childminders is this normal?

[littlemisschatalot]

visited a chilminder today for afterschool care for 2 kids. she had 2 mindees there already, aged 3 and 5. only evidence of children was the peppa pig dolls house they were playing with. no other toys in evidence. when i asked to see some, they brought junior scrabble. children not allowed to play outside in enclosed garden unsupervised (mine are 6 and 7) and when asked about outside play she said "not really". when i asked about tv/ds/wii games she looked surprised and said they could watch tv if they asked, but as a rule didnt have it on. for snack they get water and a piece of fruit. there was no play table to draw on, but silly me forgot to ask if there was another room for the kids. (i think not) now this is my first visit to a childminder but i'm thinking this is not right?

It does sound a bit barren. My playroom is currently a bomb site, I haven't the energy to clear up as yet, and decided to have a mosey on everyone else's day instead. Most childminders will have lots of toys for children to choose from, playroom toys are restricted to non-choking younger toys, but I have things like games, hamma beads, necklace threading, puzzles, geo-magnetix, books and other stuff for older children, although they generally get stuck in to stuff with the younger ones.

I try and avoid TV as the younger ones will glue themselves to it as well and some of the "older" cartoons I don't really like the little ones to watch.

I love everyone being outside, I hate winter and dark nights, we were out feeding the animals until 3.45, then they started digging in a corner looking for worms to feed to the chickens, it was literally dark when I dragged them back in.

It sounds like you aren't happy with what you saw, I would trust your instincts and look at alternative childminders before making any commitments.

All child minders have different amounts of toys etc but I would expect to see other toys around I am quite hot on the you finish playing with toys they go away but my house is full of toys etc I have the cupboard under the stairs as a toy cupboard 2 bookcases of older children's toys in the hallway and 2 extra sheds as well how long were you there if only a short time it may be why you only saw one toy as the children may have been happy but if you were there fro more than 20 minutes I would expect different toys to have come out. If the child minder had a different room I would imagine you would be shown that. I do not let under 5's in the garden unsupervised but older children are allowed out and checked on regularly because part of my garden is not visible from the main play area we have a video camera hooked up to the television so I can supervise whilst being with the younger children

Ask the child minder further questions such as what resources she has for over 5's whether the over 5's are allowed in different areas to the under 5's etc she may be lovely just not very confident with parents but ultimately trust your gut instinct if it does not feel right don't leave your children

it depends what they were doing before you came. i sometimes put lots of toys out then try to sit down and play with the children with certain toy and the children are distracted by the other toys so i sometimes just put one thing out and we all sit together and play with it. also mayb they were doing signing/story time or arts and crafts before you came so all toys would be tidied away. as for a table it depends its her livingroom so she mite not want a permanet table sitting there so may bring in a child sized one when the children need it or she maybe happy to let them draw on her floor. when i 1st registered i was told that i really shouldnt have the tv on during the day while childminding and that i should only be offering milk or water. but as i got other children i adapted and slightly changed the rules if i knew a child would not drink water or milk so would not drink at all then i was happy to give them diluted juice and if older children came in and wished to watch the tv then i let them as that was a choice they made plus it had been off all day so it wasnt like the little ones had been watching it all day.
i would not got out and buy a ds for childminding as cost to much but children are welcome to bring there own. i do have a ps2 but only because my partner got a ps3 so the ps2 got passed down to childminding.
childminders are suppose to supervise the children in the garden but i suppose depending on age and parental consent then children could be let out themselfs if the childminder is still within hearing or sight distance.

We do sometimes have a clear up and start again with one toy out, but I can easily show all the others to parents. We play outside all the time, using torches if necessary. The TV is rarely on and I don't have DS's, Wii, etc. I've never found a need for them, the children are always busy.

I have a 10 x 8 shed full of toys and equipment which I bring in depending on the ages, we have outgrown our house!!!!
I also have access to a toy library and we go out EVERY day, to a toddler group in the morning, and a walk in the afternoon.
We do have the tv on after school sometimes or we listen to music, I try to balance everyones needs, I don't use the wii for after school children but they can use a ds if they want but they usually play with the cushions and a sheet, the current favourite is playing dogs and kennels!!
I love it when the weather is better as all the children have free access to the garden with me supervising the young ones, its all about managing risk and meeting individual needs.
Ask her about the EYFS or the play principles depending on the age of your child, you could look them up as well so you know what should be offered by a childminder.