Re: Do you leave mindees in the car?
Originally Posted by
sweets
when i used to do school runs then i did exactly the same as cheeky monkey. would get to school ridiculously early to get a certain space that was on a quiet road right opposite the back school gate. i would stay in the car till the very last min then cross over (small street not main road) and cross the older mindees over.
i could see the car and the children all the time and children were always left strapped in.
i think you could look too much into dangers! yes the car could have set on fire for no apparant reason but its highly unlikely, i have been driving for 24 years and never seen it happen.
i dont do school runs now but i live on a terraced street with no driveway so if i have 2 babies to unload then i take one in at once and leave them in the hall with the door open and the keys on me! while i go back for the other. its prob left no longer than cheeky monkey doing her school run. i will continue to do it as there is no other way!
there is no way i would leave a child in a car for more than a min or so and would never leave if i wasnt in sight of the car all the time. but i do think things have to be put into prospective.
I agree with this statement. We are always doing risk assessments and in these situations yes, we would all obviously do what is best to ensure the safety of the child and ourselves. the lady who drives to school early to get a parking space is putting the children at no more risk by stepping out of the car to see children across the road than she is by actually sitting in the car with them for 20 mins whilst she waits for the school day to finish. Analogies put forward by people such as the car catching fire or being crashed in to by another vehicle can happen whether you are in the car or not. It is nonsensicle to anticipate the worst every time you are out and about with the chidlren. The children in your care have to be within sight or sound of you at all times - otherwise we would be taking the children to the toilet with us every time too.
I see no problem with being near enough to your car to see the children at all times whilst you cross another child over a busy road and have had this conversation with an Ofsted inspector in the past.
Its quite another thing to do what the OP has witnessed and this cannot be condoned in any way. Please though can we stop seeing ultimate drama and crisis in the slightest movement away from our mindees.
I'm not paranoid - the world IS out to get me!
Bookmarks