Out of interest what do you do for yourself and your family during work hours?

[2anddone]

Hi I am asking for some advice I have been minding and currently have 3 mindees and my ds who is 4 (I have a variation)sometimes during the day they are playing really nicely together (like now I am in garden with them on laptop) and I was wondering do you ever do any jobs around the house while you are at work? Until now I have cleaned the kitchen after meal times and hung out laundry while making it a game of pairing socks etc. I have also cleaned the bathroom if it has needed doing (currently potty training one mindee. The rest I do either in the evening or at weekend which is fine except that by the time I have completed all the paperwork etc it is sometimes 9.30 by the time I sit down and I start work at 7am so I go to bed quite early. We have quiet time after lunch as this is when 2 of the mindees nap and my ds and other mindee are allowed 30 mins tv (has been okayed with parents) Would it be really bad if during that time I did a bit of dusting or paperwork to help me keep on top of things or is it really frowned upon? Also my ds has shown an interest in gymnastics, there is a class on a Thurs (when I only have 1 mindee) do you think it would be ok to take him to that class (it involves staying and watching from spectators gallery though obv I would take things to do with us) There is a class on a Sat morning but my dh works such long hours during the week we tend to go out or away visiting family at weekends so he would miss loads of sessions and you have to pay up front. Sorry for all the questions I hope I haven't upset anyone or made myself sound really selfish for wanting to get a bit done during the day to have a bit more me time.

no i pretend i am out of the house working
we have a cleaner come in twice a week
i do my ironing on a sunday and asda deliver shopping between 6-8pm wednesdays

sometimes i do cheat as i dont have a lunch hour and peg some washing out but as we never have sun it rarely gets done

I treat nap time (if all asleep) as my lunchbreak, but I usually spend it doing paperwork or cleaning up mess that mindees have made, or making phonecalls that need to be done during the day.

I wouldnt do regular housework though, except maybe put a wash out if its a sunny day.

Occasional washing (which we make into a learning experience). Kitchen, Bathroom and play room get clean and tidied of Childminding 'stuff'. We do occasionally have an outing to the supermarket, but definitely not for a full weekly shop, as it would take all day looking for oranges and counting them and seeing what other colour fruits we could see, etc etc.

Taking your own child to classes - I wanted my DD to go to music classes and the parents of the other children agreed to enrol them as well, so all the children joined in. For one term DD had a swimming class while I had one mindee - again agreed with mindee's parent and I took activities to do with mindee while my DD swam.

All of my mindees are asleep now so I generally check emails and go on mumsnet.. as I am now doing...
I dont do any other stuff, just about talk to my own kids when they arrive home from school but cming is a job and if I was at work I wouldnt be doing my home jobs anyway.
House gets cleaned either before mindees arrive, i.e before 8am or after they have gonei.e 6pm.
All ironing gets done on Sunday mornings.
I clean all minding areas, toilet, playroom at 7 in the morning and 7 in the evening and have a cleaning tick list to prove it.
I sometimes do paperwork when they are asleep and you could dust during 'FREE PLAY' time but imo you shouldnt really be doing housework as the parents arnt paying you to do that really are they. It is a full time job.

slightly different as i am a nanny, but i have been known to take charges to my house and put on load of washing/unload to tumble dryer

or do my food shopping and they help me

when they are asleep/at nursery that time is my own, mb is very firm on that - hence while im on her lappy now

I'm also nanny so don't know all ins and outs of what is out there cm wise. I know cm has moved on a lot but how about all the people who just used to babysit/mind friend's/other children for just a bit of extra cash but now need to be ofsetded? I'm sure those mindees' parents had different expectations and didn't expect cms to not get on with their own life. Does this still exist?

When i was young i went to cm occasionally and we just watched tv most of the time while cm in kitchen but my mum was happy with that. I was part of someone elses home for that time, not at a nursery- which my mum didn't want. It was a different time.

Also when i worked in nursery we were expected to do related paperwork during work hours, while children played. Though not all staff would necessasrily do this at once, ratios were effectively greatly reduced.

I look at it slightly differently. I am not an employee, the parents don't tell me what to do. I am providing a service therefore I decide how to spend my time. Parents pay by the hour but as we all know we have plenty of hours work to do related to cm which we don't bill parents for. It's a way of life, not a job to me. I will hang out washing while children are playing in the garden with me, will empty dishwasher and tidy kitchen while they eat their lunch at the kitchen table. I clean downstairs floors in the morning before mindees arrive but if they need doing again later I will quickly sweep round. I sometimes start to prepare our family meal if I the children are occupied. When mindees are asleep after lunch I take a break, eat my lunch in peace and come on computer for a bit. I don't do other housework jobs like dusting or cleaning bathroom unless for whatever reason I have no other time to do those jobs, which is very rare. The children always come first and their needs are my priority but if I am able to do any little jobs while they are occupied then I will and don't feel guilty about it. I am expected to have a clean, tidy house, with clean toys and equipment and there are only so many hours in the day to fit it all in.

Absolutely nowt wrong with having a quick clean up as you go along while minding, after all they are the ones creating the mess, and it could be a risk to not clean certain areas, certainly wouldn't leave a puddle of pee on the floor for instance!

I only do any cleaning that arises from the care of the children, washing up, hoovering, mopping, sticking a wash of towels/bibs whatever on, I peg out the washing and take it in again, and I also treat their naptime as my unofficial lunch break and sit down with cuppa nd the lappie and have a rest.

Re the gym class, why not ask if mindee would like to take part too if parents willing (and to pay)

About paperwork - I only do paperwork during working hours, because it is part of my job. I'm not doing it in the evening and not getting paid for it!

The children have a quiet half hour after lunch. they are allowed to watch telly or play with whatever toys they like. I have a desk in the room. I am supervising them and they ahve my attention as and when they need it, but that is when I do my paperwork.

Also, if I work 7:30 until 6pm I make sure that I have a sit down mid afternoon and a cup of tea. I feel that I should have a break and this enables me to be happier in my work and therefore better at my job.

You can't take good care of someone else if you're not taking care of yourself.

However, all my housework is done out of working hours.

Hi

When i first started cm'ing i was as unsure of myself as you are, but then you realise the parentsd dont have a secret camera making sure you give their dd/ds your complete undivided attention every second of every minute theyre with you ..so basically i treat the children similar to my own!

I make sure we have plenty to do, i help when needed/asked, i lead play, i gets drinks/snacks/tissues for snotty noses, change nappies all through the day..the list goes on..BUT...if i ahve babies and theyre sleeping or older children and theyre busy with a safe activity in the rbeakfast room for example, i will empty the dishwasher to save me having a pile of unsightly and unhygenic pots in the sink, i might put a wash in if needs be, or if children are in garden, ill hang one out, if raining ill put clothes on radiators, often they help me, working out which ones will fit the towel/bed sheet/dd's vests on etc..if we've trailed a laod of mud in after being out, ill hoover, sometimes right through the ground floor ..as long as..AND this is the important bit..the children are safe, happy and you are still there and ready to do whatever it is they need.

if i have had to hoover downstairs which usually happens maybe once a fornight if we've been to park/using glitter etc, the children love it as we see who can grab the most toys of the floor, then they can have a ride on the sofa's (they come apart) if i need to move them out etc.

I DONT set out with a list of housework to do in my working day, but i have no probs putting a wash in, emptying dishwasher or wiping the kitchen tops down, its day to day stuff and we DO work from home, so it CAN be done..every course ive been on so far to do with the EYFS, we've discussed this and how to involve the children in 'normal day to day things', we were even shown how to make cool 'dusting' puppets on one ...so before you do what you need/want to do, just think if it prevents you doing your job properly?, if not and it doesnt take up time you should be doing something for the children, i have no probs in doing it and neither do any of my parents..good luck getting started

I'm a parent who uses a childminder and wouldn't mind atall if you wanted to do some housework.
I think it's great for the kids to learn that houshold chores need to be done every day and should be incorporated into their learning as these are life skills which they need to learn.
My kids love to help me and I think it's really good for them.
They can learn so much, such as counting out items of washing. Putting them in colour groups etc etc. Also kids love dusting and hovering - everything's a game to them.
If I was a CM I would definitely do it!!!

Like feelingtired, I am a parent using a CM and don't have any objection to a CM doing housework while looking after mindees, although I would be a bit disappointed if she sat them in front of the telly to do so... If I was at home with DD, that is what I would be doing (cleaning up/ house admin etc) and that is why I use a CM - so that DD can be in a situation which is as close as it is to being at home.

Also, maybe I'm too easygoing, but my CM's DD1 goes to a ballet class one night a week and DD (nearly 2) goes along to watch until I can pick her up. She is played with while there and absolutely loves it. Comes home practising pirouettes and standing on one leg!

just to echo chocolatecrabbit & feelingtired, when DS was with a CM (from1-2.5) aside from usual children activities she'd take him to the supermarket, meet her mum for lunch, go to the garden centre, do washing etc etc and it didn't bother me in the slightest - she was involving DS in every activity (he particularly loved meeting Gammy for lunch ) & closely mirrored my own home life which is the precise reason I opted for a CM over nursery.
HTH
LCN

although I would be a bit disappointed if she sat them in front of the telly

When I said mine watch telly, that's not so I can do my housework, they would have this time anyway. They are human and need time to chill out just like adults do. The time is very limited and a small part of our routine. I just make the most of it that's all.

The way I see it is this. Parent's have chosen a childminder because they want a home environment, not a little school.

I've worked in nurseries and there's a lot more 'houswork' and paperwork done during 'free-play' there than I do now I am childminding, because it had to be done during those hours.

Trust me, a child with a CM, who puts her washing in and hoovers the floor, and spends a few minutes doing paperwork, still gets hours more one to one, quality attention and play, than a child in a nursery, where you would assume there is no housework.

i do much the same as holdingittogether.

Sorry Little purple princess - I'd sort of meant like that although didn't express it very clearly . More that I would be a bit upset if DD did nothing but watch telly all day while the CM has an immaculate house.

Given that DD even at nearly 2 is telling me what she has done all day and how she has been playing (with play dough/ sandpit/ older children) etc I think it is all working well and she gets treated as part of the CM's family which is what I thought is and was important

Oh i know you weren't having a dig! I just wanted to make sure people didn't think I sat them infront of cbeebies and did my ironing. lol.