watching them all??

[mushpea]

ok, so gonna have 6 children age from 20mths to 10yrs in the hols to take places, bought them all red hats to wear so have a bit of a chance in seeing them all or so i thought but at the park today there must have been about 20 kids wearing red hats:eek:

how do you keep an eye on all yours when you are out and about and how many to do you have?
thought of flourcesnt vests but felt the older ones would quite rightly be embarrased, thought of all wearing the same colour tshirst but would have to buy loads of tshirts the same size so whats the best way to do it?

[venus89]

:eek: that's a lot of kids.....

Are many of them older? You could potentially team up each older child with a younger one, make them their responsibility, so to speak. My kids naturally do that - my daughter generally walks with 34 month little girl, my son with 26 month little boy and I push the baby. Of course I have to keep an eye on them all but it helps if theyfeel a sense of responsibility towards the LOs

[mushpea]

the are the following ages

10yrold Mine
8ryold also mine
6yrold
5yrold
3yrold
20month old
and on 2 days a week a 2yrold aswell.
I am determined that we will all go on one big outing a week like to the zoo because i feel it is important for the older ones to have a nice holiday and gain somthing from being here, i cant be stuck in all day so i know they cant, anyway for this they will all wear flourcent jackets with exception of mine due to their age. its the trips to the park i am unsure of how to do it, as i said i have bought them all the same colour hats to wear to try and make it easier and most of the parks we visit have a fence around them so i will tell them to stay within the fence but obviously this cant be trusted alone and i need to be with the younger one to help them so need away of doing a quick head count.

[venus89]

Well, I guess the older 3 you can trust to stay in the boundaries anyway, so that cuts it down. Have you thought abotu installing anelectric fence around teh edge of the park? That way nobody can get out without your say so :laughing: (sorry, it's friday.....)

[mushpea]

Well, I guess the older 3 you can trust to stay in the boundaries anyway, so that cuts it down. Have you thought abotu installing anelectric fence around teh edge of the park? That way nobody can get out without your say so :laughing: (sorry, it's friday.....)

hmm not a bad idea lol!!,, my mate said i should alarm them all or tie string to them all:D
I just dont want to be stuck at home all summer but want to take them out without loosing them but then i suppose they arent gonna want to loose me either so do you think if i lay down the rules and maybe a bit of scare tactics in telling them they could get lost if they dont to as i say this might work?
hmm, have taken them all to the park a few times after school which has gone ok but then its a small park,

[youarewhatyoueat]

the are the following ages

10yrold Mine
8ryold also mine
6yrold
5yrold
3yrold
20month old
and on 2 days a week a 2yrold aswell.
I am determined that we will all go on one big outing a week like to the zoo because i feel it is important for the older ones to have a nice holiday and gain somthing from being here, i cant be stuck in all day so i know they cant, anyway for this they will all wear flourcent jackets with exception of mine due to their age. its the trips to the park i am unsure of how to do it, as i said i have bought them all the same colour hats to wear to try and make it easier and most of the parks we visit have a fence around them so i will tell them to stay within the fence but obviously this cant be trusted alone and i need to be with the younger one to help them so need away of doing a quick head count.

How on earth do you go to the toilet??? really personal question but for safety what do you do when the children or you want to go to the loo when you're out and what would you do if one of the children is taken ill. I'm just interested as I wouldn't consider taking that many children out on my own even though mine also are older, I have 4 of my own and it's hard enough keeping an eye on them!!! let alone young mindees.
Caroline

[Mouse]

I often used to take 7 children out (admittedly 5 were my own!). I don't know quite how I worked it, but I know it was never a problem - though I did usually come home with a splitting headache!

The only bad time was when we went to an adventure park where they had miniature houses that the children could go in. I parked the pushchair in the middle ready to tell the children what the rules would be, but they all shot off in different directions before i could say anything! They all disappeared into different houses & it took me ages to round them all up again!

[wendywu]

You just get used to having eyes in the back of your head. I would have thought that its only the 3 year old and the 20 month old that could not be trusted to keep to your rules. To keep within the boundaries of the park and to be in eyesight.

We always go out on mass in the holidays and between us minders we have had 30 children and 4 dogs. But we have never ever lost any children. The teenagers tend to take care of the others without even being asked.:)

[FussyElmo]

You do just cope somehow - you will know which children you can trust and the ones who need a little extra eye on.

The older ones do seem to instinctively watch the younger ones. Mine all chase after my ds (2) when he makes his bid for freedom:rolleyes:

[mushpea]

How on earth do you go to the toilet??? really personal question but for safety what do you do when the children or you want to go to the loo when you're out and what would you do if one of the children is taken ill. I'm just interested as I wouldn't consider taking that many children out on my own even though mine also are older, I have 4 of my own and it's hard enough keeping an eye on them!!! let alone young mindees.
Caroline

going to the loo is fun when out, basicly me and the 10 yrold take it in turns to stand with the others, not in anyway do i expect her to be responsible for them but she is old enought to call me if one of them starts to wander at which point i yell throug the toilet door for them all to stand still, normaly they are all on the loo at the same time as me then they know when they come out to stand with the buggy.
if a child is taken ill then i would call the parents to explain and arrange a place to meet them, sometimes its easier for a parent to get to you if they are working near the outing, if its an ambulance job then i guess i would follow the ambulance to the hospital or we would all just have to pile in the ambulance together which should be fun. hopefully i would never have to find that one out:eek:
i have had all the children except one since september so feel i know them well enough to know what their like when we are out, 3 of them are sisters and the older one is quite protecitve of the other 2 which helps cause she wont let them out of her sight and yells at me when they even walk away from her!! they are also very well behaved and never run off when we are out, my son is the biggest pest cause he is hyperactive so cant walk anywhere:rolleyes: the new boy that has started tends to follow him so their the two i need to watch the most.
I think it will be case of rules rules and more rules and being strict, I also have the rule that they arent allowed to walk behind me when out they have to walk either beside me or infront of me so i can see them, if they dont then they have to hold the buggy, i always have this fear that while i am watching the children behind me the ones in front have disapered.
acutaly, thinking about it, last hols we went out and i had 5 of them so its only really one extra.
as for not going out with them it isnt really an option as i will have them up all up to 4 days a week so will go stir crazy if i cant get out.

[Twinkles]

Can you team up with another minder ? As wendywu said we all look out for each others children.
I have tried the high vis vests but they are nylon and get so hot.
I'm looking for high vis hats ( but want ones with neck cover too ).

I took six children of varying ages on a picnic by a lake in half term. We had lovely weather and the lake is clean enough for the older ones to go paddling.
One mum said to me 'Oh how lovely for them and you get to sit and relax in the sunshine too' :eek:
I soon put her straight and said ' No I get to stand there and frantically count heads - constantly' :laughing:

[mushpea]

yes some times we all team up and go out and can end up with about 20 between us but sometimes they have other things organized so wanted to be clear in my head on how to do this incase they arent comming along.
i am sure parents think we have a cushy job sometimes!!

[Chatterbox Childcare]

ok, so gonna have 6 children age from 20mths to 10yrs in the hols to take places, bought them all red hats to wear so have a bit of a chance in seeing them all or so i thought but at the park today there must have been about 20 kids wearing red hats:eek:

how do you keep an eye on all yours when you are out and about and how many to do you have?
thought of flourcesnt vests but felt the older ones would quite rightly be embarrased, thought of all wearing the same colour tshirst but would have to buy loads of tshirts the same size so whats the best way to do it?

I went to ikea and brought fluro green jackets - post people have yellow and they also do bright pink

[mushpea]

I went to ikea and brought fluro green jackets - post people have yellow and they also do bright pink

yes mine are yellow and knowing my luck everyone will have yellow on that day:D
what age children do you put them on ? i dont think my two who are 8 and 10yrs will want to wear them and whilst i realise its a safty thing i also feel i need to think about how they feel wearing them as dont want them to feel silly or embarrased or self concience about it.

[Lady Haha]

RE: the hi viz vests. I have let all my mindees (aged 5-8 yrs) decorate their own hi viz vests with stickers etc, that way, they don't mind wearing them. I think this would work especially well with older kids! They are alot more imaginative and arty the older they get! And, believe me, you can still see them a mile off!! I have yellow ones, but wish I had chosen green or pink etc, as their less common and yours will be easier to spot!

Plus, I'm sure letting the kids decorate their own vests helps with the full 'A Unique Child' thing!!! And you could do obs on them decorating them etc!!!

[loocyloo]

all my mindees wear hi viz when we are out, from 22mth ( with the reins over the top to keep it on! ) to 10 yrs!

they don't complain at all - i explained once the alternative was to sit still and do nothing!

mine are yellow from ikea ... they only do yellow now :( i wanted green!

[RedDragon]

I always have a whistle round my neck. Anyone strays too far and the whole park hears me :blush:

I do head counts every few minutes and usually go out with another CM - BETWEEN US WE SOMETIMES HAVE 12 CHILDREN AT THE PARK.

She counts, few mins later I count - we don't take our eyes off them.

We tend to go to the enclosed kiddy park where we sit by the exit gate (can be a little bit more relaxed-not much lol) and then we all go to the big park where the children could run off so we are like hawks in that bit.

When I take the children to the park this is the time I know I am really earning my pennies because it's full on - not a minute to relax at all.

[manjay]

All my under 5's wear jackets when we are out. Older ones earn the right not to wear one by showing me they can follow my rules

[mushpea]

All my under 5's wear jackets when we are out. Older ones earn the right not to wear one by showing me they can follow my rules

ooo like this idea, my trouble is is that my two are the older ones who havent had to wear hi viz and i feel it unfair that they start now plus i know that they will stick to the rules but dont want people to think they arent wearing them just becuase they are my kids

[miss mopple]

Mine have either red tshirts or high viz vests on that are embroidered with my mobile number. I always allocate a meeting point in case one strays and loses us, but tbh they are pretty good at looking out for eachother (and take great delight in snitching on eachother if one is pushing the boundaries :laughing: )

In the holidays I usually get together with friends when we go out which is great as we all look out for eachothers kids

[theoldwoman]

I am an Akela for the village Cub Pack and take 36 8 -10 year olds out!, with a bit of help. I got them some golden yellow coloured caps each which show up well. Each adult has a few they are responsible for and I just ask each adult rather than keep counting 36. Mind you I did loose my daughter, a parent and their group of Cubs in Blackpool last year!! They also stand in line and are numbered off, shout their number and remember who they are next too.

As for mindees - I tell them that if they are still with me at the end of the day out they will get an ice cream - works a treat!

Sue

[vix84]

Wow, and I was worried about taking 3 under 18 months to soft play lol!! I drive 30 mins to go to a realy small indoor one for under 5's where I can stand up and see all 3 at the same time lo!

2 of mine are both a year so are crawing, but I have a 16 moonth old too which Im sure will be wanting to be more independant soon and try to run away!

Does anyone know of any bright t-shirts that I can print my number on or something that I can buy for all 3 to wear? Im thinking this will be handy for when all 3 are walking/running and want to go to a park or even a toddler group can be daunting when you loose sight of them for a second!

We could always buy some caps with a long flag that pokes off the top:)

[estrelas]

Does anyone know of any bright t-shirts that I can print my number on or something that I can buy for all 3 to wear? Im thinking this will be handy for when all 3 are walking/running and want to go to a park or even a toddler group can be daunting when you loose sight of them for a second!

:)

Thats a good idea actually, i also like the idea of pink jackets, i might look into that in time for the next hols, when some days i will have 7 :eek: , between the age of 2 and 9

[estrelas]

http://www.redoakdirect.com/acatalog/Children_s_High_Visibility_Clothing.html
These look ok? fairly cheap or are there better ones?