Getting anxious about opening on the 1 st

[Dragonfly]

I wasn’t anxious at all but the more I read about risk assessments ( childcare.co) the more I’m getting anxious.

Can’t take child from parent?, water play- separate containers instead of water play table, wash throw that covers sofa everyday! separate place for the children’s bags, who has room to put all separately they usually go on pegs with name on.
spray everything that moves.... no sorry that was me.

What do you do when you go for a walk the children hold hands sometimes are they allowed now, going in double buggy together?. Sleeping usually travel cot and sofa , any different?

Am I allowed to hold child’s hand (their toddlers) pick them up, sit on my lap? Should I wear a mask at hand overtime’s?
Should the parent leave the child in my porch and back away out?

Those that have been open all the time could you give me some advice please. I think I’m going into melt down .

[FussyElmo]

I think the trick is to step back from everyone else and do what is right for you.

Me and dh have talked and we said when i open i will open like i have never been shut.

I do handovers at the door anyway.
Yes I will limit to toys etc just to save my cleaning.
Im planning on being outside alot as i am normally however if the weather turns bad i will go indoors.

I will also give hugs out when required.

[loocyloo]

Hi there Dragonfly.

first of all .... don't stress, don't panic. Take a deep breath. YOU CAN DO THIS.

I am hearing from lots of childminders how scary it is to be thinking about re-opening when you've been shut the whole time.

Now, i can't speak for a childminder who lives in a town or city, or somewhere that has had alot of cases of C19, but i can tell you what i did/have done and will be doing.

I currently only have one family attending ( siblings aged 3 & just 1 ). I did have another child, but his parents are now shielding. I only had all 3 on one day together, and apart from cleaning at the end, i didn't do much else different in the day. I also don't have any children planning on coming back until the end of June at the earliest.

Everybody always has their own plate/cup/cutlery etc, and takes their own flannel to wash face after a snack or meal. i just added taking another flannel to dry their hands on. these then get put in a basket that gets washed each evening ( or if not each evening, is in a washing basket in utility room out of everyones way ) Bags are left in the porch as usual. with just 2 families, and then usually 1, it wasn't an issue, i just put them on seperate sides, but i have considered using collapsible crates ( of which i seem to have several! ) to put stuff in and stack them up! Shoes are kept in porch, and coats, if they come are kept in their bags.

In the playroom I initially removed my dolls, puppets and dressing up clothes, but as these children don't bother with these resources, i put them back! If and when more children start returning, i shall remove them again ( they are in plastic boxes already ) We play outside alot ... sharing the sand and water tray ( washing hands when we go in ) as usual, the water tray is tipped out each evening, and the sand tray ( not as usual but usual for now! ) has a squirt of sterilising solution added and stirred around ( my sand tray is actually a tuff spot, so not alot of sand, and quite a thin layer ) other outdoor toys are given a quick wipe over with warm soapy water at the end of the day. Inside we tend to play with cars/trains & duplo ... again given a quick wipe, and do lots of reading books and singing songs. Yes, the children sit on my lap and we share stories and tickles. The instruments are getting a good work out, but not the 'blowy' ones! lots of drawing/sticking and playdough ( i know alot of places have said no to playdough ... i make my own, and as i only have the 3 yr old who likes it, i think it is fine! we don't have much out, and it tends to go in the bin at the end of the day as most of it has ended up on the floor dried out! ( his favourite activity is cutting it into tiny pieces! ) We do PE with Joe which is fun! I only have a rug and a couple of cushions in my playroom, and again, i have kept these, but the cushions are piled up and not being used!

When the parents drop off, they knock on the door, put bag on doorstep and step back ... i open door and children come in ... well ... 3 yr old does ... i have to take 1 yr old from parent! They hold child out and i take ... ( we do the same for collection ) we then take shoes off, and go and wash hands. ( i then give front door/door frames.porch walls that children touch a quick antibac wipe over ) Children bring their own lunch ... i give lunch bag a quick squirt of antibac spray and put it in the cool of my garage ( which is next to playroom ). I provide tea. Sleeping wise the baby sleeps in the buggy and fleece gets washed every week or so, and i give buggy a wipe down with antibac at the end of each day. 3 yr old has a sleep mat ... I wash the cover and fleece each week ... Each child has their own cover/fleece anyway, so not cross contamination, even if i had more children here. washing weekly is my usual routine. I'm not wearing a mask or apron or gloves (unless it is a really bad nappy or sick !!!!)

We wash our hands inbetween activities and it's just become part & parcel of what we do now. Reading through, i know it sounds like alot of extra fuss, BUT, it has just become the way we do things and has evolved naturally. I haven't been going out of the house/garden so not sure about holding hands/holding buggy ...i would do what i needed to do to keep the children physically safe first. The same with the double buggy. My thought is that the children need things to be as close to 'normal' as possible with us ... we need to help them deal with what is happening and to keep them mentally safe and happy as well. and for that, we need to be happy about what we are doing. I know that initially i was really worried about it, but i'm lucky, i live in a rural area, with alot of space and few cases and so i feel that although i can't go anywhere, things have stayed the same. I appreciate that some families have had a dreadful time.

I think as childminders we KNOW our families, and have better chance of knowing how they will have reacted to the restrictions, and if they might send an ill child or not respect social distancing.


I read some risk assessments and they sent me into a tail spin ... but i think they seem to aimed more at nurseries who have more children, more staff and less knowledge of their families. All you can do, is the best you can do. take care xxxx

[Mouse]

I have to be honest, I've stopped reading the posts on childminding facebook pages for this very reason. I know the advice will be helpful for a lot of people but personally, I find a lot of it very over the top. The turning point for me was a discussion on whether or not you should let the children sing! I'm sorry, but if it's that risky that we have to take extra precautions when a child sings, then we really shouldn't be opening at all!

There are several childminders on here who have carried on working for keyworker children and they're the people I will be taking advice from. They are the people who have experience of having children in their homes and it all seems far less dramatic than we're being led to believe!

I'm going to have doorstep hand overs, but some of the children don't walk, so will be handed to me. Parents rarely come in anyway, but I won't let any in now.
I'll take the children to the kitchen sink when they get here and wash their hands.
I'm asking parents to leave spare clothes here which I'll wash and dry if they get dirty so there's no need for them to bring bags each day. I supply nappies and meals anyway, so they don't need to bring anything.
Then throughout the day, everything else will be pretty much as normal. We'll do plenty of hand-washing, but that'll be about it. I'll still pick the children up, sit them on my knee, hold their hands etc. I won't wear a mask unless a child in my care starts to show symptoms (as per official guidance). I won't be putting a throw on my sofa nor will I be getting rid of cushions.

Hopefully once you open again and have children back you'll find your own way of doing things and will be able to relax

[moggy]

BBC Breakfast - Will nurseries re-open next month? | Facebook
A good view of a setting following sensible precautions.

[Pixie dust]

I have remained open and was quite happy with what procedures I had in place until our LA sent out a risk assessment today for all early years settings to use as guidance which included putting used books/paper and craft card aside for 72 hours after use as they can't be wiped down! That means I am going to have to put most of my books out of the way so I can rotate them enabling them to be put aside for 72 hours at the end of the day and still have books available for the next few days.

[moggy]

I have remained open and was quite happy with what procedures I had in place until our LA sent out a risk assessment today for all early years settings to use as guidance which included putting used books/paper and craft card aside for 72 hours after use as they can't be wiped down! That means I am going to have to put most of my books out of the way so I can rotate them enabling them to be put aside for 72 hours at the end of the day and still have books available for the next few days.

Guidance is guidance, not law. I will only have 2 children so a very different situation to a preschool with 15 children in a group. I think you can go over the top with all this. If I see a little one chewing, sneezing on, sucking a book I'll put it to one side to deal with later. But we are in our homes and working alone, and very small numbers- very different to a nursery and needs to be risk assessed differently xx

[Pixie dust]

Guidance is guidance, not law. I will only have 2 children so a very different situation to a preschool with 15 children in a group. I think you can go over the top with all this. If I see a little one chewing, sneezing on, sucking a book I'll put it to one side to deal with later. But we are in our homes and working alone, and very small numbers- very different to a nursery and needs to be risk assessed differently xx

Exactly Moggy that's why I have my own risk assessment as after reading through the LA one most of it is so way over the top but people will use it as a checklist as it's come from the LA thinking that's what they are supposed to be doing .

[Dragonfly]

Thank you all for your great help. I loved seeing that video as they were playing in the sandpit, one thing I was told to consider not doing! But they love it and water play.

Craft materials left on the side for 72 hours and books 😱 can’t do that!