Leaving Children Unattended
November 27, 2011 at 9:14 pm Leave a comment
A parent wrote on Mumsnet about her nanny leaving her child in a toy shop, whilst the nanny shopped in the store opposite. It did not appear to be a case of the child wandering off whilst on a trip out but more that the nanny did not realise that it wasn’t safe to leave a child alone in a shop.
I’m in the UK and here we have had cases of children being abducted from shopping centres. The most well known case is that of Jamie Buldger, a toddler who was abducted and then killed by two children in 1993. This case is etched into the minds of people like me, nannies in our 30′s. It is probably also quite well known by younger nannies.
In British culture carers of children do not leave children alone. What parents choose to do is up to them but nannies are responsible for the children in their care at all time. In other countries there is perhaps a different attitude towards letting children have more independence and freedom. Though would that mean a nanny from another country would leave a child in a shop alone?
In the same week on Mumsnet another parent wrote about their nanny leaving their sick child at home alone. Nannies do care for sick children so do face the situation whereby the nanny needs to collect another child from school and take a sick child with them. Should a nanny ever leave the sick child at home, in bed? Whilst the school run may only take 20 minutes, anything could happen whilst the nanny was out of the house, either at home or to the nanny.
In my view deliberately leaving a child alone, be it in a shop or at home is not the conduct expected of a nanny. Parents can choose to make such choices but nannies are employed to care for children and if there is no one who can bring a child back from school, then the sick child will need to come with the nanny on the school run.
In England, if a nanny is registered on the Childcare Register, then Ofsted imposes certain rules that need to be followed. These include:
CR1.1 Childminders and home childcarers must ensure that children receiving childcare are kept safe from harm.
CR1.6 Childminders and home childcarers must ensure that they are present on the premises at all times when childcare is being provided unless they have prior written approval from Ofsted to be absent for short periods of time while another suitable person cares for the children.
Reading that, to me Ofsted are saying that leaving children alone is not acceptable. How about you, do you feel there are ever any circumstances whereby it would be acceptable to leave a child alone at home, or in a shop?
Entry filed under: Nannies Duties. Tags: alone, child, home, nanny, safe, safety, toddler.
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