I might make from the experience.

I really can't understand this whole blame/claim culture we live in. Fine if it's something where suing will bring someon to account, ie in the case of a hospital messing up surgery/birth etc and those responsible needing to be brought to account and made to face up to their actions, but everything is fair game now. Child falls off a climbing frame we can sue the one looking after them/the councel/manufacturer of the climbing frame but apparently not accept that a child could just fall off a climbing frame because that is what children do sometimes.

i think trust is the operative word here

id rather lkeave a child with a person i trusted than someone who was insured

i am learning to climb i want to trust the person on the ground holding the rope...it doesnt matter to me whether im insured or they are..i want to know that they are paying attention and taking care of me and value my life the same as their own

"The reason, it is illegal to regularly look after children without being registered is because it is not safe!

Does your Friend have Insurance, first Aid, child protection, do you have a contract, so that you know that she will definitely have your child when she says she will, not change her mind at 7.30 in the morning when you have to be at work for 8, all these things do and have happened with unregistered Childcare."

A childminder has no guarantee of being safe either, they may have insurance but it doesnt stop accidents happening. Its simply there to financially protect the minder not the child.

Friends may not have insurance, first aid, child protection etc but then neither do 99.9% of mothers!

As for hours changing, I see posts on here re childminders wanting to change hours, not willing to be flexible, cutting days down or giving notice all the time so not a really valid argument.

I would much rather use a friend than a minder. I would know the friend and have built up a trust with them. Minders are usually childminders for the fact that they wish to earn money whilst staying home with their own children. I would imagine a very high percentage have their own children so its not necessarily their first choice of work.

Friends and families will always have other peoples children, its lovely to be able help out each other. Quite daft to say it cant be for more than 2 hours at a time.