Right next to the main road when you leave the Le Niole crossroad you will find a house filled with children. You will not hear them, nor see them from the road but they will be running around happily in their reserved play area. This is the home of Mrs Christianne Berlouis’ where, with her daughter, she takes care of 10 children.
After leaving formal employment Christianne started taking care of her grandchildren, and similar to many others’, people found out that she was minding children and they approached her for help. She says most of her children are from the neighbouring areas, Beau Vallon being the farthest.
Her daily program gives the children lots of lively games in the morning; the swing, ball, they play with water filling containers and dumping them out again, Lego, they watch cartoons in the afternoon as they relax inside. “We have found that this formula works best for the children, so they are not too tired in the afternoon and get cranky.” Christianne reminisces about a child who would not sleep in the afternoon no matter what they tried “he would run around trying to do everything he could, just to stay awake. It was funny when we were looking for him after one of his hyper sessions and we found him fast asleep on the chair. We didn’t even have to fight to lie him down, he had just spent all his own energy. He was one of the most challenging children we have had, but he was still manageable.”
Christianne is lucky to work with her daughter who was a former nurse; her knowledge of taking care of people is very valuable in daily operations. She also appreciates the privilege of being home with her own child and can also take care of him. Mrs Berlouis loves the children under her care “they keep me busy and entertained.” However she welcomes the day that she will need to leave the business to her daughter.
Both mother and daughter say that it is good that Childminding has been formalized as it is important to have standards “I will tell people who are interested to go ahead and register, ensure that you really want to do the job and attend the training. You have to be serious in your decision to be a Childminder, remember you will be taking care of someone else’s treasure.” “Prepare your area in a way that would cater for the comfort and safety of your own kids so that other people’s children in your care are just as safe and comfortable.”
