Best place to report concerns about a creche

Neyite

Millem wrote: »

I found crèches to be cheaper than a minder if you work a full day. In am in south dublin

I never investigated childminder costs because I never got any recommendations and wasnt comfortable with leaving the baby with someone who I had no word of mouth reference for from someone I trusted, but I'd imagine that its not much in the difference for full time care.

As well as that, if your childminder is sick, you're stuck and may have to miss a day. With a creche, its not your problem, they draft in another staffer to cover.

Anon345

Neyite wrote: »

I never investigated childminder costs because I never got any recommendations and wasnt comfortable with leaving the baby with someone who I had no word of mouth reference for from someone I trusted, but I'd imagine that its not much in the difference for full time care.

As well as that, if your childminder is sick, you're stuck and may have to miss a day. With a creche, its not your problem, they draft in another staffer to cover.

We have found that in our case our son has more sick days than we adults do.
When our son is sick, he doesn't go to the creche and we have to take those days off work.
If we had an inhouse minder, we wouldn't have to take those days off.

walshb

Anon345 wrote: »

True

Not at all to meant to make you feel bad. What happened to your child could have happened to any child in any care facility on earth. Hope he is doing well.

Dublin Red Devil

Your friendly neighbourhood Catholic priest should know all about small childern. Why not leave your child with him. Who better than a trustworthy pillar of the community. What could possib-lye go wrong?

Neyite

Dublin Red Devil wrote: »

Your friendly neighbourhood Catholic priest should know all about small childern. Why not leave your child with him. Who better than a trustworthy pillar of the community. What could possib-lye go wrong?

Not appropriate

Anon345

walshb wrote: »

Not at all to meant to make you feel bad. What happened to your child could have happened to any child in any care facility on earth. Hope he is doing well.

No worries, I agree fully with your post that it's our responsibility.
We had at least 3 other options:

1. One of us could have stopped working and stayed at home to mind him.
2. We could have gone for a more expensive creche from the start.
3. We could have removed him from the creche when we saw the breaches in ratios and started having concerns about the standard of care.

For each of the above, I could give reasons why we didn't choose that option.
At the time they made sense, but in hindsight some of them are less valid.

walshb

Anon345 wrote: »

No worries, I agree fully with your post that it's our responsibility.
We had at least 3 other options:

1. One of us could have stopped working and stayed at home to mind him.
2. We could have gone for a more expensive creche from the start.
3. We could have removed him from the creche when we saw the breaches in ratios and started having concerns about the standard of care.

For each of the above, I could give reasons why we didn't choose that option.
At the time they made sense, but in hindsight some of them are less valid.

You did the best for your child. You were let down. It's sad and unfortunate. You have my sympathy/empathy 100 percent.

Vel

What childcare options do those of you who don't like creches prefer? It seems to me that the whole au pair/childminding side of things is even less regulated but I don't know that for sure. I know plenty of girls who do childminding for the extra money to enable them to stay at home with their kids. Whilst I'm not suggesting that every single person who works in a creche is madly in love with kids, I'd prefer my kids to be minded by someone who has decided to pursue it as a career than someone who is just doing it to get a bit of extra cash as opposed to really wanting to mind kids for a living.

Another girl I know came home early last year to find her babysitter sound asleep on the sofa,head back,mouth open snoring kind of sleep while the kids were left playing on the floor in front of the tv. One of the kids was 1 and the other 2.5. I bet there are numerous stories of childminders doing not so great things but because they are individual cases they wouldn't be as newsworthy as a story about bad things happening at a creche so we don't get to hear about them. I would even go so far as to suggest that it would be easier to find out if something is going on at a creche than it would be in a childminder's house.

The main hangup I hear from people who choose childminders over creches is the numbers thing, and that is fair enough if they feel they want their child being minded with less children. However, beyond that I don't see how they can guarantee that the quality of the childcare they are getting is any better than that that a child in a creche is getting. Maybe it is because they are being minded in a home that that perception is there, but it is just that, a perception.

Similar questions that can be asked about issues that might arise in a creche or have arisen can be asked of childminers too. How do you know what they are really feeding them during the day? How do you know how much tv they are sticking them in front of during the day while they do stuff around their house? How many worthwhile activities are they actually sitting down and doing with them during the day? How do you know that they aren't having their friends pop around during the day for coffee while they are minding your kids and who are these friends? How do you know that they aren't getting a friend/relative in to mind the kids for a couple of hours while they pop out to run and errand? How do you know your kid won't slip out the front door one day while they are distracted by another kid? And so on. Plenty of what *could* happen in a creche *could* happen in a private home too and until the child is a certain age you will have no way of finding out either.

As I've said before, no option is perfect but we all strive to find the one that suits us best. And shock, horror, for some of us that is a creche. I could easily have my kids with a childminder but that isn't for me for a number of reasons. My kids are in creche a couple of days a week and with my parents the other day, and me on a Friday. I could have my parents mind them rather than creche but I like what they gain from being in creche, the things they do that we wouldn't have the time/patience to do and the fact that they get to mix with lots of different children. My kids love going to creche and I think they would really miss it if they didn't go. My parents minding the kids is a good example that nothing is perfect. Many would think it ideal but I know that on the days my parents mind them my kids watch more tv than I would like and often gets treats that they wouldn't get from us or in creche!!

For many of us, creche is not an option of last resort, it is our first choice and that includes being preferable to the option of me or my partner staying home to mind them. Many women love staying home with their kids, do lots of activities and get great satisfaction from it but many don't and I know of a few who I feel are unfulfilled, unhappy and I have seen firsthand that their kids don't do half as much during the day as what mine do at creche, so in some cases even one of the parents staying at home isn't even the best choice for the kid in my opinion. Give me an excellent, well run creche any day over any of the other options available to us, and thankfully we have that.

I'm sick and tired of creche bashing!!

Rose35

Well said Vel, I couldn't have put it better myself, my no.1 choice of childcare was and still is creche for all the reasons
you have already said, im tired of the creche bashing also and coming from people who probably have never set foot inside a creche or used one for that matter, haven't seen any of their opinions backed up from actual experience.... (The kind who love to make the working person
feel guilty for choosing childcare or in this case for choosing a creche.)

kippy

Vel wrote: »

What childcare options do those of you who don't like creches prefer? It seems to me that the whole au pair/childminding side of things is even less regulated but I don't know that for sure. I know plenty of girls who do childminding for the extra money to enable them to stay at home with their kids. Whilst I'm not suggesting that every single person who works in a creche is madly in love with kids, I'd prefer my kids to be minded by someone who has decided to pursue it as a career than someone who is just doing it to get a bit of extra cash as opposed to really wanting to mind kids for a living.

Another girl I know came home early last year to find her babysitter sound asleep on the sofa,head back,mouth open snoring kind of sleep while the kids were left playing on the floor in front of the tv. One of the kids was 1 and the other 2.5. I bet there are numerous stories of childminders doing not so great things but because they are individual cases they wouldn't be as newsworthy as a story about bad things happening at a creche so we don't get to hear about them. I would even go so far as to suggest that it would be easier to find out if something is going on at a creche than it would be in a childminder's house.

The main hangup I hear from people who choose childminders over creches is the numbers thing, and that is fair enough if they feel they want their child being minded with less children. However, beyond that I don't see how they can guarantee that the quality of the childcare they are getting is any better than that that a child in a creche is getting. Maybe it is because they are being minded in a home that that perception is there, but it is just that, a perception.

Similar questions that can be asked about issues that might arise in a creche or have arisen can be asked of childminers too. How do you know what they are really feeding them during the day? How do you know how much tv they are sticking them in front of during the day while they do stuff around their house? How many worthwhile activities are they actually sitting down and doing with them during the day? How do you know that they aren't having their friends pop around during the day for coffee while they are minding your kids and who are these friends? How do you know that they aren't getting a friend/relative in to mind the kids for a couple of hours while they pop out to run and errand? How do you know your kid won't slip out the front door one day while they are distracted by another kid? And so on. Plenty of what *could* happen in a creche *could* happen in a private home too and until the child is a certain age you will have no way of finding out either.

As I've said before, no option is perfect but we all strive to find the one that suits us best. And shock, horror, for some of us that is a creche. I could easily have my kids with a childminder but that isn't for me for a number of reasons. My kids are in creche a couple of days a week and with my parents the other day, and me on a Friday. I could have my parents mind them rather than creche but I like what they gain from being in creche, the things they do that we wouldn't have the time/patience to do and the fact that they get to mix with lots of different children. My kids love going to creche and I think they would really miss it if they didn't go. My parents minding the kids is a good example that nothing is perfect. Many would think it ideal but I know that on the days my parents mind them my kids watch more tv than I would like and often gets treats that they wouldn't get from us or in creche!!

For many of us, creche is not an option of last resort, it is our first choice and that includes being preferable to the option of me or my partner staying home to mind them. Many women love staying home with their kids, do lots of activities and get great satisfaction from it but many don't and I know of a few who I feel are unfulfilled, unhappy and I have seen firsthand that their kids don't do half as much during the day as what mine do at creche, so in some cases even one of the parents staying at home isn't even the best choice for the kid in my opinion. Give me an excellent, well run creche any day over any of the other options available to us, and thankfully we have that.

I'm sick and tired of creche bashing!!

It's a fair point, there is a lot of negativity out there on creches, but thats not to say all creches are the same or that all people hold that opinion.


As I said earlier we have a minder and creche and both have their benefits and drawbacks. We're in the lucky position that we are delighted with both.

Rose35

Im saying no more on the subject besides there are some fantastic creches out there and I hope that
every parent find that wonderful place where their child is safe and happy in like we have and am so grateful for that.

Flippyfloppy

Vel wrote: »

How do you know how much tv they are sticking them in front of during the day while they do stuff around their house? How many worthwhile activities are they actually sitting down and doing with them during the day? How do you know that they aren't having their friends pop around during the day for coffee while they are minding your kids and who are these friends? How do you know that they aren't getting a friend/relative in to mind the kids for a couple of hours while they pop out to run and errand? How do you know your kid won't slip out the front door one day while they are distracted by another kid? And so on. Plenty of what *could* happen in a creche *could* happen in a private home too and until the child is a certain age you will have no way of finding out either.

This ^^^^

I do know of one woman who found out her kids were being minded for an hour or so regularly by the minders husband while she nipped out etc. Same young kids were also spotted alone for a time outside a shop while the minder did her shopping!!

My search for childcare was horrible. I scheduled to meet a minder in her house one day, while she had kids there & brought mine. She has a playroom with a fuzzy little TV on a chair, full volume & blaring that the kids were standing staring at.

Then my creche experience was horrible, my daughter was at the end of her first week in there, and I picked her up only half an hour earlier one day, and found her in a different room than usual, a chaotic room packed full of near teens, and adults, all standing/running around. She was wandering around in the middle of them and looked right into my eyes and ran past me. I picked her up and never went back. Her nappy was absolutely full to the brim too! I think this 'joining up all kids & staff to have a natter' must have been occuring all week, because in hindsight the room I usually collected her from had been strangely tidy for a room that had supposedly been played in for the day. I felt so dumb having worked in a creche for years, to not notice these signs!!

Would any other parents mind the above?

There are literally no good creches in my area, there's 3 chain creches, all got a mention in the Prime Time report. Another local government creche I went to for half an house to settle in and never went back, I looked at their report a while back, and it was absimal. All things like staff have no connection/interest in the kids. Why are these places allowed operate, and get so much business from the free preschool year! And we seen on Prime Time that one of the creches falsified attendance records in order to get the funding?! Was anything done about that?!

walshb

The creche and child caring business is a bit like the house renting business. You can do all the research you want but you are still taking a risk leaving young children in the care of "strangers." You are hoping that the child is cared for and looked after the way you (assuming you're a good and decent and caring parent) would care for and look after your own child.

Neyite

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

Then my creche experience was horrible, my daughter was at the end of her first week in there, and I picked her up only half an hour earlier one day, and found her in a different room than usual, a chaotic room packed full of near teens, and adults, all standing/running around. She was wandering around in the middle of them and looked right into my eyes and ran past me. I picked her up and never went back. Her nappy was absolutely full to the brim too! I think this 'joining up all kids & staff to have a natter' must have been occuring all week, because in hindsight the room I usually collected her from had been strangely tidy for a room that had supposedly been played in for the day. I felt so dumb having worked in a creche for years, to not notice these signs!!

Would any other parents mind the above?

Pooling the children in one room at the end of the day, no, within reason of course. They do it in my child's creche, and usually he is engrossed in the different toys in that room, and maybe plays with an older child or two -but its not as busy as you described what happened to you. If it lets some staff off a bit earlier, or allows them to ready his usual room for the next day, I dont see an issue with that. I'd be annoyed at the full nappy though or if the room was so packed they couldnt keep a proper eye on the kids.

A friend of mine got off work an hour earlier than normal one Friday and arrived to find her childminder and a friend sharing a bottle of wine. Childminder didnt see anything wrong with it because 'surely she (the mother) has had a drink while her child was in bed' Didnt register that she should have still been on the clock.

My main concern would be that while you'd trust your childminder, you couldnt vet everybody going in or out of their house. And another concern would be that the child would just be plonked in front of the telly while they got on with their housework.

Flippyfloppy

Neyite wrote: »

Pooling the children in one room at the end of the day, no, within reason of course. They do it in my child's creche, and usually he is engrossed in the different toys in that room, and maybe plays with an older child or two -but its not as busy as you described what happened to you. If it lets some staff off a bit earlier, or allows them to ready his usual room for the next day, I dont see an issue with that. I'd be annoyed at the full nappy though or if the room was so packed they couldnt keep a proper eye on the kids.

A friend of mine got off work an hour earlier than normal one Friday and arrived to find her childminder and a friend sharing a bottle of wine. Childminder didnt see anything wrong with it because 'surely she (the mother) has had a drink while her child was in bed' Didnt register that she should have still been on the clock.

My main concern would be that while you'd trust your childminder, you couldnt vet everybody going in or out of their house. And another concern would be that the child would just be plonked in front of the telly while they got on with their housework.

Wow...just wow regarding the wine!!! That is crazy!! I hope she got her marching orders?!?

And tbh I thought a lot of childminders would end up doing that regarding housework?

Also, regarding pooling the kids together, this was at 3.30! I worked in a creche before, and we definitely pooled the kids together at the end of the day, but only when they reached a certain number, for example, if there were 3 toddlers only 3 older kids would be allowed in the room as toddler ratio is 6 to an adult. We would go by the ratios for the youngest child of you know what I mean? What I witnessed was mayhem! And the worst is, I think they sneakily moved the kids into their happy, calm 'rooms' when pick up time started!

Neyite

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

Wow...just wow regarding the wine!!! That is crazy!! I hope she got her marching orders?!?

And tbh I thought a lot of childminders would end up doing that regarding housework?

Also, regarding pooling the kids together, this was at 3.30! I worked in a creche before, and we definitely pooled the kids together at the end of the day, but only when they reached a certain number, for example, if there were 3 toddlers only 3 older kids would be allowed in the room as their ratio is 6 to an adult. We would go by the ratios for the youngest child of you know what I mean? What I witnessed was mayhem! As the worst is, I think they sneakily moved the kids into their happy, calm 'rooms' when pick up time started!

Indeed she did get fired. And I'm sure she'd find it hard to get a childminding job again.

That pooling does sound like a fast one.

Flippyfloppy

Neyite wrote: »

Indeed she did get fired. And I'm sure she'd find it hard to get a childminding job again.

That pooling does sound like a fast one.

I would really hope so !!! Scary thing is it seemed so normal to her

sillysocks

A crèche in my local area are advertising for an intern on that ridiculous government scheme. Wouldn't inspire confidence in how they deal with staff. And I doubt a staff member earning 50 eur a week would be too motivated.

Sweet Rose

This thread is making me very nervous about looking at crèches. I'm taking a career break from September for a year because I'd like to look after my daughter myself. She's only 1 at the minute and I'm going to be flat broke from taking a year out from work but I think from reading all the bad comments, it'll be worth it. It's just so hard to place your trust in someone else to look after your precious child.

Chattastrophe!

sillysocks wrote: »

A crèche in my local area are advertising for an intern on that ridiculous government scheme. Wouldn't inspire confidence in how they deal with staff. And I doubt a staff member earning 50 eur a week would be too motivated.

Ah that's bullshit.

I have no problem with creches taking on students for free - how else are they going to learn if they don't get practical experience. But obviously this should be in addition to their regular staff.

I'm assuming that the interns they'd be taking on are qualified. So they can be used to replace regular staff, and save the creche money.

If the creche doesn't think that the qualified intern is worth payment of a standard wage - if they don't think highly enough of them to pay them properly - it really doesn't look great for them.

Chattastrophe!

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/15k-for-creche-worker-sacked-after-child-played-in-toilet-bowl-30530087.html

DM addict

To any parent that has concerns about a creche, I would recommend reporting them, but there's a limited amount that gets done, sadly.

I work in childcare, and the first place I worked at was one of the chains featured on the PrimeTime programme. There were a lot of issues there, and I reported them to the deputy manager, and the manager, and the operations manager for the whole chain. The response I got was "maybe this isn't the right place for you." I quit, and reported them. Out of curiosity, I looked up their latest HSE report when they got published online - half the things I had reported were still non-compliant issues.

The place I worked at after was great. There was no corner-cutting, and ratios were adhered to, and the staff actively engaged with the kids. I only left that place because I moved away, and would have recommended it to anyone.

Parents who are considering creche have a tough job picking one. I keep meaning to write a guide of pertinent questions for parents to help them choose. Ultimately, go with your gut feeling.

As a childcare professional, I feel awful hearing about the negative experiences of posters here. I do believe that creche can be a great option for kids to improve their development, particularly social development. But it's still true that it's not for everyone, and you've to go with what's right for you and your family.

lazygal

There's no perfect childcare. I have my children with a minder who lives locally. She came recommended and is very reliable, has never taken a sick day and charges a fair rate. I've picked up earlier than planned and never 'caught her out'. I send in my own food for lunches and snacks as I prefer to know what they eat. I know she'll give the occasional treat which I'm fine with.

I worked in a preschool and had heard all the rumors about the chains featured in the Prime Time programme, especially the ones about ratios being ignored. Despite this I had planned to send my first child to a creche (not a Prime Time one) but this didn't work out. I think there's pluses and minuses to any childcare. Even family won't be perfect - I know my parents would be a lot more lenient than I would like and would spoil them the way the minder does not.

I don't think you can be 100% happy with childcare. I'm probably 95% happy, and the few things I'd prefer to be different are vastly outweighed by the fact that I collect two happy, healthy children at the end of every day and they run in every morning with hardly a wave goodbye.

Chattastrophe!

DM addict wrote: »

I keep meaning to write a guide of pertinent questions for parents to help them choose. Ultimately, go with your gut feeling.

If you (or anyone else) has any suggestions for the sort of questions to ask, I'd be interested in this? As I already said I'm totally happy with our creche, however as a new parent I didn't really even know what questions to ask when we were viewing - we got a very thorough tour from the manager, we didn't see or hear anything we were unhappy about (apart from the extortionate price!) so we just went with our gut feeling. No regrets, but I'd like to hear about the sort of stuff I should have been asking about or looking out for, just in case I'm missing anything obvious!

I think it was around the time of the Primetime report that we were viewing, so we did ask the manager if they'd had a HSE inspection recently - he was totally upfront about the fact that they hadn't had one in over two years, so that was the most recent report available. As he said he'd love for them to come out and inspect, so that he could provide parents with a more recent report, but not much they can do about it if the inspections just aren't happening!

Anon345

The HSE (Tusla) inadequate inspections of childcare facilities got a slot on Pat Kenny this morning. More for peace of mind than expecting anything, I emailed and texted details to the show. I was not disappointed.

(Starts at 08:24)
I can't post URLs with this account so
h t t p : / / w w w.newstalk.ie/player/listen_back/13240/12332/26th_August_2014_-_The_Pat_Kenny_Show_Part_2


2 creche owners were up first. Both stated that parents had no interest in the HSE inspection reports and that it was actually the creches themselves that appreciated the inspections more, to help them monitor standards.

Tusla representative was up next saying that the resources they had to investigate were proportionate and that they were doing an effective job. HE did an effective job in painting a competent picture of the HSE and it was difficult to listen to knowing what we do now. Kenny got close at some stage by asking him if investigations/reports of serious incidents are made available on their website (which they're not AFAIK, only the "regular" inspections), but he sidestepped it and Kenny didn't take him up on it. He's no Paxman.

This morning was further confirmation to me that the state is abdicating responsibility for childcare (0-5) to the private sector in a somewhat similar manner to how it abdicated responsibility for primary and secondary education to the religous orders in the past.

It's up to the parents to police the creches to which they send their children, especially the chain creches. They are businesses and their primary responsibility is first of all to their shareholders to return profit on their investment. They are not doing it because they love children. They might love children, but it is not the reason any of them started the business. And they know the HSE is ineffictive in their regulation and they can get await with cutting costs and corners at the expense of your child's safety. That is good business.

lazygal

Issue being discussed on newstalk again now.

lazygal

Chattastrophe! wrote: »

If you (or anyone else) has any suggestions for the sort of questions to ask, I'd be interested in this? As I already said I'm totally happy with our creche, however as a new parent I didn't really even know what questions to ask when we were viewing - we got a very thorough tour from the manager, we didn't see or hear anything we were unhappy about (apart from the extortionate price!) so we just went with our gut feeling. No regrets, but I'd like to hear about the sort of stuff I should have been asking about or looking out for, just in case I'm missing anything obvious!

I think it was around the time of the Primetime report that we were viewing, so we did ask the manager if they'd had a HSE inspection recently - he was totally upfront about the fact that they hadn't had one in over two years, so that was the most recent report available. As he said he'd love for them to come out and inspect, so that he could provide parents with a more recent report, but not much they can do about it if the inspections just aren't happening!

I wouldn't put major store in the HSE inspections myself, having worked in a preschool. Oftentimes they are conducted by someone with no experience of childcare and don't focus on child centered things, or pick up minor things that parents aren't terribly worried about.
When looking at a creche the number one thing I'd ask about is turnover. It is not a good sign if this is high. In some Prime Time creches I know for a fact the turnover was very high and staff were pulled from other places to fill gaps, mangers counted as part of childcare ratios and children were moved to ensure ratios tallied during inspections. I'd also ask about who they have to fill in during holidays and sick days.
I would also ask about the qualifications of staff. Good services often have these displayed. Don't be fobbed off with phrases like 'Montessori trained' or interns helping out. I know of services where parents are charged for Montessori settings but none of the staff are actually Montessori qualified to the required level -this is especially prevalent with in creche Montessori services.

Chattastrophe!

lazygal wrote: »

I wouldn't put major store in the HSE inspections myself, having worked in a preschool. Oftentimes they are conducted by someone with no experience of childcare and don't focus on child centered things, or pick up minor things that parents aren't terribly worried about.
When looking at a creche the number one thing I'd ask about is turnover. It is not a good sign if this is high. In some Prime Time creches I know for a fact the turnover was very high and staff were pulled from other places to fill gaps, mangers counted as part of childcare ratios and children were moved to ensure ratios tallied during inspections. I'd also ask about who they have to fill in during holidays and sick days.
I would also ask about the qualifications of staff. Good services often have these displayed. Don't be fobbed off with phrases like 'Montessori trained' or interns helping out. I know of services where parents are charged for Montessori settings but none of the staff are actually Montessori qualified to the required level -this is especially prevalent with in creche Montessori services.

Thanks - good things to look out for. Our creche is a montessori one, I'm not too worried about how trained the baby-room staff are in montessori-teaching as he's not even eight months old, however it's definitely something I'll look out for and question in the next couple of years. Having said that, they're big into stories and music and art etc - even with the babies - so I guess that's a good start, even though he's so young. I get the impression staff turnover is low - it's always the same few staff members we've met in the baby room from the start, anyways, and I get the impression they've all been there for years. One of the managers does seem to help out in the baby room quite a bit, however I get the impression that this is only at busy times such as when they're all arriving in the morning - will keep an eye out for that, though! I don't have any real concerns about staff levels, it almost seems there are more staff than babies at times! Next time I'm in, I'll ask about replacement staff for holidays and sick leave.

deisemum

I was lucky with the childminder I had when I had my first lad when I lived in the UK, she came highly recommended by a family that had their 3 children with her for years. My son loved her and loved mixing with the other children. One thing that we found reassuring was occasionally meeting older children that had been with her when they were small, they would pop in for a visit every so often which reassured my husband and myself.

I didn't have need for a fulltime place in a creche over her but used a local one 2 mornings a week, it was in a leisure centre in a hotel.

I've been childminding for 14 years and have had the HSE inspections plus visits from my local Childcare Committe advisor, I think the HSE inspections are more a form filling and box ticking exercise as it's more focused on ticking boxes that you've got the correct number of bandages, safety equipment, paperwork etc and very little to do with the actual care and your interaction with the children you're minding.

One thing that shocked me initially is the number of parents that don't care about any qualifications, experience and the sort of day their baby or child might have with me and the number that don't even bother to check any of the references that I give them which is quite high. A lot are only interested in asking how much I charge and have I got a space.

www.childminding.ie have a list of questions that parents can ask childminders but a lot would apply to a creche too, even having a read of them might draw your attention to things you hadn't even thought about.

Personally if I was to use a creche I'd prefer use a small creche and not a big one. There are some very good creches and childminders but there are also some not so good creches and childminders.

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anon345 I just wanted to say I was horrified to read your post about your little boy. I have a 3 year old boy myself & would be traumatised if something like that happened him. I hope he's doing better now. Would you mind pm me the creche this happened in? I would hate to end up using it