I've just spent two weeks doing potty training with my nearly-3-year-old daughter and she's been great - picked it up really well and can go out for a couple of hours and not use her potty...good bladder control.
When it came to training, I knew she was ready as she'd run round without a nappy on and just ask for one when she needed to go.
When I discussed this with my childminder, she said that she can't have my LO running round without a nappy on because she if she had an accident, she'd have to 'shut down' to clean the carpet to 'stop the spread of infection'. I had to take my daughter off for two weeks to do the training - we'd already been telling her 'nappies are just for night-time' when she was asking to wear one, yet my childminder insisted the way she does it is for them to wear nappies and to be sat on the potty every hour.
But firstly, my LO was already way past that point, and secondly, she's not the kind of child that will be happy being ordered to sit on a potty when she doesn't need to go - she just refuses and get really upset if you try to insist.
What I'm asking, is if there's any childminders here, could you tell me if you have to, under health and safety regs, 'shut down' if a child in your care has an accident (this is how she made it sound to me), or is she just being precious about her carpet? Bear in mind that my daughter is the ONLY child she's caring for at the moment!
I employ her because my daughter absolutely adores her, but she can be quite forthright in what she will and won't do (some might call it 'bossy'...), and I just don't know what her legal obligations are regarding health and safety, and what she's just decided she doesn't want to do because she has a very fussily decorated house...
I now feel uncomfortable about sending my daughter back in case she has an accident in the house - she's good, but most young children have accidents from time-to-time. I really shouldn't feel awkward about sending a two-year-old to a childminder, should I! But she's made such a fuss about the idea of my LO having accidents.
Add to that she TEXTED me at 8pm last night, giving me 12 hours' notice to tell me she wasn't working this week (I use her Tues and Wed at the mo) because her neighbour's in hospital (a regular thing, btw, not an emergency) and she's helping look after her 9-year-old daughter, which basically involves driving her to-and-from school (she already drives her own 15-year-old daughter to school anyway) and having her in the house after school. Apparently this means she can't look after my daughter, despite her having had the girl in the house with my LO before (they get on really well!).
I have suspicions she's trying to get out of another week of looking after my LO, worrying about accidents in the house, seeing as she's made such an issue of it.
I will be speaking to her about this, but both my OH and I are not happy, and are wondering whether we've reached the end of this particular working relationship...
Anyway, sorry for the rant...this has just really pee'd me off!