will being young affect getting business

[HeatherMcG]

Hi.

I am currently working in an after school programme and I am not completely satisfied with the way things are run. i extremely enjoy working with children but would prefer to do it on my own terms. I am looking into home based childcare and would like a little advise on the best way to go about it.

I currently hold no qualifications in childcare but am eager to do so.
I have been working with 3-11 year old for almost a year and feel I have learnt so much already. I am only 18 years old and slightly worried that my age may cause a concern to parents when i am advertising.

Please help!

thanks.

Heather

x

[noble76]

Hi.

I am currently working in an after school programme and I am not completely satisfied with the way things are run. i extremely enjoy working with children but would prefer to do it on my own terms. I am looking into home based childcare and would like a little advise on the best way to go about it.

I currently hold no qualifications in childcare but am eager to do so.
I have been working with 3-11 year old for almost a year and feel I have learnt so much already. I am only 18 years old and slightly worried that my age may cause a concern to parents when i am advertising.

Please help!

thanks.

Heather

x

Hi Heather,

Thank you for your questions. May I say that you show great initiative for a 18 year old which is brilliant. Generally parents will follow their gut instinct on who to put their children with and you could be that person. It might also appeal to parents that you haven’t any children of your own so not so many distractions.

You could team up with another childminder and work together or with a friend and become registered together.

We have the following information which will get you on the road to registration. http://www.nobleminder.co.uk/news-detail.php?id=14

I hope that gets you started if you have any more questions please let me know.

I wish you all the best with your new business. I am sure you will be great.

Lisa

[Pauline]

Hi Heather

I've just moved your thread to Starting Childminding as it wasn't specific to the questions about Noble Minder.

There are a few members who are young like yourself and it hasn't stopped them working, have a look through the starting out section http://www.childmindinghelp.co.uk/fo...splay.php?f=20 and you will find lots of help and ideas and of course we are all here to help you.

[mufftie]

I can see it being an issue with some to start with but once you have your first mindee then I can't see it being a problem , it's just getting that first one through the door .

Getting qualified would help greatly as having no children of your own, parents will want to know that your able to care for children .

Good luck as I'm sure it would work out for you ,

[Kezzle]

This was one of my concerns in a way too, but i'm 24! Personally if i was a parent i would worry about your age mainly because you hold no qualifications, but you do show great initiative more so than my nearly 19 year old sister.

Your fresh out of school so my advice would be to jump back into college etc and do some childcare courses while the studying and learning is still relatively fresh. Because this is where i made my mistakes thinking nah i don't want to go to college/uni straight after high school i wana earn my own money do my own thing.... and now i'm having to do all the learning i should have just stuck at when i was 16 + because what i want to do (Work with children) hasn't changed since i was 10! Just think do it all now and you could be on your way to earning millions by the time your 30, where as i will only just be graduating!

Hope this helps, or if not just gives you some food for thought.

[onceinabluemoon]

Hi Heather

I am the other end of the scale and wonder if people would find me too old, lol! I'm always full so apparently not.

We do have a younger childminder locally and she has a good turnover of business, so I would imagine her age doesn't put people off, however she's a few years older (22ish) than you and does have 2 children of her own.

I wonder if it would be worth your while working in a nursery for 6 months or a year, which would give you valuable experience, possibly a level 2 or 3 qualification and give you another year on your age. This would also give you some valuable time with babies and toddlers, both of whom are very different to your average after school child, which may help you to know if caring for little ones is right for you.

[christine e]

I supported a childminder a few years ago who also was young and had no qualifiacations. Ofsted would not allow her to mind any children under 1. It did take her a while to get started and she did have the full support of her family (did not have her own home).

good luck

Cx

[miffy]

I would say if you are sure it's what you want to do then go for it.

Do you have your own home, because if you live with your parents then you will need their full support.

Miffy xx

[Mrs.L.C]

I would say give it a go. I was 21 when I first started minding but had my own child. I hav not been minding for almost 8 years.
It did take me about a year to get established but this can happen to anyone. Every parent is different and they might like the fact you are younger and have the extra energy etc. It will just depend how you come across to them and what you have to offer.

The only thing I would advice is, keep working in child care if you can through the registration process and until you get mindees to gain more experience and try to look for a level 3 in child care asap (this will become compulsory for childminders at some point)

hth

[Monkey26]

I was just 20 when i registered... i'm now 24 and still here! Albeit back to part time minding as i work in a hospital the other two days
I was in my final year of a degree and had lots of previous experience (working as a private nanny and in holiday clubs etc) when i registered though, don't let it put you off - look into evening courses at your local college, maybe register as a minder but only do it part time for a while so you can build up experience in other settings Good luck with whatever you decide xx

[cchildcare]

I'm 20 and been registered for few months, it has been slow and I definately think some parents don't like the fact that I am younger but then on the other hand others see it as an advantage with new fresh ideas, lots of energy etc. As long as you feel confident being sole charge care for children then definately go for it. I have 22 month old, 5half month old only part time but I have found a job that is flexible to work around childminding. Will drop days/ hours there and hopefully increase the minding hours and days! It's such a rewarding job and I love being outdoors so ideal for me, although paperwork is a downside but that's with everything now I believe! x