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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

Childminders- Holidays dont you just love em!

13 replies

joanna4 · 27/07/2005 15:38

Well its all very interesting i have out the holiday grid which is set out and ready with loads of things to do and book and places to take my mindees.I love the holidays our days are muuch less structured as we have no school pick ups and it would be great were it not for the mum whose little un is still not potty trained who refuses to let me have pull ups for trips out.
Twice so far we have ventured out only for us to have to come home cos he is wet next week it is a full day out and she is not bringing him although he would love it.Its a shame for my others i have an awful feeling this year we are gonna be stuck close to home. Also she has said today to try and give him a sleep she would prefer it but he was so interested in my 2 who are older and normally out at school it was impossible.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

artyjoe · 27/07/2005 17:24

Joanna4, hate to say it but I wouldn't put up with any situation that is affecting the other children in your care like this.

I'm afraid I'd say pull ups or ship out.

But maybe I'm just hard!

SoupDragon · 27/07/2005 17:29

Can you take a potty with you or is the child not at all reliable?

Ameriscot2005 · 27/07/2005 17:33

Can't you provide your own pull-ups and not tell the mum?

Pinotmum · 27/07/2005 17:38

I think I'd take a potty, piddle pad and a few changes of clothes and see how I got on. A pull up here and there is invaluable for long trips and surely he needs one at nap time so she can't complain if you use them surely.

HellyBelly · 27/07/2005 20:19

I have a little girl who arrived on Monday in pants and the mum said to toilet train (as didn't want potty). I'm really lucky this means I can take her to public toilets if need be but her mum did say that I can use pull ups whenever we go out if it's easier. She did have an accident in the car seat as she fell asleep so I have learnt from this and will use pull ups when we are out (as she says she needs the loo anyway!).

I agree with artyjoe that you can't let the others suffer because of this one child.

Is the mum supplying plenty of clean pants and clothes? Mine is which is a good job as when she's excited, she has accidents so dry clothes are vital.

I think taking a potty really does depend on where you are going IMO.

I'm a fairly new childminder (2 months) and have already seen a few potty training problems mentioned on here - it's made me think about my policies etc and I think I'll put something together when I update mine to make it clear what I will and will not accept.

As for the nap, I know what you mean about that. Mine didn't have naps when she first started as the new environment was obviously too exciting. Once she realised all the toys etc. would still be there when she woke up, she seemed a lot better. Then I had 2 new children start yesterday and it was hard again. I think you just have to explain this to the mum.

I hope you manage to get some agreement with the mum!

soapbox · 27/07/2005 20:24

Joanne

I can understand Mum not wanting to go back into pull ups and wanting to persevere.

Can't you just take a potty and lots of spare clothes with you. Thats what I had to do when mine were potty training. At this time of year I would take out an empty nappy bag to put the wet clothes in and 3 pairs of spare pants and shorts. They are so tiny they fit into a very small bag.

That way you can keep mum happy but not ruin the days out for the other children.

HellyBelly · 27/07/2005 20:48

I understand what you are saying soapbox but out of interest, what did you used to do when going on a longer journey? I'm new to all this myself as my own ds has not been trained yet so any tips would be great. My mindee who is training at the moment went 4 times in half an hour this evening. Just wondered what you would do in this situation?

Joanna4 - is your mindee good at telling you when they need to go or do you have to watch out for the signs (i.e. crossing legs and doing those little dances to try and hold it in)?

soapbox · 27/07/2005 20:54

Helybelly - I think on a longer journey it is a combination of taking them to the loo every half an hour, whether they want to go or not!! And watching carefully for the signs- the wee wee dance as we called in our house

With my little boy I would prop him up against a wall rather than using the potty.

If you are worried that they'll wee more often then just take more clothes.

It seems a bit of a hassle but they are usually at the wetting themselves every hour stage for a very short time. I think after 2 or 3 weeks, we were down to one accident a day at most.

Being in the car was the toughest but we used to just park up as quick as we could and let them go at the side of the road!

I certainly would not have gone back to pull ups after starting with either of mine, they are just too much like nappies IMO!

HellyBelly · 27/07/2005 21:23

I sooo hope my ds is as good as my mindee when he's training as she still asks for the toilet with her pull up on I'm really really lucky so far!! Stopping every half hour would be fine but my mindee sometimes goes several times in that half hour (if we were to go out and she was like that, we'd probably get to our destination and then have to leave to go home for the parents to pick them up )

Also, she can't control it in her sleep so if she fell asleep, that would mean more accidents (not so bad if your own children but with childminding and sharing car seats, you'd be forever disinfecting seats and hoping they'd dry for the next mindee

I'm just lucky I have the choice I suppose. I wouldn't have put her in pull ups/nappies without the permission of her parents though as I don't agree with going behind backs!

Original poster

joanna4 · 27/07/2005 21:27

Its difficult cos he just doesnt say when he needs i dont think it is right for his own protection to be stripping him down to change him in public areas like the park or woods as you just dont know who is about.I have found a place tonight which is running stay n plays and does have toilet facilities so if he has an accident we can sort it.

OP posts:

HellyBelly · 27/07/2005 21:55

How old is the mindee?

ThePrisoner · 27/07/2005 22:02

I aspire to have a good working (and friendly) relationship with parents. They have always been OK with the occasional use of a nappy/pull-up for car journeys or certain out-of-home activities, such as baby gym (when children forget that they are supposed to be toilet-training!)

I think that some mutual respect between parents and minder is essential, particularly if it involves your car or settee!

One parent used to supply some kind of "padded sheet" (probably for use in a bed) which we used on car seat.

stripey · 27/07/2005 22:09

Potty training is a nightmare. I made the mistake with ds1 or using pullups when going out or when I thought it would be too difficult and it took about 6 months to train him properly. I have just this week started to train ds2 and I am determined not to back-track this time (he is almost 3). It hasn't been easy and we haven't been out for more than a hour this week but I am hoping it will be worth it and a lot easier next week??

I am not sure what I would do if I was a childminder as it is a hassle but if it isn't done properly then it will take a lot longer and result in a lot more accidents IMO (and from what I have read in Gina Ford .

Do you look after this child every day? How old is he. Maybe the Mother should have postponed training until she had a weeks holiday or something?

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