does anyone ever feel like this? :(

[babymad]

i hope its ok to post this on here but ive had 2 families in a week come to see me and both sets of parents didnt seems interested in asking any questions, looking around home,looking at certificates or finding anything out about. they just wanted to sign contracts and get out my house as quickly as possible :( i feel so sad for the children that mum and dad are so happy to just hand them over to anyone :angry: i could have been anyone :rolleyes: both parents did come with recomendations from past parents but even so surly you should get to know the person that wil be looking after your bunddle of joy :rolleyes:
well i didnt sign :idea: i sent both sets of parents away with copies of my policies and told them i need to see them again 2 weeks before they want contract to start (not till september for one and october for another) as we all know babies change so much there is no point me taking aload of info and then have to do again in 2 months when baby is now doing loads more stuff :thumbsup:
did i do the right thing? does anyone else ever feel like this? i know that we would all be out of a job if parents didnt work but i could never imagine leaving my pride and joy with anyone i dont know inside out,upside down and have read and re read all the legal stuff :idea:

sorry rant over now, i might have a cold shower this heat is obviously effecting my mental health, just noticed loads of spelling errors but seriously cba with re typing!!! lol

xx

[wendywu]

Well to be honest i would have signed them up and taken a deposit.

Then i would have then asked mums to come along to some toddler sessions i go to in the mean time. So we could get to know each other and i would not be a stranger to the babies when sept and oct come.:)

[babymad]

i got the feeling that if i signed today i wouldnt see them again untill the first day of looking after them :rolleyes:

[rickysmiths]

I agree with Wendy. I would have signed them up, filled in all but the child info form, taken a 4 weeks fees deposit and booked some settling in sessions. They may be on holiday at the end of Aug.

That way they know for sure they have care and I know I have filled my vacancies. I always have a four week 'settling in' when the contracted hours start when either of us can give a weeks notice.

[Katiekoo]

I was happy to leave my 14month old dd with her Childminder after meeting her once and having one settling in session. She had answered all the questions I could have thought of, she came with an excellent reccomendation from a reliable friend, she seemed lovely, shared my beliefs and had three of her own children who she seemed to have done a very good job with. One of her children was the same age as my dd and they got on pretty well. My daughter would still be attending her setting had I been able to afford to send her, and had I not become a childminder myself.
I also had good reason to want to get my dd settled in quickly. I was very lucky, I instantly knew that I liked and trusted this person.
You never know a persons situation and reasons, but it does sound like you felt a 'couldn't care less' vibe which is a bit sad.

[The Juggler]

i think I would have asked them to think about it overnight, confirm by phone then arrange a time for them to come back.

If you make them wait until 2 weeks before they need you hon, they may be nervous no childcare is in place and seek elsewhere. Give them a call, tell them if they are really keen to have paperwork in place then if they are sure they want to come to you to make a date and you'll get all the paperwork ready. Tell them at least 1 visit is required by you between contract signing and starting.

I know what you mean though - it seems they are not interested but it may just be they clicked and liked you straight away and they are more interested in this than all your paperwork :D

[loocyloo]

i once had a phone call from a dad in mid may, asking for an afterschool place from october .. could they come and see me that lunchtime? i said yes, they turned up late and left within 15 mins! a quick flick through my stuff and a brief chat about settling in etc and that was it. i got a phone call from dad about an hour later, wonderful, could they sign up? i said i needed to meet child!, they came at the weekend & signed contracts...
Child started with me in the october, and only left me 4 1/2 years later 'cos i moved away! younger sibling was due to start with me once she started school!

talking to mum about it once she said dad had had a good vibe about me when he spoke to me on the phone, and that they both knew as soon as they walked in the door, that i was the minder for them !!!

[onceinabluemoon]

I would have signed contracts and taken deposits as well. Now these parents may well seek childcare elsewhere and you'll have no idea if they're coming back to you or not.

They may well have got the 'she doesn't want us' vibe from you when sent away and go elsewhere... Hopefully not though :)

[crazyhazy]

I think sending them away and telling them not to come back until 2 weeks before they need to start was a bit naive really. As a parent who has used childcare myself, I signed my daughter up to nursery after looking round once, I was happy with what I seen and knew she'd do settling sessions etc to help her settle. Had they told me to go away and come back 2 weeks before she was due to start, I'll be honest I would have looked elsewhere. I couldn't have left arranging childcare until that late, here there aren't many places and I would have struggled ithout booking a few months in advance.

[miffy]

I would also have taken a deposit from them.

As a parent, if a childminder had sent me away and said not to come back until 2 weeks before I was due to start work, I wouldn't have gone back at all.

Perhaps you could give them a call, ask them if they are still happy to go ahead and then arrange another meeting, then you could take a deposit and arrange some settling-in sessions.

Miffy xx

[BlondeMoment]

I think parents are desperate to secure places for their kids. I've had no end of phone calls lately from parents looking for childcare. If I was having as much trouble finding a space as they were, I'd be wanting to secure it quickly too. So long as I liked the childminder enough.

Then I'd look into settling in and getting to know the minder a little better after. Nothing is ever set in stone and if I really thought I'd made a wrong decision I wouldn't be worried about losing a deposit.

I do understand how you feel though. Some parents don't really seem to care and it is sad

[catminder]

It sounds to me that the parents were happy with friends recommendations so that may be why they didn't feel they needed to ask lots of questions. I agree that it would be a good idea to contact both sets of parents to offer settling/getting to know you sessions.

As said before you could sign contracts, take a deposit so they have peace of mind that childcare is sorted, and then update child info nearer the time.

Hope it works out well :thumbsup:

Alison x

[zippy]

Its ludicrous isn't it, i used to feel like this all the time, the thing is if you asked them would you let a stranger in the street look after you're telly they'd be the first to say no, ive learnt just to accept it now, they probably just have a bit to much faith in the system