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Hiya
Before i started CM i always had kids over 2 days a week for interaction with my on child. Id love for this to happen omce a week still. What are the rules on this and will Ofsted frown at me?
I guess i make my friends sign the visitors book and i never leave them unattended with the children.
Is there anything else id need to note? Wed be doing activities and free play.
Thanks!!!
If the parent stays at yours then you should be fine, as it won't take you over your numbers or get in the way of your care for minded children.
Oh yes the parent will always be with her children.
I note visitors in my diary - it's good to have friends round to play! :D
It is good to have friends around, but I don't find it relaxing at all - the opposite in fact, and so I tend not to do playdates when I am childminding. The other mum certainly wouldn't get a look in, lol, so if mum is expecting a social catch up then she might be disappointed!
However, I don't/didn't childmind 5 days a week - if I did then I would probably have to make it work because it wouldn't be fair on my child. Having said that, for the first few years my DD became best friends with the mindees because they were roughly the same age and so everyday was like a playdate anyway - and I didn't have to worry about entertaining the mum at the same time! As she got older and the age gap between DD and mindees grew then it was not like a playdate for her, but as I said I could keep playdates at our house for the days when I wasn't working.
Thanks for all the replies!!!!
I definitely understand what you are saying about the social catch up. I have one mum friend like that and she wont be invited around on working days as it would be far too stressful. The others understand how I work so im grateful this can all still happen :)
I met with a friend by accident on a wed her day off at a toddler group with my son and 2 mindees in tow, which became more regular and once they outgrew the toddler group have met virtually every wed since for the last 2 years! Her little boy is a similar age and now my sons best friend and the other 2 mindees and them have become such lovely friends.
However she totally gets I'm on childminding duty while with her and while we do have a catch up, sometimes we barely get chance to chat either! The kids love Wednesday's and I selfishly do too as it can get lonely without another adult.
However we always meet up out, I find I have friends over much less often to my home as it is more stressful I find!
Ahhhh thats lovely!!!
Now my own children are older and out of my age range I don't think I will be opposed to having them round as they take them selves off to their bedrooms and amuse themselves - after school or whatever. When they were under 8 I couldn't as it would be too much work and effect my numbers. Before it didn't occur to me to invite friends round but it would have been easier than the occassional meet up at the park or whatever that i used to do as NO time at all for sitting and talking - constantly on the look out for kids old enough to play independently or constantly pushing swings or whatever for the littlies! Fortunately for me my friends understood my work and although a shame we didn't get to talk as much as we wanted it was really for the kids to get to play with their own age which they would get to do.