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munch149
08-07-2013, 02:09 PM
Just had feedback from a parent that is leaving. The general outline was that I'm great... Cool. She mentioned however that she'd given some constructive feedback and these I found funny.

1) child comes home with food and other mess on clothes - (not first Time this has been on a feedback for and for the most part true) but sorry don't bring your child to my setting if you don't want them to get messy at all. We do lots of messy play and I enjoy nothing better than seeing a child having lots of fun making mess. (Oh and certainly don't bring them in their best clothes)

2)communication - wants more detail about day and photos emailed. I do daily diaries with nappies, meals, sleeps, activities done etc. don't know what more can be expected. And I don't always have time to email photos (they are regularly stuck in daily diary) but she never requested this anyway I am not psychic.

3)playroom small and cluttered - yeah I will give her cluttered (I just have alot of resources) but it certainly is not small. I did point out to her for future childminder hunts that not all childminders even have a playroom let alone one the size of mine.

I'm not angry at these comments just amused. It's nothing detrimental and not things I necessary plan to or can even change (unless anyone has ideas on improving daily diary). Just thought i would share

kellyskidz!
08-07-2013, 02:21 PM
Oooh what a c*w, I'd be fuming! How dare she criticise you AFTER she's leaving, why not mention these issues before?
It's all well and good to tell you now, but like you say you're not a mind reader, how we're you to know she wanted more photographs etc. just think of it as a lucky escape, you could have been stuck with her for years.
It's fine to have issues, we all do, but to give you such negative feedback now she's off isn't right
Obviously you will be extending your house because of her 'small room' comments also, I can recommend a good builder lol. Stupid woman.

ziggy
08-07-2013, 02:22 PM
After a rather difficult day i have decided no matter what we do, some parents will never be happy

munch149
08-07-2013, 02:59 PM
Generally the feedback was good I just thought these were some randomly thrown in negatives

EmmaReed84
08-07-2013, 03:01 PM
HA HA HA HA HA :laughing: Your playroom is cluttered... tell to to visit me, I have a lounge, come dining room, come playroom! And it is TINY! I mean, it is literally the size of a small-comfortable lounge alone, never mind with the added dining table AND resources!

Although, thankfully my main selling point is my massive garden and the promotion of lots of outdoor play :thumbsup:!

Daisy De
08-07-2013, 03:05 PM
Glad to see you are not letting it get to you Munch149, she may have an interesting time looking around if she ever needs another childminder :)

Koala
08-07-2013, 03:08 PM
After a rather difficult day i have decided no matter what we do, some parents will never be happy

Too True. :D

dette
08-07-2013, 03:10 PM
I have an idea that might work re; photos.I get parents to install whatsapp on their phones(providing you and they have smartphones) this is an app that lets you send photos and short videos for free,i even send audio clips,its great when theyre first settling,a quick photo of a smiling child taken a minute after parent has just left them in tears(PARENT AND CHILD SOMETIMES)is priceless.This app has saved me a fortune on photo printing and parent often send me photos of their LO's doing things at home/weekends etc

AgentTink
08-07-2013, 03:39 PM
I have an idea that might work re; photos.I get parents to install whatsapp on their phones(providing you and they have smartphones) this is an app that lets you send photos and short videos for free,i even send audio clips,its great when theyre first settling,a quick photo of a smiling child taken a minute after parent has just left them in tears(PARENT AND CHILD SOMETIMES)is priceless.This app has saved me a fortune on photo printing and parent often send me photos of their LO's doing things at home/weekends etc

As you say not much you can do now they are leaving, it almost seems odd to give feedback about daily communication as they are leaving :rolleyes: any way i have recently changed from a daily diary simlar information as yours and giving pictures when i could, to now using a private facebook group for me and just mindees parents. I have 4 little private groups, one for each mindee. I type the above information each night a quick status on their private group, and at the end of the week, plug in my camera and within minutes upload the photos of their little one to the private facebook page. It really has saved me time and effort, and i even get feedback from parents as they seem to find it simple to quickly type something as a status. (yet they couldnt ever write anything in the daily diary). I now can also send out messages to all parents and know when they have seen them as the facebook groups tells you. which is great for things like dont forget suncream etc. I have also used it to help build communication about what the childs likes at home. So every 2 weeks i write a message which things like can you let me know your childs favorite nursery rhymes, books, food, has anyhting changed rountine wise, any achievements that are new at home, etc and all of my parents are now leaving me feedback which i can incorporate into planning/obs etc.

sing-low
08-07-2013, 04:11 PM
Are parents generally happy for you to use Facebook, AgentTink? You said they're private groups but Facebook does have a history of changing privacy settings without warning. Sounds like it would be worth looking into, particularly for photos.

AgentTink
08-07-2013, 04:20 PM
Are parents generally happy for you to use Facebook, AgentTink? You said they're private groups but Facebook does have a history of changing privacy settings without warning. Sounds like it would be worth looking into, particularly for photos.

So far all of mine have been happy to have this option. I think the fact it is totally private and is controlled by me to how the privacy is set up means that they can be sure that Facebook cant change the settings for the groups.

Have a little go of setting one up, as i only found it by messing around, as orginally i was going to set up a page for parents to like however this didnt have the right privacy setings i needed.

I also didnt want parents to have a link to my normal facebook, so i set up another email address and set up a new facebook profile just as if i was a new person to facebook, i gave this facebook profile my name with childminding as my surname. This is what parents then friend request. Once they are friends i can then added then to private groups.

The groups are simple to set up. Just go to home on face book and on the left hand side is options, under the heading is groups, if you click on create groups you have options for what type open group, closed group or secret group...if you click on secret no one can see it nor can they find it without being invited by you. You can then make settings as you wish inside of these groups.

greanan
08-07-2013, 09:46 PM
I have an idea that might work re; photos.I get parents to install whatsapp on their phones(providing you and they have smartphones) this is an app that lets you send photos and short videos for free,i even send audio clips,its great when theyre first settling,a quick photo of a smiling child taken a minute after parent has just left them in tears(PARENT AND CHILD SOMETIMES)is priceless.This app has saved me a fortune on photo printing and parent often send me photos of their LO's doing things at home/weekends etc

I use whatsapp for photos and videos for one mindee and its great!! (All other parents a year later still haven't got round to downloading it?!!)

Kirstylob
08-07-2013, 09:48 PM
I use Whatsapp too, you can send pics abroad too. You can also send/share documents.

Dilly Daydream
08-07-2013, 09:50 PM
Love the suggestion of using whatsapp for sending photos and video clips to parents. Will make a note of this for when I return next year off maternity leave x

Bumble Beez
09-07-2013, 05:10 AM
I have an idea that might work re; photos.I get parents to install whatsapp on their phones(providing you and they have smartphones) this is an app that lets you send photos and short videos for free,i even send audio clips,its great when theyre first settling,a quick photo of a smiling child taken a minute after parent has just left them in tears(PARENT AND CHILD SOMETIMES)is priceless.This app has saved me a fortune on photo printing and parent often send me photos of their LO's doing things at home/weekends etc

I do this...works a treat...plus use 2simple which parents can have emailed directly to them if requested. However ziggy is right, some families are never happy :(

Sarah x

JCrakers
09-07-2013, 08:50 AM
There's always going to be someone with a criticism. I think a lot of people feel the need to say something negative as well as a positive. Its like the Peter Kay sketch where he talks about children being naughty. When telling off children they need a negative followed by a positive. "you've been a right **** today.....but....your Mums fit" lol


I sent my questionnaires out just after xmas for my inspection and when I got them back I was upset that out of 6 sets of parents, everyone gave me 5/5 in all areas except for 1 parent who gave me a 4 for communication....lol. Most people would be over the moon but I wasn't. :rolleyes:

I racked my brains for ages thinking why she would do this, then i slapped myself round the face a few times and told myself to snap out of it. Im a perfectionist which is probably why I was so upset with not getting full marks and so angry when the inspector gave me a good. :rolleyes:
Ive chilled since and learnt to take whatever comes. I'm fed up of trying too hard to have now relaxed as you cant please everyone.

munch149
11-07-2013, 07:03 AM
As you say not much you can do now they are leaving, it almost seems odd to give feedback about daily communication as they are leaving :rolleyes: any way i have recently changed from a daily diary simlar information as yours and giving pictures when i could, to now using a private facebook group for me and just mindees parents. I have 4 little private groups, one for each mindee. I type the above information each night a quick status on their private group, and at the end of the week, plug in my camera and within minutes upload the photos of their little one to the private facebook page. It really has saved me time and effort, and i even get feedback from parents as they seem to find it simple to quickly type something as a status. (yet they couldnt ever write anything in the daily diary). I now can also send out messages to all parents and know when they have seen them as the facebook groups tells you. which is great for things like dont forget suncream etc. I have also used it to help build communication about what the childs likes at home. So every 2 weeks i write a message which things like can you let me know your childs favorite nursery rhymes, books, food, has anyhting changed rountine wise, any achievements that are new at home, etc and all of my parents are now leaving me feedback which i can incorporate into planning/obs etc.

Have set up Facebook groups and I really like this as I am now sharing videos with parents and haven't done this before. already put some up and parents loving it. Only problem Is I have a parent without Facebook

Oh an this is is done so quickly as most photos taken on my phone. Will save me time As won't stick them in there books now

Bumble Beez
11-07-2013, 07:13 AM
I need to get onto Facebook...think it would make communication with parents a lot easier :D although would it then become as addictive as this fab forum?! :laughing:

Sarah x

bunyip
11-07-2013, 09:41 AM
(This is not aimed at the OP, so please don't take offence.)

Feedback is a really useful business tool, and we all need to use it in an objective and constructive manner. I'm surprised at the number of CMs who ask for feedback then take offense at the least suggestion that their practice is anything less than perfect. In contrast, a lot of businesses spend a lot of money on customer research, desperately digging for the vital information that will help them improve by even a fraction of a % cos they know that can give them the edge in a competitive environment. It's free information.

In short, don't ask the question if you only want to hear a particular answer.

'Positive' feedback is good, but 'negative' feedback is better. :thumbsup:

I would love parents to give me just one specific idea, suggestion or area for improvement when they do feedback questionnaires. I know I'm far from perfect, but I get regular 'glowing' feedback. I suspect it's mums being too polite, or afraid they'll upset me and lose their childcare when I fly off the handle.

We all need so-called 'negative' feedback to improve our businesses and to demonstrate to Ofsted that we respond to parents' comments.

Sometimes that might just be that we see we need to communicate how we do things to parents a little more. (And here I will refer to the OP) eg. I would not change th activities I do just because a child gets messy, but I would have taken that comment as a sign that I need to be sure paretns are aware of what will happen: yes, your child will get messy here, so don't send them in inappropriate attire.

EmmaReed84
11-07-2013, 10:03 AM
(This is not aimed at the OP, so please don't take offence.)

Feedback is a really useful business tool, and we all need to use it in an objective and constructive manner. I'm surprised at the number of CMs who ask for feedback then take offense at the least suggestion that their practice is anything less than perfect. In contrast, a lot of businesses spend a lot of money on customer research, desperately digging for the vital information that will help them improve by even a fraction of a % cos they know that can give them the edge in a competitive environment. It's free information.

In short, don't ask the question if you only want to hear a particular answer.

'Positive' feedback is good, but 'negative' feedback is better. :thumbsup:

I would love parents to give me just one specific idea, suggestion or area for improvement when they do feedback questionnaires. I know I'm far from perfect, but I get regular 'glowing' feedback. I suspect it's mums being too polite, or afraid they'll upset me and lose their childcare when I fly off the handle.

We all need so-called 'negative' feedback to improve our businesses and to demonstrate to Ofsted that we respond to parents' comments.

Sometimes that might just be that we see we need to communicate how we do things to parents a little more. (And here I will refer to the OP) eg. I would not change th activities I do just because a child gets messy, but I would have taken that comment as a sign that I need to be sure paretns are aware of what will happen: yes, your child will get messy here, so don't send them in inappropriate attire.

You mean "constructive feedback" :thumbsup:

bunyip
11-07-2013, 10:17 AM
You mean "constructive feedback" :thumbsup:

Sort of........................yes and no.

It isn't my clients job to necessarily be constructive or provide solutions. But it's useful if they tell me if they perceive a problem. It's my business, so it's my job to provide the solution if there is one. Although sometimes we have to pick out what really matters and what is realistically achievable with the resources available to us.

munch149
12-07-2013, 07:36 AM
I wasn't offended just found the comments she made random (don't take offence to your comment either). I welcome constructive feedback but just thought these were areas out of my control or things I didn't really know how to improve as thought I was doing them well already but have had some good ideas from people on here which I'm sure will help. I am now sharing videos with parents on Facebook which they love and this idea actually saves me time yet improves communication with parents. I would live little clips of my child at setting too if it was other way around will certainly be doing lots more videos now in future.