Question to those who use childminders..

[belle254]

Hi all I'm a sahm of a 2.5 yo dd and an 18 mo DS. We have a fairly small 2 double bed house in a small town, with a small but usable garden (grass and slabs).
My question is, would the size of a child minders house affect your using them as childcare?
I plan on staying around for the children for the first 6 years and to do that I want to start childminding. I have a long background in early years (nursery work and also a degree) and have the downstairs set out entirely for children. There's a normal kitchen, hallway, downstairs loo and L shaped living room, that currently houses a 4 seater table, dresser, sofa, TV and their toy 8 cube unit (ikea). I've set it out so there's different areas- a reading area, building area for train tracks and blocks, and there's also books and paper/pencils available constantly. Other toys I rotate.
I always have in the back of my mind how small my house is (although it's perfect for us three!) and even though until my two are in school I'll only be able to have 1-2 children to childmind anyway.
Opinions please? X

 

[aimee-lou]

Hi all I'm a sahm of a 2.5 yo dd and an 18 mo DS. We have a fairly small 2 double bed house in a small town, with a small but usable garden (grass and slabs).
My question is, would the size of a child minders house affect your using them as childcare?
I plan on staying around for the children for the first 6 years and to do that I want to start childminding. I have a long background in early years (nursery work and also a degree) and have the downstairs set out entirely for children. There's a normal kitchen, hallway, downstairs loo and L shaped living room, that currently houses a 4 seater table, dresser, sofa, TV and their toy 8 cube unit (ikea). I've set it out so there's different areas- a reading area, building area for train tracks and blocks, and there's also books and paper/pencils available constantly. Other toys I rotate.
I always have in the back of my mind how small my house is (although it's perfect for us three!) and even though until my two are in school I'll only be able to have 1-2 children to childmind anyway.
Opinions please? X

I have used the same CM since my eldest was 14mo.

Their house is really quite small. There is a medium sized living room about 12-13ft square but with a stair case taking up a little bit of that, and a small (8ftx8ft) conservatory area which are accessible to the children - obviously they have an upstairs bathroom etc but these are gated off. They have a fully astro-turfed garden to use all year round but obviously at the moment it's freezing so they're not out much.

As I say we really like them and trust them. At some point they have had all 3 of my boys. DS1 went there pretty much full time for over a year, and now my DS2 goes there one day a week for his 2yr hours.

I also happen to know that of the children they care for at least 4 of them have been there for a number of years, and they have had siblings that have joined them. They are usually full to their capacity (they can take up to 12 with the regulations but they have a personal limit of 8 as they don't have space for any more lol) and are popular and the children are so happy.

I think the environment, the people and the services offered are more important than the house. It sounds like you have a nice setup, so I don't see why you wouldn't be able to mind a couple of children alongside your own.