When I was working as a registered child minder, I was living in a small area of a largish town.
I was well known by locals as that mad woman with all the children!
On one occasion I was asked “How many children do you actually have?”
When I replied “4, but I’m also a child minder” The woman went red and said “That explains it and I feel really stupid now!”
I also received compliments from passers by saying how well behaved my children were and that they always seemed happy to be with me.
We visited local schools and nurseries to collect children, as well as weekly visits to toddler groups and a family workshop in the church next door.
I often wore a t shirt with my child minding name on ( Little treasures quality child minding) and made sure that I had plenty of business cards in my bag as these were perfect opportunities for picking up more work.
Marketing your child minding business here
As there was a post office in the next street I would sometimes take the children to buy a stamp and let one of them pop the letter in the post box; lifting any that were too short to reach.
I would also teach them about road safety here: As we used a pelican crossing to cross a busy road.
About 10 minutes walk away was a large park . which I felt could be much improved if the children’s play equipment was upgraded: I started a campaign and became quite a celebrity appearing in local papers, the T,V, and on the radio several times.
I also picked up more work through my campaign more here
One day we walked to the green grocer and as I couldn’t fit the double buggy through the narrow doorway I stood by the door and let a child go in and ask for some carrots ( I knew the shop keeper very well and as I could see her I knew she was perfectly safe). Another customer referred to her as my daughter ( as strangers often did) .
Every time we passed the shop the child would announce that’s were I bought Karen some carrots and a lady thought she is my mum!”
I would love to hear how other child minders get the children involved in the community, please share with me by leaving a comment.
As always questions and comments are welcome.
Until next time.
Karen
x
Linked with
Visit to the local care home/ collecting/ dropping off food to food banks / litter picking
Thanks for sharing thi, Pascale I particularly like the care home idea
Becoming a childminder is a process that requires time, patience, and a genuine love of children. There are no strict educational requirements to become a childminder, but many families prefer to hire someone with a background in early childhood education. Those interested in becoming a childminder will need to obtain a business license and liability insurance. They will also need to create a safe and comfortable environment for the children in their care. Those who are passionate about working with children and have the patience to care for them on a daily basis can find great satisfaction in becoming a childminder. Read another amazing blog: https://lead-academy.org/how-to-become-a-childminder
You have hit the nail on the head with this comment, Roby
Thats awesome that you were able to finally get the new park. having a place for kids to be able to play together outside is so important #lilbitofeverything
Thanks, Jeremy,I enjoyed my park campaign
It’s so good for kids to be immersed in a community. The library was always a favorite visit for us.
I actually forgot to add that we had weekly library gifs, Michele
This is truly interesting. I love how you involve the children you look after as a child minder in the community and use this as an opportunity for marketing too. #DreamTeam
Thanks, Astrid, I did my best
This is so heart warming to read. It’s lovely to see how active you were with the children in the community and also how you helped to campaign for better facilities. Thank you for sharing this with the #DreamTeam xx
Thanks for your kind words, Annette
I work at an infant school and childminders are often essential for passing information to working parents. Thanks for linking up with #dreamteam
That’s good to hear, Laura