Male childminder and dogs?
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  1. #1
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    Default Male childminder and dogs?

    Hi everyone, we've just joined so forgive us if this has been answered before

    Our little girl is 3 months old and we are considering whether my husband would/should try to become a registered childminder. At the moment he earns a decent wage but he loves being with our little girl so much and his three year old nephew absolutely dotes on him too.

    Are we going to face the usual stigma of a male child minder? We have a beautiful house in semi-rural surroundings with sheep, cows and horses on the doorstep. Quite spacious too and we are thinking of adding a conservatory playroom.

    We also have two (reasonably) large dogs, a lab cross and a collie cross. Both fantastic with kids and very laid back. Would this be considered a negative (I'm imagining so) along with the male childminder?

    Grateful thanks for any help,

    Angela x

  2. #2
    onceinabluemoon Guest

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    I'm not a man so can't answer on that count (however there are several male CMs on the forum) but I do have 2 dogs - a labrador and a spaniel - and nobody has found it a problem so far. In fact I have had parents say how lovely it is that their children can share the dogs as they can't have one of their own.

    Hope that helps a little, and welcome

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    I think it's great to have more men cms. All my children are from single mums who often dont have a good male role model in their lives. I think he would do well
    'It's never too late to have a happy childhood' ( Tom Robinson)

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    Quote Originally Posted by onceinabluemoon View Post
    I'm not a man so can't answer on that count (however there are several male CMs on the forum) but I do have 2 dogs - a labrador and a spaniel - and nobody has found it a problem so far. In fact I have had parents say how lovely it is that their children can share the dogs as they can't have one of their own.

    Hope that helps a little, and welcome
    I too can't answer about the male CM as have no experience of them, but I do have a lab and a springer too and again, this has never been a problem with any of my parents.

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    I am not a childminder but I am assistant to Pauline and to be honest I haven't come across any "stigma".

    I wouldn't fancy being a childminder in my own right because of all the paperwork (I let Pauline do all that) but it is great playing with the kids and I am sure they benefit from having a male role model too.

    Can't comment on dogs, we have a cat who we keep out of the way of the children as he can be a bit unpredictable, he's a grumpy old man now.
    Graham
    Assistant to d' ex boss

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    Hi Angela

    Why not let him be your assistant like Graham? It might work out better for you both in the long term?

    We have a dog and a cat and other pets we have never had a problem

    Good luck

    Angel xx

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    Welcome to the forum , there are a few gents on here and hopefully they will be along to answer soon.
    Unfortunately there will be parents out there who have a problem with a male childminder , and dogs, But there are also many many who will see the positives. He needs to sell what you have to offer - an amazing setting and a loving childminder .
    Its never easy setting up , for anyone , do a bit of research and see if other minders in your area have vacancies or are full . Those first few mindees are always the hardest to come by. Once your dh is up and running then it will be word of mouth and reputation that keeps the business going.
    Think about earnings , how much does he need to earn? If he is looking after your dd and nephew he will have one further under 5 place which restricts possible income - school wrap around care depends very much on area and whether the local schools offer their own ( usually cheap!) clubs.
    Good Luck !

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    Welcome to the forum

    No I'm not a male Childminder, but my husband is. I would like to say there is no stigma, but in reality there is! We work together so it is not so much of any issue, but people have turned us down because he is male fortunately it doesn't happen very often. I think the biggest problem a male childminder working alone would face, is getting established. However that said many females struggle to get established. If it is something he really wants to do then I would say go for it, but be realistic about the time it takes to get setup and be prepared for some prejudice. My husband is a very proactive male CM and takes his role very seriously - sometimes to much so

    Regarding the dogs, I'm afraid I can't comment. However many CM's do have alsorts of pets

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    I work together with my husband who's also registered. A lot of parents have seen this as a positive thing.
    However, I've known a couple of male childminders who work on their own who have had great trouble getting clients.

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    I'm male, and a registered childminder, and I have a chocolate labrador, cat, and about 60 tropical fish.

    If I'm honest it's probably better to do a first aid course and become your wife's assistant. With the paediatric first aid course and permissions from parents about using an unsupervised assistant then you can do exactly as you would if you were registered in your own right. What you won't need is to pay OFSTED each year.

    I agree that there shouldn't be any problems with being male, but I think there would be. We have a lot to offer childminding as men but I don't think I would get any minds at all if I wasn't working with my wife.

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    I hate to say it but in all honesty I would not send my children to a male childminder unless I had known him well as a friend perhaps, before he became a childminder. I would feel different if it was a couple working together. I hope you don't all shout at me for saying it but I would not leave my children with a single man childminding.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rayberrys View Post
    I hate to say it but in all honesty I would not send my children to a male childminder unless I had known him well as a friend perhaps, before he became a childminder. I would feel different if it was a couple working together. I hope you don't all shout at me for saying it but I would not leave my children with a single man childminding.
    I find it interesting that you feel like that, rayberrys, when you work in childcare yourself. Can you explain why you would feel uncomfortable?

    I'm not trying to shout you down or anything, I'm genuinely curious.

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    If I'm honest, I'd probably be surprised if I turned up and found a male childminder, but the more I think about it the more I like it. You need to sell the things that you can bring as a male (not that a female can't) but sell all the outdoor things, the way you can offer a different style of learning from a male perspective. My daughter has a male teacher shes 7 an I wish she could have him forever, he's very sciencey and loves all the experiments. He has them shouting all the time in a good way and has done wonders for her confidence. Maybe you could volunteer your service to sone friends get some cracking references stating the great things you do put a photo album together then I'm sure you'll fly. Good luck and sorry for the wrong post lol

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rayberrys View Post
    I hate to say it but in all honesty I would not send my children to a male childminder unless I had known him well as a friend perhaps, before he became a childminder. I would feel different if it was a couple working together. I hope you don't all shout at me for saying it but I would not leave my children with a single man childminding.
    I to am really interested as to why you would not send your children to a male childminder unless you knew them. I actually believe that comments like this are part of the cause of the stigma regarding men and childminding.

    As a male childminder I have not recieved any negative comments and infact all our families (20 in all) love what I bring to the setting.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave View Post
    I to am really interested as to why you would not send your children to a male childminder unless you knew them. I actually believe that comments like this are part of the cause of the stigma regarding men and childminding.

    As a male childminder I have not recieved any negative comments and infact all our families (20 in all) love what I bring to the setting.
    Do you work by yourself Dave?

    There does seem to be a greater acceptance of men who work with their wife or partner than there does of men who work alone. And a lot of the resistance comes from other men.

    We have a male childminder working in nearby & I gave his name to some of my parents who were moving away from where I live. The mum was wanted to go and visit, but the dad said no.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rayberrys View Post
    I hate to say it but in all honesty I would not send my children to a male childminder unless I had known him well as a friend perhaps, before he became a childminder. I would feel different if it was a couple working together. I hope you don't all shout at me for saying it but I would not leave my children with a single man childminding.
    mmm! We had a friend once who told Mick she wouldn't leave her child with a male (one of the many reasons we are no longer friends ). Her father and now her husband were clueless fathers and really had no interest in children and her assumption was that all males were the same. She would not accept that some men love being with children the same as many women. Infact she thought it totally unnatural that my husband did everything in the house that I do

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    I have thought about it some more and it's a prejudice and a poor one and I can't think of any real reasoning behind it. My first reaction was simply that women are more nurturing and a baby would be better with a female carer. It's my prejudice of course and surely there are some fantastic male childminders out there. I'll think about it some more. I'm not one to discriminate on any grounds. I don't want to cause an offence. It was just my first reaction.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mouse View Post
    Do you work by yourself Dave?

    There does seem to be a greater acceptance of men who work with their wife or partner than there does of men who work alone. And a lot of the resistance comes from other men.

    We have a male childminder working in nearby & I gave his name to some of my parents who were moving away from where I live. The mum was wanted to go and visit, but the dad said no.
    I work in partnership with my wife. We are both registered childminders and both bring different things to the setting.

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    Default male cm

    great to hear you thinking of becoming a cm, therea certainly not enough male ones, you could become your wifes assistant, you are alloweed just as many children when working with an assistant as two minders working together, good luck

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rayberrys View Post
    I hate to say it but in all honesty I would not send my children to a male childminder unless I had known him well as a friend perhaps, before he became a childminder. I would feel different if it was a couple working together. I hope you don't all shout at me for saying it but I would not leave my children with a single man childminding.
    I just wanted to add that I would've loved a male childminder for my son when he was younger but there are none in our area, ultimately it doesn't matter to me whether someone is male or female but it does matter they have a genuine interest in children and are good at their job. Good luck

 

 
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