{"id":215,"date":"2012-01-17T09:29:12","date_gmt":"2012-01-17T09:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/?p=215"},"modified":"2012-01-17T09:29:12","modified_gmt":"2012-01-17T09:29:12","slug":"how-to-choose-a-childminder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-childminder\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose a Childminder"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Choosing a childminder for your children can be a difficult task.\u00a0 Finding a childminder who you and your child click with, and who can provide childcare at the times you need it, isn\u2019t always easy.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It can also be difficult to know which questions to ask when meeting a prospective childminder.\u00a0 Following is a list of tips that you may find useful.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>The First Visit<\/h2>\n<p>When you visit, take your child.\u00a0 Allow the childminder to interact with your child and observe how your child reacts to them.\u00a0 It may take your child a while to warm up to them, but the childminder should be open, friendly and non-pressuring.\u00a0 Talk to the childminder before the meeting to arrange a time when you will be able to stay for a decent amount of time \u2013 1 to 2 hours &#8211; as this will give your child a chance to get acquainted and for you to get a better idea of whether they will be a good fit for each other.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What to Ask<\/h2>\n<p>Don\u2019t be afraid to ask as many questions as you wish \u2013 a good childminder will be happy to answer any you may have and to help you feel at ease when making your choice.\u00a0 You may wish to ask questions such as \u2013<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Will they provide food for your child, and if so, what kind? Do they provide cooked meals, or simple snacks and sandwiches?<\/li>\n<li>What kind of discipline methods do they use, and how they would deal with certain behaviours (such as snatching, hitting and other normal behaviours for young children)?<\/li>\n<li>How much time do they generally spend out and about with the children? Do they visit the park\/play in the garden\/go on outings to local places of interest?<\/li>\n<li>Do they drive?<\/li>\n<li>How many children will they generally have in their care when they will have your child?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>You will also wish to enquire about costs.\u00a0 Childminders generally charge around \u00a33-\u00a34 an hour.\u00a0 Some will make additional charges for food and drink, whereas others will include a certain number of meals and snacks in their costs.\u00a0 The childminder will have a sheet or two that you will be able to take home which will have detailed information about costs, notice periods, what will happen in the event of sickness and what you will be expected to provide (spare clothing, sunblock, etc).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And, of course, you will need to find out whether or not your chosen childminder will be able to look after your children at the times you need.\u00a0 Good childminders are often well-booked, and have waiting lists, so it is important that you start to seek a childminder with plenty of time to spare if you are returning to work, for example, after maternity leave.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Avoiding Problems<\/h2>\n<p>As with any professional relationship, being upfront and honest from the beginning is the best way to avoid problems later down the line.\u00a0 If you have any doubts about a childminder, don\u2019t feel pressure to hire her because you gave her the impression you would when you met.\u00a0 A good childminder will fully understand the importance of your decision and will certainly have no hard feelings if you choose to go with somebody else \u2013 after all, your child\u2019s well-being is the most important thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Choosing a childminder for your children can be a difficult task.&#49824; Finding a childminder who you and your child click with, and who can provide childcare at the times you need it, isnt always easy. &nbsp; It can also be difficult to know which questions to ask when meeting a prospective childminder.&#49824; Following is a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-childminder\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;How to Choose a Childminder&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[89,96,98],"class_list":["post-215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-childcare","category-childminders","tag-childcare","tag-childminder","tag-childminding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}