Am I missing something here - what are the children whom you are meant to be minding doing while you are on the Internet??

[fivecandles]

Because I would be livid if I was paying you to mind my child and you were Mumsnetting.

I agree with the OP

CMs should watch the children all the time they are in their care
And the parents should return regularly during the day to give them those breaks we're all entitled to at work
In the absence of those, I think they're entitled to read a newspaper / MN/ have a wee while children are asleep / happily entertained for a while as presumably they don't get formal "breaks"

Well this has sure kept me entertained on a lonely night at home without dh!!

Oh dear dear dear ... I am truly shocked that childminders are not using the mindees' naptime to get to grips with doing their obligatory written observations.

Watching a child sleep is Very Important, and should be recorded accordingly (and with photographic evidence to prove it).

has any one asked the question: what DO you expect CMs to do whilst mindees nap?????

( If not, I think someone SHOULD.......)

Lots of times, Marla exploded whist asking for the hundredth time

No answer was given

Have I gone back in time? Didn't we have this discussion a few months ago?

I'll answer now, the same way as I did then. In the words of the most wonderful CM in the world, Mary Poppins, 'I never explain myself to anybody!'

God Woman where have you been, you have missed all the fun???

I've been out doing Guiding duties!

Someone got out the wrong side of the bed today didn't they. Wind your neck in love, clearly you won't ever need a cm, so leave 'em alone and let them take their precious 10 mins or so free time, in the knowledge that the majority of parents don't expect their CM's to watch over their sleeping babies.

I have noticed though, that this thread is far more pro-cm than the last one I got involved in last year! I was a real baddie on that one!

That was just you, they loved the rest of us

Easy now, I'm fighting your corner remember. I have no need to be here what-so-ever! I'm a teacher now and I've never been on MN at work! Oh no, not me, uh-ah!

Liar

I'm not sure we would get sacked for MNetting at work. It would depend on the circumstance, surely? It is not a porn or gambling website, after all. As long as the job gets done and you confine it to the odd look while you are having your sarnie and lunchtime or whatever, I don't see how it is any different from reading the BBC News website or checking the weather.

Any parents in any doubt about how committed to our jobs we are should look at the weekend staff rooms, where we agonise about forfeiting family time to keep our paperwork and traning up to date.

5candles You really need to get a life dear.

I do not hover over my mindees, they enjoy playing independently and choosing their own toys, and talking to each other , as well as with me and my DS.

I work alone, and come on here at quick various points of the day as I put pots in the sink, fill up paint easels, chop fruit etc (my laptop in kitchen), or while baby mindee is sleeping and older ones are sat in their tent house.

im a nanny

PMSL marla

have we had an answer yet?

WHAT SHOULD WE DO WHEN CHARGE IS ASLEEP??

yes i surf the internet at work, i use mb laptop , which she gave me her 2 passwords to log on - so yes she knows and obv doesnt mind me using the internet!!

I come on a for a read, giggle and bit of company when my charges are asleep or at school/nursery

DAMN

I should sit in the hall upstairs in the middle of the 2 bedrooms

maybe I do

we ALL know that I can multitask

Hysterical! Hey - where are all the childminders now? You all have mindees now right? Surely you should be ignoring them and posting here?!

To all the wonderful childminders out there - keep up the good work. Without you all , alot of parents would struggle. Childminding is such a hard job and takes a special person to do it!

OP - Childminders NEED a break and children sleep, entertain themselves for short periods etc. It is views like your that are driving people out of childminding.

Thanks, everyone, for giving me and Pat a really good chuckle late last night, especially fivecandles who sadly seemed to disappear when you started asking her who was minding her own sleeping children while she was mumsnetting.

I am a childminder, it is 09.11am and I am on the internet.

Both my DS and mindee fell asleep on the way home from the school run, they are asleep in my hall. I am on the internet, in my kitchen, I can see both children asleep.

I am on the internet, as the parent of said mindee e-mails me a brief message every morning as we have no time for a handover (she gets here at 7am) so I have already been working for over two hours, am I not due 5mins to breath??

I pop on here every few days to catch up, ask advice etc. My mindees will be asleep, I can see them as I use web cams connected to my tv..........so I can check on them.

Am I not allowed to clear and clean away lunch while they are asleep?

Or would you prefer your child to eat from a dirty highchair?

Am I not allowed to prep dinner, peel veg etc for the evening me?

Or would you prefer me to do it while your tired and hungry child cries for me at the kitchen door?

Am I not allowed to write up your childs records of the day? Complete everything that Ofsted expects of me?

Or would your prefer it Ofsted took away my registration, as I didn't do what they asked of me..........and lefr you without a childminder

And for what it is worth, I am going to ask my parents what they think, I bet they couldn't care less TBH!

Good post Booh
Presumably as she emails you she already knows!
I stand by the fact that parents have the right to insist that a CM watches the children (assuming she doesn't have too many) all the time, but if they do it's then ip to them to ensure a system is in place to give the CM regular breaks.
Lets see how many would take that opportunity!

I completely agree that it is easy to be sucked into mumsnet and waste a lot of time.

However, if you are a childminder, surely large parts of mumsnet are work related? Its not like 'mumsnetting' if you are an accountant.

The op dissappered last night onto the chat forum and opened the same discussion on there, it got to 9 pages!!

I am not working today, but my mindees parents know that I use the internet as they regularly email me. Booh I love your post - well said.

i am still waiting for 5 candles to tell us what we should do when children are asleep

but assume she is BUSY teaching at the moment

btw i am not at work at the moment so i can read/type to my hearts content

I assume that five candles has only been online whilst the hubby finishes his shift of nightly child watching. I expect they do 4 hour shifts like sailors.

Hello everyone Im finished childminding for the day. Am I allowed to MN please or do I need written permission from my mum (even though she is dead!)