CM house, first impressions. Should it matter?

[sparkleshine]

Hi

Ok so this might be a bit of a silly post, though it's not really to me.

I've been to see 2 CM today for interviews and for both their houses were kinda 'rough'.

Like the first hadn't washed up and kitchen was a mess even though no children were actually there.
The decorating couldve been improved and they just seemed like it needed makeover. It also smelled musty when I walked in.
The second one needed the grass mowing and fence panels replacing and also could do with a paint downstairs
The sofas in living room didn't match and they looked awful and the carpet in both houses must have been from the 80's.

Just little things that u notice when u go to someones house

Ok so maybe what the house looks like isn't really important and it's the CM and how you feel about them that counts but I can't help feeling that surely if u run a business from home, you make it look as nice as you can.
Maybe they don't have the time or money either, but I feel disappointed.

I don't mean to sound stuck up, my house isn't perfect. Maybe I'm just fussy or the ladies just weren't for me or my DS and I'm picking to make excuses not to use them.

Surely first impressions count.

op - thanks for cheering me up. I'm off work with a bad back and the 'matching sofas' deal-breaker comment tickled me

Lots of different views here but it is the care your children will get that is the most important issue - that care is not just the personal attention and warmth from the childminder but also health and safety.

If the house was untidy was it still generally clean? Untidyness does not necessarily mean unclean. However, the kitchen is one room in the house where hygiene is a top priority - preparing and serving food etc. Also, did you see her toilet/bathroom facilities (the other room in the house where hygiene is of paramount importance!), which she might well use for nappy-changes and obviously will use for those older children who are "self-sufficient" in that department!

The damaged fence would definitely present a safety/security issue and presumably preclude children from playing in the garden until it was repaired.

As a childminder, I always say you cannot judge a book by its cover so do look beyond what you first see. As well as prospective parents coming to see me in my house, I also visit prospective mindees in their houses as that helps me understand their expectatations. Coral mentioned about prospective parents visiting when she is busy working and I fully agree but I also like parents to visit at the weekend when I am not working as I believe it is vital for them to meet my whole family and indeed for me to meet theirs. When you see the whole family you get a better overall feel.

Of course, careful scrutiny of the Ofsted inspections is vital but what about asking her for some references of current users of her service - you may find that beneath the mis-matching furniture and the breakfast dishes remaining unwashed, is a trustworthy and dependable childminder who is putting her time and energy into her work with good results.

I like Booh Do you live near me in the event that my cm becomes unavailable?

Thanks ladies for your advice and opinions. I do appreciate them and it all does make sense.

I know I'm being a tad cautious and I guess taking my overprotectiveness a little too far with this. I think it's just he's my little boy and finding a CM and a home that's 'worthy' of taking care of him is a big decision.

I'm going to see another lady today and I promise to take your advice and not look too much into what the place looks like and use my heart not my head.

xx

Oh btw...if you use a CM own changing mat to change your baby's nappy...im presuming its standard hygiene to wipe it down with some wipe or disenfectant after each use. The first CM didnt, she put it straight back where it came from without a second thought.

This is wrong right?

ew. That's wrong. Maybe some people have different standards of hygeine, but I think that's a bad sign. I wouldn't be happy with it.

no thats wrong, it shpould be cleaned after each child.. a bit dirty that ..

ok so been to see one this morning .......totally opposite of the other 2.
Lovely house in lovely condition. Seperate room for playing. Garden lovely and trimmed

I would say prob a bit too clean after reading all these replies. Strict rules about being in some parts of the house, and keeping things clean and tidy.

So confused. But shes only been CM for 6yrs...maybe house not 'lived in' yet.

Even used gloves and apron for nappy change.
There was a bottle of alcohol hand gel in every room also. Not much signs or evidence of messy play.
But no children were there either

hmmm

Well I use gloves and apron for nappy change - for mine and the childs sake!

You can see we do messy play, there are pics up on the wall, photos in my scrap books etc

I use the whole of downstairs, babies can sleep in my spare rooms upstairs. The only place they cant go is the 'cooking bit' of my kitchen when I am cooking! Otherwise anything does!

ATM you can't walk around my playroom, hall, living room as there is about three miles of Brio set up - I am NOT ALLOWED to put it away until they get back from preschool and school!

Turn it around - what would you think if you went to a run down nursery?

i would expect a cm house to be clean but nothing wrong with shabby/worn/not matching etc

no point having lovely stuff for other children to trash and tbh they will, even if not eating/jumping etc on sofa

our playroom doesnt match, it isnt shabby but well loved/played in

the adult room is meant to be child free and has lovely sofa/curtains etc in it

If you are happy with what you see then keep looking. You will know when you find the right person.

All the best!

Sorry if you are not happy with what you see then keep looking.

Agree it's down to gut feeling.

If you felt comfortable in those homes, then they would be the right place for you DS... if you didn't, then keep on looking.

I have been in some houses with old sofas with throws on them, and some mess, but they have been welcoming, comfortable houses.

I've also been in show home type houses, where while the décor is lovely, the owners are so prickly I didn't want to say.

Good luck in your search.

Also the area in which the childminder lives can make a big difference, regardless of what it is like inside.
When my kids were little I chose a great CM when she lived in quite a nice house in a very quiet street.
Then about 2yrs later she had to move to a 'rough' area and I put up with a year of collecting my youngest child whilst dodging kids throwing stones at passing cars and kids jumping on the roof of my car and not moving out of the road.
I felt really sorry to leave her, but I used to dread the pick ups (morning was fine at 7am!).

I too think you are looking at the wrong things.

I have just moved and have been doing interviews. I have a broken fence that is being replaced in the next couple of weeks and has been secured in the mean time, my hallways still need decorating and my garden has toys everywhere and some overgrown plants in places that I haven't sorted yet (its a big garden and a lot of hard work has gone into it!)

I would hope that people looking round my house would be understanding of this and realise that I am not a superwoman, I am here on my own most of the time with 2 under 3s of my own, I have only been here a few weeks and have transformed the house from a complete bombsite into being a happy home with just a few bits that still need doing and have prioritised what needs doing.

Thing is, somebody who just looked round my house might think that I have been here for these few weeks and not bothered to do those things. But they wouldn't know, without speaking to me about it, that we have decorated the rest of the house - the walls had loads of holes in, skirtings all needed replacing etc. And it has been really really hard getting this all sorted. Loads of things have been done, like completly getting rid of the pond and filling it all in, making it level etc for the children, getting rid of the greenhouse, fixing loose paving, removing dangerous plants, child proofing glass etc. I could go on with a huge list of stuff that we have done but I won't bore you with that as I can see my post is getting long .

But the point I am trying to make is, that you don't know how many other things the CM has had to deal with, so the dishes might not have been top of the priority.

If the dishes were from that day, I would be OK with it. If they were from the night before, I wouldn't. Matching sofas etc wouldn't bother me at all. Your child won't care.

What stands out to me in your posts is that it all seems to be about the house and not the care that your child will be getting. Sorry if I am wrong, I just think you need to have a really good thing about the things that are important - for your child who won't care about old carpets.

Also - is it rented? If so, they might not have controll over the carpet etc.

But obviously, you do need to be happy with the CM and you are obviously not happy with these ones.