kids in cars???

[littlethistle]

sorry im not sure where to post this?

hopefully someone can clear something up for me.

i have my two sons (ages 6 and 2) with a childminder atm.

anyway, i keep getting reports back from family and friends seeing my youngest son sitting in her car whilst she`s collecting other mindees from school and nursery. i`m worried as he could be sat there for some time. im horrified cos i wouldnt dream of it myself.

and also when i asked her about this she says she leaves him at home with her mum????

i know her mum was a careworker for many years but what are the rules on this and leaving kids in cars?

[mushpea]

I personally think its wrong to leave children in the car whilst collecting others from school and belive that we are not allowed to do this (although could be wrong), maybe you should ask for an appointment to talk to her so that yoiu can disuss this more with her and tell her that people have seen her doing it.

as for leaving him with her mum she needs to be her registered assisant, have a peadatric first aid certificate and have both permision from youself and ofsted to allow this.
My partner is my asistant but because he dosen not have a first aid cert nor do we have ofsteds or parents permsion he cannot look after the children without me being on the premisis.

[TheBTeam]

Sounds like wrong to both, the kids have to be in your sight or hearing at all times, would imagine she can't claim that for either, i would ask for more information!

[manjay]

Can see you are in Scotland so not sure of CC's view on the situation. However as a parent I find both things totally unacceptable. She leaves a 2 yr old in the car on his own:eek:

[Ripeberry]

No! NO! Minded children MUST be with the CM at ALL times. We are not allowed to leave them in the car alone even if they are asleep. We certainly can't leave them with someone who has not had an enhanced CRB and been checked out by Ofsted.
The only time you can do it is for an emergency. So your CM is breaking the rules and thinks she can get away with it by saying it's a one off :mad:
I sometimes have a mindee (3yrs old) who falls asleep in the car when I collect my own children (no other mindee), so then I ask one of the other mothers to collect my children. If I had to collect a mindee, then the sleeping child would have to be woken.
Difficult, but it's all about safety. Just tell your CM what you have heard and say that you are not really happy about it. Then if she is seen doing it again then she is NOT working in partnership with you.

[littlethistle]

thanks everyone.

i will speak to her. i`m really disappointed as she is great with them, but now i feel like im getting paranoid about everything i hear now( more niggly things that wouldnt normally bother me).

i want to be a cm myself one day and dont imagine for a minute that its an easy job. but now realising just how easy it is to lose faith.

[Blackhorse]

I would have a good talk with her...as you have not witnessed it yourself you should be open to what she has to say

I never leave the kids in the car..when I walk to nursery they all come out.
At school my mindee comes to the school gate and if I get parked right in front of it I will leave mindees in the car as I just stand right beside the car and he will walk over. If I cannot get parked there I take all the mindees out of the car with me and we walk to the school gate....

I was told by the CC that it is not ok to leave the kids in the car...not that I would have anyway...

I have a second school where I need to walk 20 meters from the car to the door across a lawn...and mindee waits behind the door...there again I will leave th kids in the car...but all for 1 minute while they are still in my sight and they are watching me...(and waving at us on our way back)
there the car is not on a main road but in a car park inside the school..and as I said I dont walk more than 20 meters away from it while it is in full view...

anything else I would find unacceptable and it is not within the rules...

as for leaving the children with anyone...I wouldnt do that unless they were my registered assistant (and I think even then you have restrictions but as I dont have an assistant I dont know all the in's and out's...)

Good luck and hopefully all can be resolved to your satisfaction!

[carol cameron]

Just a thought- I have left sleeping children in my car when collecting others BUT only when another childminder is beside the car in case they woke before I got back. The child/ car is being watched at all times by a registered childminder. Could this be the case with your child ? I am unsure why a child who is awake would be left though and not be with their own childminder

[funtoplay]

Hi,

We discussed this at our safeguarding children course. We were told that it is neglect to leave a child in the car!! You can be reported and done for neglect!!

Julia

[Desi-101]

Never! first of all he should be attended to at all times, a minded child should never be left alone, be it a car or in the home! hopefully her mum is a registered assistant etc..

I am the annoying mum... when there is a long queue at Tesco's petrol pump, I either use the pay at pump or if its not working take my own child and minded child with me to the teller if the pay at pump is not working I will not leave them in car! some ppl get annoyed as it takes longer to strap kids in again, I don't care, who knows what might happen! a stationary car can be very dangerous, with a child left inside.

I would have a word with your minder as I would find it totally unacceptable.

[PixiePetal]

never never never leave unattended.

When I was a nanny, a friend of the family I was caring for, put their 2 and 4 yr olds in the car while packing it to go home from hols in France (I went on a working hol). When the mum went in to get more bags, the 2 yr old took off hand brake and car rolled backwards out of site down into a 'ravine' - came to a stop over a big tree trunk. They were VERY lucky.

I do not drive and this is an extreme example but I would never consider it.

Please speak to her.

[littlethistle]

never never never leave unattended.

When I was a nanny, a friend of the family I was caring for, put their 2 and 4 yr olds in the car while packing it to go home from hols in France (I went on a working hol). When the mum went in to get more bags, the 2 yr old took off hand brake and car rolled backwards out of site down into a 'ravine' - came to a stop over a big tree trunk. They were VERY lucky.

I do not drive and this is an extreme example but I would never consider it.

Please speak to her.

omg thats scary. my wee guy can get out of his car seat himself and he even unclips the seatbelt that secures it. so he is never left alone in our car. im feeling very stressed about this. theres other stuff too but those things may just be me overreacting.

[jelly15]

I would not be happy if mine DS had been left in a car alone so I would never do it with someone elses child.

[Alibali]

Both of these situations are child protection concerns. Have a word, maybe she doesn't know it's wrong.