PottyP
28-01-2010, 07:27 PM
Hi All,
I have a brother and sister who have been with me for 3 weeks, the brother is 3 and the sister is 20mths, these are my first full timers, I have only previously had afterschoolers and one child that did adhoc days for a couple of months.
They are challenging to say the least, they don't have any concept of reasoning and fight like cat and dog, they throw toys, they pull hair and show alot of frustration and anger towards each other and when they can't get what they want its unbearable, the eldest undoes seat belts whilst I am driving its making my day stressfull to say the least.
I am a calm person and it takes ALOT to push my buttons but I honestly don't know what to do - I feel like I am failing them as a childminder, I have house rules which I read out to them daily, I get down to their level I have seperated them and asked them to cool down and to sit and think about what they are doing and then to make friends, I provide an active day with lots to stimulate and encourage them but what should be a nice activity is just such hard work and ends up in chaos, please tell me that someone has some magic words of advice as I just don't know what to do.
Mum is brilliant and very supportive, she talks to them with me, we have both sat down with them at their level explained safety on the car front, we have kept a diary, they are however 2 of 6 siblings so Mum says that she has to be strict at home and it could be that they are just testing the boundaries to see what they can get away with, at home they will be sent for a time out, to their bedrooms for the older ones, but that obviously isn't an option for me.
Help I feel like I've aged 10 years in 3 weeks !
Paula x
I have a brother and sister who have been with me for 3 weeks, the brother is 3 and the sister is 20mths, these are my first full timers, I have only previously had afterschoolers and one child that did adhoc days for a couple of months.
They are challenging to say the least, they don't have any concept of reasoning and fight like cat and dog, they throw toys, they pull hair and show alot of frustration and anger towards each other and when they can't get what they want its unbearable, the eldest undoes seat belts whilst I am driving its making my day stressfull to say the least.
I am a calm person and it takes ALOT to push my buttons but I honestly don't know what to do - I feel like I am failing them as a childminder, I have house rules which I read out to them daily, I get down to their level I have seperated them and asked them to cool down and to sit and think about what they are doing and then to make friends, I provide an active day with lots to stimulate and encourage them but what should be a nice activity is just such hard work and ends up in chaos, please tell me that someone has some magic words of advice as I just don't know what to do.
Mum is brilliant and very supportive, she talks to them with me, we have both sat down with them at their level explained safety on the car front, we have kept a diary, they are however 2 of 6 siblings so Mum says that she has to be strict at home and it could be that they are just testing the boundaries to see what they can get away with, at home they will be sent for a time out, to their bedrooms for the older ones, but that obviously isn't an option for me.
Help I feel like I've aged 10 years in 3 weeks !
Paula x