www.childmindingbabies.blog

Across the early years sector, there is growing recognition of the importance of relational, responsive care for babies. Childminding offers a distinctive model of provision in this space, one that is typically small-scale, home-based, and deeply rooted in relationships. Childminding UK, a charity supporting over 1,500 members, alongside thousands more childminders through training and advice, plays a key role in championing this work.

We spoke with Tina Maltman, CEO of Childminding UK and a former childminder herself, about what it means to care for babies as a childminder. Drawing on her experience, this blog explores the importance of relationships, the rhythms of daily life, and learning across ages, highlighting what makes childminding so valuable for babies.

Relationships first

In our conversation, Tina highlighted that strong relationships are at the heart of childminding. Childminders create a community within settings where relationships extend beyond the individual babies to include families and fellow childminders in the local area. Families tend to connect during drop off and pick up, forming lasting friendships that forge a strong and supportive network around the babies and children. Childminders often go to play groups with other local childminders, helping babies connect with other children in the community. Moreover, children often remain with the same childminder over many years, fostering continuity and long-term connections.

Tina went on to explain that babies fundamentally need to build secure attachments with significant adults to thrive. The nature of childminding makes it easier for this to happen as there are a few significant, constant people who the baby can trust to respond to their needs with understanding and care. Importantly, Tina described how childminders will often have a child from birth through to starting secondary school. Over time, this enables childminders to develop a deep, sustained understanding of each child, and for the child to have a strong connection with them. This relational foundation creates the conditions in which babies feel secure enough to explore and learn.

A day shaped by babies

Because of these strong relationships, childminders are well placed to respond closely to babies’ needs, letting their curiosities and fascinations lead the day. Childminders may be able to adapt to babies’ needs and interests more easily than in nursery settings as they have fewer children to respond to. Tina described how childminders can facilitate experiences that engage a baby’s senses and respond to their particular fascinations and interests. For example, a childminder may notice that a baby is particularly fascinated with their plastic feeding spoon and the cutlery older children are using. So, the childminder may add a variety of spoons of different materials, such as wood, metal and plastic, to the baby’s treasure basket. This would create opportunities for the baby to use all their senses to explore these further, noticing the different weights and textures and that some are warm to touch and some cold.

Tina shared that a key feature of childminding is that babies are integrated into the daily rhythms of life. Babies will often go on community outings, visiting shops, libraries, childminding groups, local parks, and beaches. This means that learning day to day can be tangible, meaningful, and authentic from the baby’s perspective. For example, instead of pretending to go to the shops, childminders will actually bring babies to the corner shop, taking time to explore the different items. They may then use the items they pick up to cook when they return home, eating what they make together for lunch or snack.

Learning across ages

These daily experiences are shaped not only by responsiveness, but also by the mixed-age nature of childminding provision. In the context of childminding, babies can learn from older children, and older children play with and help the babies. Tina described how it can be a challenge for childminders to plan for mixed age groups as they must ensure activities are engaging and appropriate for all. However, they put a lot of time and intentionality into the experiences they plan. For example, for a baking activity, childminders may have a four-year-old weighing ingredients, a two-year-old spooning ingredients from bags to bowls, and a baby helping mix some of the simpler ingredients together. In this way, planning is about creating a community atmosphere where each child has a key part to play, and each contribution is celebrated and valued.

Final thoughts

Overall, our conversation with Tina helps to remind us that high-quality care for babies begins with relationships and is sustained through responsive, everyday experiences that value everyone’s contributions. We want to hear from you:

• How can childminders create a sense of community within settings, for both children and families?
• What everyday experiences create meaningful opportunities for learning and exploration?
• How can childminders create activities so children of different ages can all contribute meaningfully?

Share your own ideas in the comments below!