Replacing Items Mindees Break

**Louise0208** · 23-05-2011, 11:05 AM

I have thought about this before but never asked but now the subject has arisen again

4 yr old Mindee has just broken my DVD player/cinema surround system (pressed eject & snapped off the disk tray).....now, i know its not used for the mindees but would i be able to buy another cheaper one & put it against my Tax?

Also do any of you have a policy regarding damages by mindees? do parents pay for intentional breakages? iv always paid myself but when you have a distructive mindee it can be a costly business

**christine e** · 23-05-2011, 11:13 AM

Hi

Think you have to put this down to wear and tear which is unfortunate. My house contents policy covers me for accidental damage so I would give your house contents insurers a call as some cover TV's etc automatically against accidental damage.

Cx

**gigglinggoblin** · 23-05-2011, 11:25 AM

I think I would call the tax office, you can deduct a % for wear and tear but this seems to go over and above the norm. I wouldnt want to just put it through the books but it does seem reasonable so you wont lose anything by asking. I wouldnt put it through without their say so.

As for charging parents I think thats potentially very difficult. I know these things happen in a split second sometimes and we cant have eyes everywhere but if I was a parent being charged a large amount of money for something my child broke when you were repsonsible I wouldnt be happy. I think it could result in complaints that children arent properly supervised, what else could they do while you are not watching for example? I am not accusing you of not supervising, I am just pointing out things could easily get nasty if you ask for a large sum of money! If you have a destructive mindee you need to get the parents in to discuss things, they might agree to pay for damages but I cant see how you can charge otherwise. If its that bad it might be a case of weighing up if its financially worth keeping them on.

**kindredspirits** · 23-05-2011, 11:25 AM

i'd never charge parents for breakages - even intentional - as parent could argue that you were not supervising the child closely enough to be able to avoid the breakage, iykwim.
part of the job i think and would only be covered by wear and tear.

**marnieb** · 23-05-2011, 11:31 AM

Yes, def check with your insurance cos is mindee is young enough then it comes under accidental damage. Dd scratched oh's beloved TV, and 3 weeks later we got a gift card for £500 to spend in Comet against a new TV!!

Which is now wall mounted away from dd's reach!!

**gigglinggoblin** · 23-05-2011, 11:33 AM

My accidental damage only covers my kids unfortunately, who do you insure with to get accidental damage for business use?

**heidicat** · 23-05-2011, 11:42 AM

I'm with Churchill.. they cover you as a childminder at no extra cost with accidental damage.
x

**nicoleon** · 23-05-2011, 12:03 PM

i invested in a lockable tv cabinet for that reason. wouldnt feel comfortable asking parents and claiming from insurance always worries me because i think they'll charge more on renewal

**christine e** · 23-05-2011, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by gigglinggoblin

My accidental damage only covers my kids unfortunately, who do you insure with to get accidental damage for business use?

Zurich

Cx

**grindal** · 23-05-2011, 12:10 PM

I'm gonna stick my neck out here and go against the general opinion.
If mindees watch dvds at your house and mindee has damaged your existing dvd player i would replace it and claim it as an expense. I would however be replacing it with a cheap £40 dvd player (Im sure i saw some this cheap online when i was looking for a freeview box for my parents last christmas) not a full on home cinema system!!

Does not seem unreasonable to me!

**rickysmiths** · 23-05-2011, 12:11 PM

This would be covered in your 10% Wear and Tear of if valuble may need to be claimed on insurance.

With regard to the mindee. If they are deliberately breaking stuff then the matter needs to be addressed and the chances are they are like this at home. Maybe sit down with the child and develop some house rules for them. Plan so their time is occupied and ask them for any preferences. Do a reward chart.

Then discuss this with the parents, personally I would have a meeting with them,go through the strategies you have put in place with the mindee and give them a list, with the valuse of the things that have been broken.

I would tell them that I would be documenting everything and continue to list any brakages and their value, explaining that you do expect things to get broken but not as often and deliberately.

I would put them on 4 weeks written notice and say that if there are no further incidents of deliberate damage and behaviour improves you will reconsider the notice. If there are not then the notice will stand.

This may seem harsh but it is having an effect on you and probably your family and the other mindees.

I once made a mindees parent pay for an item that was broken deliberately and I gave them the broken item. It as not pleasant, the mindee was 11 and should have known better and needed to know that the behaviour was not acceptable. I tried for a year and eventually ahd to give notice. It was such a relief when they had gone.

**alwaysright** · 23-05-2011, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by grindal

I'm gonna stick my neck out here and go against the general opinion.
If mindees watch dvds at your house and mindee has damaged your existing dvd player i would replace it and claim it as an expense. I would however be replacing it with a cheap £40 dvd player (Im sure i saw some this cheap online when i was looking for a freeview box for my parents last christmas) not a full on home cinema system!!

Does not seem unreasonable to me!

i totally agree with you, i wouldnt class this as wear and tear, this is accidental damage and i would replace it and claim against my expenses, my insurance also only covers me for accidental damage caused by my own children and not minded ones
a few years ago one of my mindees parents put a big scratch on my car when folding the pram up, my husband was furious, i paid to get the scratch repaired and claimed it through my books

**mushpea** · 23-05-2011, 01:30 PM

I would replace it and put it through the books, I would also talk to the mindess mum about it,,,, when they break toys etc at mine now I dont replace them and they are slowly getting less stuff to play with,, so far this month we have had a toy buggy broken and other bits and now they all fight over the 1 buggy and I have to remind them its their own fault that there is now only one buggy! i get fed up of buying toys that my children woldnt play with just for the others to break

**Louise0208** · 23-05-2011, 02:34 PM

Thanks for the input

Mindee is not happy with any activity i offer....if its not got buttons & plays games then shes not interested, shes great for me on her own but if there are others around shes a real handfull & will go to extreme lengths to get me attention.....hence this morning.....i was feeding my friends baby while reading LO a book she chose, LO wanted me to 'put baby away' & when i told her she was needing a feed all hell broke loose.

It is a regular occurance, she will shred puzzle peices if she cant get them to fit, rip pages out of books, break spines on board books, colour on the walls, rip off wallpaper, chuckes my DDs DSi down the stairs, put a wii remote in the water jug...all of which mum says 'she does it home aswell' .....well its not

good enough!!!! it doesnt happen here

**rickysmiths** · 23-05-2011, 03:04 PM

Originally Posted by Louise0208

Thanks for the input

Mindee is not happy with any activity i offer....if its not got buttons & plays games then shes not interested, shes great for me on her own but if there are others around shes a real handfull & will go to extreme lengths to get me attention.....hence this morning.....i was feeding my friends baby while reading LO a book she chose, LO wanted me to 'put baby away' & when i told her she was needing a feed all hell broke loose.

It is a regular occurance, she will shred puzzle peices if she cant get them to fit, rip pages out of books, break spines on board books, colour on the walls, rip off wallpaper, chuckes my DDs DSi down the stairs, put a wii remote in the water jug...all of which mum says 'she does it home aswell' .....well its not

good enough!!!! it doesnt happen here

I'm sorry but I can't believe what I'm reading

If the parents are allowing this at home then you will never win. I would give notice immediately and say as a gesture of goodwill I would ask them to pay for the last lot of damage. I wouldn't tollerate that much distruction from one child in my house sorry.

**grindal** · 23-05-2011, 03:13 PM

I agree with Rickysmith - neither DS1 or 2 or any of the mindees I have looked after have ever behaved like this. How do you react when your walls are coloured in by a mindee, or when a wii remote is dunked in water?

**marnieb** · 23-05-2011, 03:33 PM

omg!!!!!!

seriously - I'd be handing the parents a bill to replace these things, and telling them they have xxx amount of time to control their daughters behaviour!!!!!

You wouldn't put up with that kind of behaviour from your own kids, never mind a mindee!!!!!

**Stew....pid** · 23-05-2011, 03:34 PM

Blimey your patient !! id of politely handed that 1 back to mum and withdrawn my services, sounds like she costs you more in damage than ya earning

**The Juggler** · 23-05-2011, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by gigglinggoblin

My accidental damage only covers my kids unfortunately, who do you insure with to get accidental damage for business use?

I'm with liverpool victoria and they cover accidental but not sure I'd want to lose my no claims - if its an expensive claim and the accident was caused during minding it's likely your premiums would shoot up the following year

not sure you could claim as a business expense as expenses have generally to be used for minding, not sure how replacements work. As someone suggested, I'd call the local tax advisor