upstairs toilets??

[mushpea]

A freind of mine is hoping to register as a childminder,,, she dosent have a downstairs toilet only an upstairs one,,, how would she manage this situation,, ie older children going to the toilet on their own,,taking younger children to the toilet while leaving others downstairs and also going to the toilet herself
how do you folks with upstairs toilets deal with this please?

[caz3007]

I just do what needs to be done. Once a child wants to be independant, I let them go on their own. If I need to to up with one and another is here, I leave the door open and run the other upstairs, do what we have to do and keep an ear out for the one downstairs. None have ever come to harm and if I had a child that I felt I couldnt leave for a minute then they would have to come with us, but never been in that position

[Mouse]

I've only ever had an upstairs toilet while I've been childminding & it's never been a problem.

At the moment all my mindees are babies, so not using the toilet. If I need to go I give them something to play with & dash upstairs. If there are any that I don't want left alone to play (climbers etc), I strap them into the buggy for a couple of minutes.
I do the same if I have any children who need me to take them up to the toilet.

With older children I let them go up by themselves. Depending on their age, I'll wait at the bottom of the stairs to remind them to flush the toilet & wash their hands.

Does your friend have children of her own? How does/did she manage with them?

[mushpea]

she has two young children of her own which she leaves downstairs when she needs to go but to me leaving your own children that you know is different to leaving minded children,, what do you tell ofsted about how you deal with the situation and were they happy with it? sorry to ask all this but i know how nerve racking ofsteds first visits are and i cant help as we have a downstairs loo.
also how do you stop children from going in the other rooms,, she dosent want a lock on her sons room as he would want to get in there

[clio0602]

I have risk assessed 3 and 6 yr old mindees using upstairs toilet themselves, one at a time.

If I have to go I wait for a moment when there is calm and run up and leave door open so I can hear what is going on.

My 11mth walking mindee I take with me to travel cot upstairs.

Just having trouble with my 2yr old who is between potty and toilet as she can't go upstairs herself to use toilet but thinks she's a big girl lol so 11 mth old comes up with us and older ones stay downstairs.

Worked ok so far. So much easier with downstairs loo and if I wasn't renting I would def have one fitted!!!!!

[Mouse]

she has two young children of her own which she leaves downstairs when she needs to go but to me leaving your own children that you know is different to leaving minded children,, what do you tell ofsted about how you deal with the situation and were they happy with it? sorry to ask all this but i know how nerve racking ofsteds first visits are and i cant help as we have a downstairs loo.
also how do you stop children from going in the other rooms,, she dosent want a lock on her sons room as he would want to get in there

I agree it's different leaving your own children, but it does mean she knows how that it is possible to manage with just an upstairs toilet.

I don't think I've ever been asked by Ofsted how I manage it. I would tell them though that I judge what to do by knowing the children in my care. Eg. I'm quite happy to leave the 2yr old downstairs playing. He's doesn't get up to any mischief & is really good to sit with a book or sit playing while I'm upstairs. But I wouldn't leave the 1 yr old as he's into everything & could climb, reach things off the side etc. I would strap him into the buggy. I have also used first stage baby carseats indoors. I can quickly strap the children into those, give them some toys & nip upstairs. If I had the travel cot set up I would be happy to pop them in there, but I don't leave them in highchairs as I don't think that's safe.

As for the bedrooms. I am quite strict with my mindees and they know not to go into bedrooms if they go up to the bathrooms by themselves. If they're curious I show them into the room, but tell them they're not to go in by themselves. I think it helps that I tend to have all my mindees from babies, so by the time they're getting to the stage of going upstairs by themselves, they know they what the house rules are. If I'm not sure about whether or not a child will go into the bedrooms, I stand at the bottom of the stairs. By hearing through the ceiling/floor I can tell where they're walking. They usually think I'm magic if I shout upstairs "out of the bedroom now!" even though I can't see them :laughing: