How many of you

[ORKSIE]

Look after Mindees when parents take holiday?
I find it quite annoying when parent says "I'm at home today, so if you need me...." Why then do they not want to spend time with their child? or is this just me?
I'm not saying ALL parents are like this but i have come across a few that are.
What do you think?

[Hebs]

doesn't bother me, they are paying for a service it doesn't bother me if they are off work.

actually BOTH of my mindees come to me so mum can have a break, neither mum works, as a single mum i know how much it helps to have a break :thumbsup:

[Blackhorse]

I see what you are saying...I have a friend she works part time but likes to put children into nursery if she is at home as well sometimes.
She wants to get things done without the kids around from what I can gather
in fact she doesn't like being with the kids for more than a few days in a row and is then glad to go back to work..makes me wonder sometimes to be honest.
I would say thought that maybe somedays if you have a lot to do or need to get say a room painted, that it might be better if the kids are not around... so you can get finished and they don't breath in any of the paint fumes...
I personally don't think I would put my dd to someone else if I was at home though

[ORKSIE]

Yep can see where you both coming from:)

[Mouse]

Personally it doesn't bother me. I don't see that it makes much difference if the parents are at work or not. If I'm being paid it's up to them whether or not they send the children to me (not that I don't appreciate the occassional day off!).
My mindees parents will often still bring the children here when they have a day off so that they can get the housework done, have lunch out etc. I know they do an awful lot with their children at other times, so I don't begrudge them some 'me time'.

[her8y]

I have one mindee who comes every day except for bank hols, week ends and if I take holiday!

His parents are often home and I couldnt understand it at first. I now appreciate that if mum can "get her jobs done" whilst mindee is having fun with me it then means she can have "quality time" when he gets home.

I even had a situation once where mum and dad were both home and I still had a mindee on their first birthday!

Did take me a long while to get my head round it a first though and I am not sure I would do the same but then all our values are different...

[hello kitty]

I used to look after one little girl who arrived at 7.30 in the morning until 6 p.m. Mum would be in her work clothes but say she would be at home. She had dressed up so her child would think she was going to work!!! :rolleyes:

[nell57]

I have a mix of parents too. one set wouldn't dream of bringing there kids while they were on holiday from work, even if the they(the parent) were off ill. Where another set will phone when its there day off, to say 'can you have lo extra today because they doing my head in':rolleyes:

[Hebs]

also if a child is used to the routine then a sudden change can unsettle them :thumbsup:

[ORKSIE]

And when i was working in an office and had a day off or finished early i picked my child up early or i kept him at home with me.....but i did have a DH so i did have that support which some dont IYSWIM:thumbsup:
But I am talking about a family with both parents at home:)

[Chatterbox Childcare]

I had parents with two children with me. Both parents worked full time and had a cleaner but if the parents finished early they would go home do the shopping, get it put away and ready for the weekend.

At the weekend the boys had their parents undivided attention for the whole weekend, every weekend.

how many of us can say that?

Personally it doesn't bother me if I have the children as I am paid for it and the children would probably choose to stay rather than go early in case the miss something!

[Heaven Scent]

I had 2 mindees who came to me every day whether parents were at work or not - the thing that annoyed me about it was that they never told me they were at home. They even sent the children when they weren't well even if they were at home. I have no objection to them coming to me really as I was being paid BUT they could have come a bit later and had breakfast as a family - the dad used to eat his breakfast infront of the kiddies every morning and then I gave them breakfast when they got here - I could understand that when he was rushing to work but not when he and mum were having a day off and they always collected them late when they were off too and that really annoyed me. Plus the children always went straight to bed when they got in in the evenings - I just couldn't understand why they didn't want to spend time with their kiddies.

[ORKSIE]

Super stars you just hit the nail right on the head... they Pick their kids up late!:mad:

[singlewiththree]

Look after Mindees when parents take holiday?
I find it quite annoying when parent says "I'm at home today, so if you need me...." Why then do they not want to spend time with their child? or is this just me?
I'm not saying ALL parents are like this but i have come across a few that are.
What do you think?

I think it depends really on the family. My DD went to a childminder when I worked in an office and I used to leave her there if I wasn't working as I'm a sinlge mum so it meant I could start my childminding paperwork, finish my OU Essay and try and get the house in order while I knew she was taken care of. If you don't have any other family it can be the only time you get a break. As much as I felt really guilty and wanted her to be with me I felt she was in a good routine as she only went 3 days a week and that it meant that she knew she was staying, I often would pick her up early though.

[westbrom44]

I find that full time children tend to say at home with parents if they are at home, but part time still come to me. They do come later and go earlier though.

I think some of the parents just arent cut out to be full time parents, they prefer to go to work.

I personally like to be with my children, but we cant all be the same.

Alot of parents say rather you than me, but I love being with children.

[Roseolivia]

My mindee is term time as parent is a teacher but i occassionaly have her during school holidays. It's usually if mums got something planned or she's going into work for some reason not just to stay at home so i don't mind as that's what she pays a retainer in holidays for.

[huggableshelly]

the only time it bothers me is when the parents are late knowing they have been off work all day.

Other than that parents are entitled to have time out for themselves so they make the most of sticking to routines and continue to use my service.

[Daftbat]

I have regularly looked after children when parents are not at work. I am being paid so its nothing that bothers me. The thing i find funny is when i get asked to do extrahours or days to enable the parent to do household chores or go shopping etc. I wonder how they think i cope with getting all these things done. My children are older now but i managed to get my chores done each week without removing my children from the house when they were small.:laughing:

[atmkids]

I think a lot of us are childminders because we love being with our own children so much, it's the only job that allows us to spend so much time with them. That's why it seems strange to us when other parents don't seem to want to be at home with their kids. I had a mum recently who took a couple of days off because she was feeling down but still bought the kids to me. I wonder how she'd feel if I were to take a couple of days off for the same reason, what would she tell her boss. I don't think we're allowed to be ill or have down days as it makes it awkward for the parents, but they can do it to us.

[The Juggler]

I think a lot of us are childminders because we love being with our own children so much, it's the only job that allows us to spend so much time with them. That's why it seems strange to us when other parents don't seem to want to be at home with their kids. I had a mum recently who took a couple of days off because she was feeling down but still bought the kids to me. I wonder how she'd feel if I were to take a couple of days off for the same reason, what would she tell her boss. I don't think we're allowed to be ill or have down days as it makes it awkward for the parents, but they can do it to us.


If she was 'down' then she may have been spending time seeing the doctor or making arrangements to sort out finances or whatever else was going to ease her problems that seems sensible. Can't visit banks etc with small children around and why would you not take the opportunity to have them cared for especially when you've already paid for that service.

To be fair some parents spend better quality time with their children if they spend less time with them, it's just the nature of human beings and the dynamics of different children and parents. Also, we have no idea what they are doing when they are 'at home', working, ill, decorating or otherwise. They may have a good reason, they may not. It's not up to us to judge, they are paying us afterall.

I think we would all secretly love the odd day off and be able to afford to put our children in safe hands for the day if we could afford it.

[mushpea]

i have one who comes to me each week and mum dosent work at all, she cant cope spending all her time with the child so he comes to me 2or 3 days a week to give her a break.
it dosent worry me why they come or what parents r doing as long as i get paid then its up to the parents.
however i do find it hard to understand why parents wouldnt want to spend all their time with their kids but then i love having kids around and not everyone finds parent hood the wonderfull life its portraid to be.

[yummymummy]

Most if not all of my parents have time at home whilst I look after their children be it off sick, early finish or just taking holiday, one of my dads works shifts so sometimes he is home the whole time I have his child. I have no objection to this as I am being paid. BUT I cannot understand why they get the children up at the crack of dawn and bring them to me as usual at the exact same time when they could just have a bit of an easier morning all round if they let the children wake up naturally and came a little later. Also at Christmas one mum, dad, older sibling who is normally at school and baby all home so littlee that came to me knew all this and was understandably upset at being left out and I had tired (due to late nights etc over Christmas) and miserable child all day long. I have contributed to a thread similar to this before and think that as I have never worked outside of the home (since having children) and have never been away from my children I perhaps have a differing attitude to parents that do work away from home or who are on their own and need some time to get things done.

[Bananabrain]

I find that full time children tend to say at home with parents if they are at home, but part time still come to me. They do come later and go earlier though.

I think some of the parents just arent cut out to be full time parents, they prefer to go to work.

I personally like to be with my children, but we cant all be the same.

Alot of parents say rather you than me, but I love being with children.



I've had parents say rather you than me and I don't know how you do it.

I always think I don't know how they work in offices all day,I would go nuts.

i guess we're all made different:laughing:

[ORKSIE]

Yummy Mummy I agree, I think we are all poss different, I chose this job so that I could stay at home with my children. I did go out to work for a while when my son you a baby, I hated leaving him.
My son is 18 this year, my daughter is 15 and I still want to be there for them.
I believe going out to work and leaving their children with a CM is how some parents cope with parent hood.
One of my mums has told me she could not stay at home with her child when he was a baby because she needed to be away from him, but she feels their relationship is so strong because of this.
But I would want my children with me if I had a day off, unless it was because of a personal reason, then thats different.
:phew: Dont think I've written such a long post:D

[Lou]

I am giving up childminding, so i can be a little bit blunt.

This really gets my goat!!! I cannot understand why you would want your child to be with someone else if you have some unexpected time off work??

I have parents who will bring their child regardless of who is home, and it makes me think why bother having children.

Fair enough they have paid for a service and thats fine, but they dont pay when i am off sick or on holiday so they save there, and like someone else said i wouldnt even mind if they brought them for a couple of hours or picked them up early but that hardly ever happens.

Some parents astound me.....last summer i had a little one who was 18 months at the time, term time only...mum rang and asked me to have him for a few hours one day in the holidays as they were going away and needed to pack the car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i mean how to these people cope with everyday life!!!

Anyway rant over!!!

[FussyElmo]

I had one mum to turn up as usual and drop off, lo proceeded later in the morning to be sick so rang mums work - told she had the day off, rang dads work he had day off too rang both mobiles both turned off. Dad then turned up at usual pick up time in his work clothes and looked horrified when I told him I had been ringing after them...

I dont mind if the parents want some time off to catch up with jobs or whatever but I would like the courtesy of knowing where they were due to emergencys and not to be lied to :)

[ORKSIE]

Abso flippin lutely:panic:

[westbrom44]

I have just thought about a child who has been coming to me since he was 4 months old for 2 days a week, and still attends in the school holidays.
His mum has never worked, but she says she cant cope with him every day. She clearly adores him.
He is a lovely boy and so easy to look after.
I think it just shows that we are not all cut out to be with our children all of the time.

[atmkids]

If she was 'down' then she may have been spending time seeing the doctor or making arrangements to sort out finances or whatever else was going to ease her problems that seems sensible. Can't visit banks etc with small children around and why would you not take the opportunity to have them cared for especially when you've already paid for that service.

To be fair some parents spend better quality time with their children if they spend less time with them, it's just the nature of human beings and the dynamics of different children and parents. Also, we have no idea what they are doing when they are 'at home', working, ill, decorating or otherwise. They may have a good reason, they may not. It's not up to us to judge, they are paying us afterall.

I think we would all secretly love the odd day off and be able to afford to put our children in safe hands for the day if we could afford it.

I am in no way judging the mum as I know her quite well and do feel that she is a better parent when not spending too much time with the kids. The point I'm trying to make is that as childminders, it's harder for us to take time off if we're a bit down or under the weather as it then means parents also have to take the day off so it effects more people. I think most childminders feel they have to be really ill before they let anyone down. Alot of mums who don't use childminders, including myself, don't have the luxury of having someone else to take care of their children when things get too much.

[nokidshere]

Who really cares why the parents use you?

Their child has a lovely day with me, I get paid, and they get to do whatever it is they are doing (wether thats work or leisure).

Without them I would have to put my own two in childcare and go out to work.

[TheBTeam]

I have a mix of parents, one woke their 2 year old child who had been sick all night to get up and bring their 8 month old to me at 8am!, they turned up 15mins late at gone 6pm in the evening to pick up.

Others have taken loads of days off and still brought their children and picked up late even when they have been at home. I can not see the point in having children to not want to spend any time with them, and then to collect late and moan when we say that we could do with time off with our kids, let alone without them, really gets my back up!

In the snow, they drove through treacherous roads, just to get rid of their kids!