The brilliant thing about being a childminder is that you’re your own boss and your own business. You get to run your setting your way, with your values and your boundaries. Lovely, isn’t it?
Working out what those are isn’t always as easy as it sounds.
Start with what matters to you
Before you write a single policy, think about what is important to you. What must you protect at all costs? It might be family time. It might be the school pickup. It might be being able to take the dog for a walk. Whatever it is, you need to figure it out, because everything else gets built around it.
My boundaries story
I’ll be honest, I didn’t set any boundaries when I first started. I worked six days a week, six in the morning until six at night. It absolutely crucified me. It took me over a year to work out why I was so tired and so stressed, and why I felt like I was failing in every area of my life.
Now I have set days and set hours, and when I’ve finished, I step away. I go for a walk, I go for a lie down, I sit in a corner. It’s different for everybody. There’s no right or wrong, it’s whatever works for you and your setting.
Be consistent, because parents will talk to each other!
Know what your rules are and stick to them. You can’t have one rule for one parent and another rule for another parent. They will talk. Have the same rules for everybody, whatever those rules are.
Not every family is for you, and that’s absolutely fine
When a family comes to visit, I’m probably on my worst behaviour. I’m brutally honest, open and blunt, and I need to know they can handle that. Because on a busy day, when there’s a lot going on, that’s who they’re going to get.
So be your most authentic self at the visit. You’ll get the vibe. Yes, you’ll be nervous in those first few visits, because we all are. We all want to be liked. We all want our setting to be picked. We all want to be earning money and making a difference.
But not all families are meant for all childminders. We don’t like everybody, and not everybody is going to like us. As a business owner that can be really hard at the beginning, and honestly, it’s okay. You don’t want everybody to like you. You don’t want to be a setting that’s for everyone.
One thing to say clearly: “right fit” is about values, style and the way we work together. You can’t turn a family away because of who they are, things like their race, religion or a disability, so keep your reasons about fit, and keep them fair and consistent.
Marmite marketing
You want to be known for something, that brilliant thing that makes you shine and stand out. It will repel some families and attract the right ones, and that is exactly what you want. Marmite marketing, every step of the way.
And it means you’ll have fewer difficult conversations. I’m not going to tell you you’ll have none, because life isn’t like that. There’ll always be sensitive things that need talking about. But it’s so much easier when you’ve got families who fit, and everybody knows the rules and what to expect.
Start as you mean to go on
From the very beginning, be clear. These are the days I work. These are the times I answer my phone and my emails. This is how I’d like you to talk to me. This is the sort of language I’m happy with, and this is the sort I’m not.
Be kind about timing
People have bad days. Sometimes a parent has fought through traffic to get to you before pickup closes. That probably isn’t the moment for a tricky conversation. I’ve done a lot of training courses on my responses and my reactions, and I still get it wrong sometimes, because I’m human and still learning.
Your setting, your way, with your values and your boundaries. It’s utterly yours.
Keep reading
Just starting out? Start As You Mean to Go On
Feeling run down? Looking After You
Curious about AI? How I Came to Use AI
With love and a very big cuppa,
Claire x
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