Top 10 Considerations for Becoming A Child Minder

Changing career is always daunting, but it doesn't need to be as long as you do your research. Choosing a career as a childminder involves a lot of preparation. In this article you will see the skills that are necessary to consider in your decision.

In addition to the paper certificates you will receive proving that you are competent in first aid, have gained a Diploma in Home-based Childcare and successfully completed a Quality Assurance Scheme there are several more very important skills which you will require in order to become a successful childminder and not all of these will produce you with a certificate to frame and hang on the wall!

1. Patience

Patience is a virtue. Indeed it is. However, when you are the only person appearing to show any, it can sometimes be a curse! Children can and will test the patience of a saint. If they think their behaviour isn't bothering you don't be fooled into thinking that this will encourage them to give up and find something more constructive to do, the simple truth is they will try even harder to gain your attention. Some children are hell bent on pushing the boundaries all day, every day, and this is when your patience will be tested to the limit.

Before deciding how many children you would like to provide care for and, more importantly what ages you would like to cater for, it is important to think things through carefully. It is all too easy to see each child as potential profit, after all it goes without saying that the more children you care for the more money you will make but making money, though important when running a business, is not the only aspect you should be considering. By taking on lots of children you may actually be doing yourself more harm than good.

It is important for you to learn how to relax and chill out. You will need to know when to rise to a challenge and when to let things go.

Patience is not just needed when dealing with children. It will at times be necessary for you to be patient with parents. It is important to remember that all families are different and parenting styles vary tremendously. You will not always agree with the way a parent cares for their child and you will need to show patience, amongst other virtues in these cases

2. Stamina

As a childminder you will be expected to be available all day every day. Don't fool yourself into thinking you will be allowed to take a couple of days off if you are sick – childminders simply do not have time to be ill – and if they do their bank balance will suffer considerably and woe betide any childminder who insists on being paid if they are ill even if the illness is a direct result of having cared for a sick child! You will get some parents who will sympathise with your predicament whilst muttering under their breath how utterly inconvenient your illness is. There will be some who insist that your own husband take time off from his job to care for their children whilst you are unable to. There will be others – very few – who will insist on paying you, tell you to take yourself off to bed and take as much time off as you need. The latter is all well and done but if you care for children from several families you will never experience this kind of reaction from all of them!

3. Planning and Organization

This is the area where a lot of childminders, both experienced and newly qualified, come unstuck. When they make the decision to work from home, looking after children, they do not anticipate the mountain of work involved with the planning and organisation of their daily routine.

Effective planning and good organisational skills are the key to running a successful childminding business. If you are the kind of person who decides what to have for lunch three minutes before beginning to prepare it then you are going to have to change. Caring for young children is a time consuming occupation and, in order for everything to run smoothly, you will need to be organised.

4. Paperwork

There is no getting away from the paperwork it is, unfortunately, a monumental task for most childminders and one which has to be addressed. You will be expected to complete on a daily basis:

• An attendance register detailing the times when children arrived at and departed from your setting.

• A diary for each child detailing their feeding/sleeping patterns

• A journal detailing the activities you provide for the children

• Daily curriculum plans

• Medical forms, when necessary, detailing medicine administered and why

5. Flexibility

One of the main reasons why parents choose childminders as their ideal childcare option is because of their flexibility. The rigid 8am to 6pm opening times of nurseries is often difficult for some parents to meet particularly if they work shifts or unsociable hours. So childminders need to be flexible. This does not mean, as some parents come to expect, that they are available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Set your working hours and stick to them.

6. Tolerance

This can be another area where there is often all give and little take on the childminder's behalf. Childminders are expected to be very tolerant towards the children they care for and their families. I have been insulted, perhaps not intentionally, and put down by some of the parents whose children I care for and I have been expected to be tolerant.

7. Assertiveness

Tolerance brings me onto another very important skill needed for the job of childminding – assertiveness. Being assertive is something that a lot of people find very difficult. There is a very fine line between being assertive and being aggressive. The former is essential the latter should be avoided at all costs.

8. Be a good listener

Childminders need to be good listeners. Being a "good" listener is not something which comes naturally to everyone. Practice will make things easier. Listening is a positive activity and it is important when you are listening to what a parent is saying to you that you give them your full attention. Take note of exactly what is being said, monitor and analyse the conversation

9. Commitment

People go into childminding for a variety of reasons. Some have a genuine love for children; others believe that nothing tops the satisfaction of working with young children. Many more have been lured by the idea of working for themselves and being answerable to no-one.

10. Coping with the demands of working from home

Working from home does have its advantages. Firstly you will escape the rush hour traffic and avoid having to sit for an hour nose to tail with a million other vehicles all going in your direction. Secondly you will save on travelling expenses. Thirdly you will be at home with your own children.

This article has been put together by the distance learning organisation Start Learning who are experts in home study. If you want to find out more about Choosing a Career as a Child Minder or many other distance learning courses please browse their website: http://www.start-learning.co.uk

A good way to start a career in Child Minding is to sign up for a distance learning course on the subject. By studying in your free time and pace, you can gain the necessary knowledge while tailoring it to suit your schedule.

Kerrana McAvoy

Academic Director – Start Learning

http://www.start-learning.co.uk