What to expect from a CM

[lindy100]

So I'm organising my return to work in Sept and am meeting with a CM who has been recommended to me next week.

My dd will be 13 months in Sept and will be with a CM for one day a week.

I don't want to sound dumb, and I have thought about what I want to get out of meeting her - but can anyone advise me of anything else I should be looking for?

This is what I was thinking along the lines of learning about:

• the atmosphere in her house/how she interacts with the kids she is looking after.

• how she talks to my dd (though obv dd will be a lot different in 9 months' time).

• the activities she does with the children.

• her attitude towards parents' routines/specific requests.

• how similar her values seem to be to ours (does this matter?).

• mealtimes and how they are run - I am planning to BLW: will this be relevant at 13 months?

Thanks for any advice!

I agree with everything on your list. I think her values are important, and also how she disciplines the children. For example, I think good manners are important and so does my CM so we are giving my children the same message. We also have similar thoughts on discipline - time out, withdrawal of privileges etc. She checks anything she plans to use with me e.g. my DD1 had some terrible temper tantrums, during which my CM would put her into another room and leave her to calm down. This was entirely appropriate at her age (2 yo) and the best ay to deal with it. She's now doing the same thing with DD3, who has a very similar temperament to DD1

Another thing to think about is her own children (if she has any). How do they interact with the mindees? In my case, my CM's children were teenagers and fabulous with the mindees. However, mindees are not allowed upstairs in the house as this is the CM's children's private area to escape to!

Good luck - my CM is wonderful, she looked after all 3 of my DDs since they were babies and they all adore her.

I should say, my CM can still see my DDs if they are in another room tantrumming - she doesn't leave them totally unattended.

you need to know logistics too:

opening hours
what happens if your daughter is sick
what happens if minder is sick
what if you go on holiday
what if minder goes on holiday
What happens on a bank holiday
what are the opening hours and late fees
does she accept vouchers
who lives in the house, are there any pets
Is the home smoke free
Does she have many after school children/school holiday children
does she do a school run
Does dhe have an assistant
Ofsted report

Probably other stuff too!

I think the rest of the stuff you will knowby your gut feeling. Re weaning you wont know how that pans out till you start it. Maybe mention it and see what minder says.

Good luck!

Take a look here:

www.ncma.org.uk/for_parents/choosing_a_childminder/questions_to_ask.aspx

It is a really good link to the sort of questions you could ask. I would print it off, take it with you and write her answers down. Are you only seeing one childminder? I suggest you visit a couple more, your gut instinct will tell you who's right for you.

Thanks Poledra - I see this as a long=ish term thing, and since dd is currently only 5 months I hadn't thought about things like discipline!

NavyeyelasH - hadn't thought about that stuff either! I think it'll be a Tues, so no BH's to worry about - am going to look up Ofsted right now!

footychikc - great site. Cheers. I'm going to see this lady next week, then take it from there about seeing a couple of others too. Once I've seen one, I think I'll feel more confident about organising more visits.

footychick