male childminder

cena

Would you use a male minder. Even though they have all the courses etc. Would you be put off with a male minding your kids?

Menas

Not at all. There is a male working in my kids creche. Why would he be different to a female child minder?

Dravokivich

All I'd ask is that he doesn't throw my son into the air any higher than I can.

Lollipops23

As long as they have all the qualifications required and are experienced I'd be happy about it.

It makes me sad that a lot of guys would avoid the vocation due to the stigma. I know several guys who both love kids and are fantastic with them.

Outkast_IRE

Nope i think its a profession that more men should get involved in, i think there are plenty of guys out there who get along great minding kids. I think it may actually be beneficial for the kids to have both male & female authority figures minding them.

darkpagandeath

This will end well, a lot of people are under the impression men only go into areas where children are for one thing. Thanks tabloids/FB.

NachoBusiness

It'll be great one day when it's just as socially unacceptable to be sexist to men as it is to women.

DipStick McSwindler

This post has been deleted.

Magnate

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Not at all. There is a male working in my kids creche. Why would he be different to a female child minder?

Anatomically speaking there's a few differences I can think of.

cena

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Not at all. There is a male working in my kids creche. Why would he be different to a female child minder?

Some people would see the male as a child predator? I wouldn't care myself if a male was looking after my child

Generic Dreadhead

I'm actually interested to see, as a guy, what the majority makes of this subject. I'm kind of on the fence, good thing I can let AH sway me to one side of the argument. Proceed boards users....

Menas

Magnate wrote: »

Anatomically speaking there's a few differences I can think of.

And that matters because???

spurious

I wish more men worked in creches. I wish more men worked as primary and secondary teachers too. For any job to become seen as the preserve of one gender or another is not a good idea for society. (Oh no, shocking feminist idea!)

As long as a man had all the necessary qualifications in safety and things, I'd have no issue with him working in a creche.

Magnate

Trigger Happy wrote: »

And that matters because???

Well statistically speaking most child predators are in fact male, so it would raise an eyebrow for me at least. Although I suppose if he was garda vetted and all that I wouldn't have a problem, and I say this as a male.

jackofalltrades

Cormac... wrote: »

I'm actually interested to see, as a guy, what the majority makes of this subject. I'm kind of on the fence...

And why are you on the fence on this issue?

Menas

Magnate wrote: »

Well statistically speaking most child predators are in fact male, so it would raise an eyebrow for me at least. Although I suppose if he was garda vetted and all that I wouldn't have a problem, and I say this as a male.

I hear you and it is a pity that this puts males off entering the trade.

LenaClaire

cena wrote: »

Would you use a male minder. Even though they have all the courses etc. Would you be put off with a male minding your kids?

When I worked in a summer camp, I shared job responsibilities with a guy for my little troop of kids. It was great and none of the parent's had anything to say on the matter.

I would happily have a man mind my kids as long as he had children's cpr certification which is the same as I would ask for a woman.

Links234

Sure why not?

Dravokivich

Magnate wrote: »

Well statistically speaking most child predators are in fact male, so it would raise an eyebrow for me at least. Although I suppose if he was garda vetted and all that I wouldn't have a problem, and I say this as a male.

Child Predators working around children tend to be primarily female though.

All those women teachers fornicating with young lads.

Then there was that chreche in England a few years back where a woman employed there was talking pictures and distributing them.

There's only ever a handful of cases reported of men working around children, actually interfering with the children.

endacl

darkpagandeath wrote: »

This will end well, a lot of people are under the impression men only go into areas where children are for one thing. Thanks tabloids/FB.

The Facebook bit only applies if they arrive to work in a white van.

NachoBusiness

Would you use a female doctor? Even though they have all the courses etc. Would you be put off with female taking care of your health?

Generic Dreadhead

jackofalltrades wrote: »

And why are you on the fence on this issue?

It's one that, being childless, I have no real idea how i'd react. Being a guy I think there's a lot to be said for trusting a male childminder, especially if they have the relevant qualifications or experience.

But I wonder if I was offered 2 childminders, if I had a child that is, and they were both equally qualified, and charged the same sum if I'd pick the female over the male. I'm all for equal rights and stuff but it's just not something I'm going to come in and pretend like I have a real opinion on.

You do know that not every single thing in the world is black/white, right/wrong, yes/no? I do not have a strong opinion on this subject.

Al_Coholic

actually went to Maynooth a few years ago as they were holding interviews for a child care course at the college,was the only guy there too and when interviewer called me Mary instead of Mark i thought this isnt for me.

darkpagandeath

endacl wrote: »

The Facebook bit only applies if they arrive to work in a white van.

Nah you not remember that case of the paediatrician ? House and office burned down as they thought it meant pedo.

hoodwinked

Cormac... wrote: »

But I wonder if I was offered 2 childminders, if I had a child that is, and they were both equally qualified, and charged the same sum if I'd pick the female over the male. I'm all for equal rights and stuff but it's just not something I'm going to come in and pretend like I have a real opinion on.
.

as a parent of one, all things being equal like that, i would pick simply who got on better with my child if it came down to it, gender doesn't bother me.

she is in a mixed gender school and has both male and female teachers, and i'm not one bit worried about her safety around those teachers.

dark crystal

IrishFeeney92 wrote: »

But gender equality is only for women remember?

Why do people keep wheeling this rhetoric out in AH today?

There's plenty of occupations dominated by men too - airline pilot, mechanic, construction worker, fire service etc.

In answer to the question, it wouldn't bother me at all, as long as he had the same qualifications and Garda vetting as his female counterparts and was good at the job. Being a female doesn't automatically make you good at working with children - look at that Prime Time documentary a while back...

Generic Dreadhead

hoodwinked wrote: »

as a parent of one, all things being equal like that, i would pick simply who got on better with my child if it came down to it, gender doesn't bother me.

she is in a mixed gender school and has both male and female teachers, and i'm not one bit worried about her safety around those teachers.

I thought we were discussing Childminders as in minding the child in their/your home, not teachers

bb1234567

No, I would assume he is a paedophile as our society has conditioned us to think that. Unless I knew the guy well and had references from other people then it would be fine. But still, I would just be more comfortable with a female child minder.

MarkR

My son is in a special needs school, and one of the SNA (special needs assistant) is male, which is a positive thing I think. It is getting tiresome, the assumption that any man working with children should be put under additional security, or be considered to be at a higher risk of abusing a child, just because his genitals are an outie rather than an innie!

Neyite

There is a bloke working in my child's crèche and I think he is brilliantly suited to childcare. You can see he genuinely loves his job, is really good at communicating with the children and my child loves to see him on duty. I would like to see more males in the profession.

There was one minor incident a while back where I wasn't happy with something a particular staff member did, turns out she has the most qualifications out of all the staff, so while I'd look for a childcare or first aid qualification, I think a natural vocation in the profession too is needed. If you have qualifications coming out your ears but hate kids, its not the job for that person.

Iron Man 2.0

I'm a male and am studying childcare. Actually on my work placement week this week. I'm the only guy on the course. Have to say it is really sad to hear when some people would have a problem with males minding their children.

BetterThanThou

100% of men are child molesters, if they're gay, that goes up to 200%, if they're foreign, it doubles again.
So, I would not leave my child with a man, especially not a gay foreign man, because then there's a 400% chance they're a child molester.

hoodwinked

Cormac... wrote: »

I thought we were discussing Childminders as in minding the child in their/your home, not teachers

i was, i was saying if i had to choose a child-minder all things being equal i would choose whichever person got on best with my child, the teachers were an example of my real life experience of males vs females looking after my child.

SpaceTime

It is worrying and very sad that a small % of the population is getting paranoid about men. Let's face it nuns often proved to be horrendous at looking after kids and some were incredibility abusive. So I don't think a person's gender has anything to do with it.

Some of my favourite teachers as a young kid were blokes and I learned a lot from them about just life in general.

I definitely remember very positive experience of being baby sat by uncles and male cousins too and hanging out doing DIY with my grand dad! Some of my first and most cherished memories with my granddad.
You need a bit of a diversity of genders and personality types to interact with as a kid. It's really important.

The last thing we need is a world where everyone's growing up terrified of men.

PandaPoo

There's a man working in my son's montessori, he's really great with the kids and always nice and chatty with the parents. If I had to pick any of the staff there to mind my son, it would be him.

SEPT 23 1989

BetterThanThou wrote: »

100% of men are child molesters, if they're gay, that goes up to 200%, if they're foreign, it doubles again.
So, I would not leave my child with a man, especially not a gay foreign man, because then there's a 400% chance they're a child molester.

glad someone had the balls to say this

NachoBusiness

bb1234567 wrote: »

I would just be more comfortable with a female child minder.

Vanessa George was female.

Generic Dreadhead

hoodwinked wrote: »

i was, i was saying if i had to choose a child-minder all things being equal i would choose whichever person got on best with my child, the teachers were an example of my real life experience of males vs females looking after my child.

I guess the difference being that it's 1-on-1 minding not 20+ kids in class in a school where say, said teachers can't even touch the children if they fall over etc. I appreciate the example, I just don't think it's relevant here as I thought the OP was talking about 1-on-1 situations. In any other situation I don't see why being a male would be a concern, much less a problem

bodice ripper

I'd trust the various men in my life with a kid before I trusted some of the women.

Iron Man 2.0

The course im on is all female apart from myself but in the past there were a few other males on it but they had to drop out because no where wud offer them work experience.

Lyaiera

I'd have no problem with it. I think what's more important is that childminders/creche staff/montessori staff get the necessary education and as a result get paid what's fitting to that. Kids develop far more before school than they do once they reach school going age. These people are crucial in so many children's development, they see them so often during crucial years in the child's growth. They should be well trained, professional and knowledgeable. And currently it's hard to get to that level of professionalism while being offered the meager wages they're on.

Seamus1964

I remember that Friends episode when Ross and Rachel hired a male nanny and Ross couldn't handle having a male around the house.
It was a funny episode but did make me think that more blokes would have a problem with a male childminder than women would in general

Tombi!

Seamus1964 wrote: »

I remember that Friends episode when Ross and Rachel hired a male nanny and Ross couldn't handle having a male around the house.
It was a funny episode but did make me think that more blokes would have a problem with a male childminder than women would in general

It was the fact he just didn't think it was a job for a man, though. Not in a "all men are dangerous around kids". It was played for laughs and if anything, Ross looked like a worse person for it.

Iron Man 2.0

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

It was the fact he just didn't think it was a job for a man, though. Not in a "all men are dangerous around kids". It was played for laughs and if anything, Ross looked like a worse person for it.

Exactly. I believe Ross' quote was 'It's Weird!!!'

The_Captain

This is one of those things where people publicly say they wouldn't mind, but in private would be quite uncomfortable leaving their children alone with a man

Iron Man 2.0

1% of the Irish child care workforce are men.

Seamus1964

Seamus1964 wrote: »

I remember that Friends episode when Ross and Rachel hired a male nanny and Ross couldn't handle having a male around the house.
It was a funny episode but did make me think that more blokes would have a problem with a male childminder than women would in general

A great episode! Great performances from all of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hmWCH3JXqU

Egginacup

cena wrote: »

Would you use a male minder. Even though they have all the courses etc. Would you be put off with a male minding your kids?

Used to babysit for neighbours two sons when I was 16/17 and they were 8 and 6. Parents wanted a night out on Friday, I'd just go to their gaff and watch telly with the lads until 9:30, then send them packing, do some of my homework and then watch the box and eat crisps. They'd come home around midnight.
Good for a few quid.

Egginacup

spurious wrote: »

I wish more men worked in creches. I wish more men worked as primary and secondary teachers too. For any job to become seen as the preserve of one gender or another is not a good idea for society. (Oh no, shocking feminist idea!)

As long as a man had all the necessary qualifications in safety and things, I'd have no issue with him working in a creche.

In my primary school (2nd class - 6th class) there was only 1 female teacher out of 21 classes. In my secondary school there were only 3 females out of a staff of 22 teachers and one of them just taught useless shit (religion and civics) although we liked her.

Can't think of more male dominated than that.

Iron Man 2.0

Egginacup wrote: »

In my primary school (2nd class - 6th class) there was only 1 female teacher out of 21 classes. In my secondary school there were only 3 females out of a staff of 22 teachers and one of them just taught useless shit (religion and civics) although we liked her.

Can't think of more male dominated than that.

That's quite irregular for primary teaching. It is female dominated.

Greenmachine

Egginacup wrote: »

In my primary school (2nd class - 6th class) there was only 1 female teacher out of 21 classes. In my secondary school there were only 3 females out of a staff of 22 teachers and one of them just taught useless shit (religion and civics) although we liked her.

Can't think of more male dominated than that.

You do remember, what makes one male and female. (joke)
Teaching is predominately a female profession especially at primary school level. Your school sound like the complete opposite of most peoples experiences.