Vicki looked after my daughter from the age of 1.5 to 3 years old. Vicki is an amazing childminder, I can’t recommend her highly enough! I feel very fortunate that we found her.

- Vicki is warm and loving with children. My daughter loved seeing her and it was always a nice feeling leaving for the day knowing that my daughter was happy. It felt like leaving her with a relative, but one that has a lot of experience with children!
- Vicki has structured weeks to ensure that the children learn, grow and know what to expect. The children go to the library, play group, the park, etc. It’s always clear what they will do in advance and my daughter really liked knowing what was coming.
- Vicki plans really nice activities. For instance, for Easter she bought lots of crafts and they made an Easter bunny hat. My daughter loved it and still has in her room.
- There was a perfect balance of outside active time and down time inside. Getting the balance right is important for such young children, I feel. Some childminders I interviewed appear to stay indoors all the time, and some are always out with other childminders.
- Vicki provides updates on how the day is going when needed. It’s always nice to receive a few photos every now and then
- Vicki is flexible and eager to help if you need it. For instance, if I was late to pick her up, she would go out of her way to help me. It is a nice feeling
- Vicki genuinely cares for the children she looks after. My daughter can sense this, and sees Vicki as a good friend. She misses her when she doesn’t see her, but thankfully Vicki can also do babysitting every now and then which my daughter is thrilled about.

A few further thoughts that I have learnt from my friends’ experiences with childminders – just in case this can help you. It can happen that childminders with young children don’t have as much time for yours, and it's not as easy for them to be flexible in the evenings. It can also happen that childminders who have been doing this for years lose somewhat their energy, enthusiasm and connection with children. I think Vicki has the perfect balance of in-depth experience, with the requisite energy to care for them and keep them entertained all day.

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