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Should men be banned from working in nurseries?

(245 Posts)
Kandinsky Thu 04-Dec-25 11:06:47

Can’t do links but you may have seen in the news that a male nursery worker has been found guilty of sexual abuse at the nursery he worked at for 7 years.
He’d had all the relevant checks performed.
Is it time we stopped letting men work ( often unsupervised ) with our most vulnerable of children?

There is a thread over on MN about this so just wondered what we think?

( personally I wouldn’t want a man caring for my child’s intimate needs and would not use a nursery employing male nursery nurses )

GrannyGravy13 Fri 05-Dec-25 08:21:15

Galaxy

I am a mother to two sons, they would recognise that men pose a higher risk.

If they are a higher risk they should be banned from being doctors, nurses, teachers, priests, physiotherapists, any role were they can be on their own with a child.

See how ridiculous that sounds…

Kandinsky Fri 05-Dec-25 08:22:47

I never mentioned the pay ( which is rubbish ) I said it was a ‘low status’ profession and it is.
The only girls from my daughter’s school who went into childcare were the not very bright ones.

Galaxy Fri 05-Dec-25 08:24:24

They are a higher risk for child sexual abuse, there is no if about it
I think it is the particular nature of the client group within nurseries, pre verbal, requiring intimate care, etc etc.

GrannyGravy13 Fri 05-Dec-25 08:24:49

Kandinsky

I never mentioned the pay ( which is rubbish ) I said it was a ‘low status’ profession and it is.
The only girls from my daughter’s school who went into childcare were the not very bright ones.

Wow! now looking after our most precious children is for the not very bright

🪏🪏🪏

GrannyGravy13 Fri 05-Dec-25 08:27:55

Galaxy

They are a higher risk for child sexual abuse, there is no if about it
I think it is the particular nature of the client group within nurseries, pre verbal, requiring intimate care, etc etc.

OK, pre-verbal i.e. non-verbal should men also be excluded from special schools, (many non-verbal children)

Homes for mentally and disabled adults, many non-verbal.

Dementia/Alzheimer patients who often retreat into being non-verbal.

I cannot get my head around banning all men from a profession due to a high profile court case 🤷‍♀️

Galaxy Fri 05-Dec-25 08:28:18

Not a good point to mention my current role thengrin.
I went to the LSE if that is any help.
It is a low status profession though.

BlueBelle Fri 05-Dec-25 08:29:17

So are you saying that helpless babies don’t deserve a chaperone I haven’t read anyone saying that at all, talk about twisting words to back up your argument David
Male and female carers should always have a chaperone All jobs involving the vulnerable should be better monitored
I can’t remember her name but a female carer suffocated a tiny one in a bean bag last year, she should never have been alone in a room with her
More care in who they take on as carers, but no do not wipe male carers out in any caring role if they are suitable
For those who are saying what man would want to change nappies some men are as good or better in a caring role than a female but ALL men and women need to be thoroughly checked and chaperoned
Skydancer you say you would never allow a baby to be nappy changed by anyone but you!!! I presume any baby you had was with you 24/7 not everyone has that luxury some of us have to work or look after others as well as babies. Some (most) have to juggle their lives with their children and babies and that means sometimes they have to be bathed changed etc by a nanny a daddy, grandparents a carer All can potentially be abusers

Oldnproud Fri 05-Dec-25 08:29:25

GrannyGravy13

Oops premature posting.

As for it’s a job for women Wow! Just Wow!

*It’s the 21st century for goodness sake!*

👏👏 👏

Whitewavemark2 Fri 05-Dec-25 08:29:37

I am sad to see the downgrading by posters of the pre-school work carried out by nurseries. Does no one understand that places like sure start were initiated in order to get the children school ready with much work of the first year of primary school done at nursery.

And does no one have any inkling of the importance of these informative years?

They are the most important years in a child’s life!

So good quality, trained staff of both sexes are essential, and care over the nursery one chooses is probably more important than the school your child eventually attends.

Seeing the staff as nose and bottom wipers is beyond underplaying their vital roll and contributes to the poor pay level and attitude to their vital roll.

Imo nurseries should be incorporated into the education system and be fully funded by the tax payer.

GrannyGravy13 Fri 05-Dec-25 08:31:37

I wholeheartedly agree with you Whitewavemark2 and Bluebelle

Madgran77 Fri 05-Dec-25 08:31:59

lemsip

A big fat YES from me!
employed just to fit the new 'woke' way of everything! Those poor small children/babies at the mercy of paedophiles!

Dear me! Are you just ignoring the women who gave abused children in nurseries?

Galaxy Fri 05-Dec-25 08:32:09

As I have said I am not sure about a ban.
I ran a childrens home for those with learning disabilities, we would no more have had men providing personal care to females than fly to the moon. We had numerous male staff.
A high profile case has ignited the discussion but it is the rate if offending that is behind the discussion.
But remember I am not very bright grin

Wyllow3 Fri 05-Dec-25 08:33:01

There are so many lovely blokes who are great carers. so many men are lovely with their and others children.

Many elderly men prefer a man if it's intimate.

Why are we writing them off as a whole group? As others have said, it's positive having a man in a caring role for boys, the more so for families that don't have a good male role model. its not as if all women are models of ideal caring, I say go by the individual. Yes, of course, we have to be aware of any risks, and there should be good enough oversight of anyone who works with children and vulnerable adults.

Wyllow3 Fri 05-Dec-25 08:35:12

So do you also think that we should not have male teachers, Galaxy? Schools start with 4 year olds.

Kandinsky Fri 05-Dec-25 08:38:15

Whitewavemark2
I agree with you, ( apart from the last paragraph ) but it is a fact that working in a nursery is seen as a low status job. A job anyone could do. Let’s face it. You don’t need a Cambridge degree to play with toddlers all day.

Rather than seeing nurseries incorporated into the school system - ( funded by the tax payer ). how about we pay parents to stay at home and look after their own babies/ toddlers.

Galaxy Fri 05-Dec-25 08:45:01

I am not sure what I feel about the suggestion of a ban in nurseries let alone anything else. The article which prompted the discussion was written by a woman who has been involved in issues relating to safeguarding of women and children her whole life. I am glad those voices are out there. They remind us of the risks.

Galaxy Fri 05-Dec-25 08:48:01

Oh it absolutely is a low status job, and absolutely nursery care should only be done with the oversight of
schools.

GrannyGravy13 Fri 05-Dec-25 08:50:02

Galaxy

I am not sure what I feel about the suggestion of a ban in nurseries let alone anything else. The article which prompted the discussion was written by a woman who has been involved in issues relating to safeguarding of women and children her whole life. I am glad those voices are out there. They remind us of the risks.

No one is denying there are risks for women and children from some men.

There are also risk to men from some women and some men.

With appropriate safeguards in place for both women and men, nobody should be excluded from any profession because of their sex.

Mollygo Fri 05-Dec-25 08:52:00

Whitewavemark2
Imo nurseries should be incorporated into the education system and be fully funded by the tax payer.
I’m sure Rachel is already considering that source of revenue.

Kandinsky I think you’ve got a good idea, but the problem with getting a job after being out of the business workforce for 5 years is even worse than it was when I did it.

It might also encourage parents to have more than two children. 😱

Whitewavemark2 Fri 05-Dec-25 08:58:56

Kandinsky

Whitewavemark2
I agree with you, ( apart from the last paragraph ) but it is a fact that working in a nursery is seen as a low status job. A job anyone could do. Let’s face it. You don’t need a Cambridge degree to play with toddlers all day.

Rather than seeing nurseries incorporated into the school system - ( funded by the tax payer ). how about we pay parents to stay at home and look after their own babies/ toddlers.

An appropriate Cambridge degree probably would be desirable by certain staff, but at present qualifications required are at level 3 which is somewhere between A level and degree by most of the staff and level two by others. It has however, long been thought that an appropriate teaching degree is the ideal, similar to that found say in European nurseries, but because of the lack of funding this has been unaffordable and our children are the poorer for it.

With regards to everyone staying home looking after their children.

I assume that you are not being serious.

Kandinsky Fri 05-Dec-25 09:08:35

I’m being completely serious.
How many women worked when their children were babies back in our day ( 50’s / 60’s ) not many.
Women would get a job when the children started school.
I grew up in the 60’s / 70’s - no one I knew had been to a nursery. These big nursery chains didn’t even exist.
It was the Thatcher era that changed everything. We suddenly wanted more so that meant both parents working.
I personally don’t think children should be anywhere other than with their parents until they’re around 4 years old.
Nursery is not necessary.

sodapop Fri 05-Dec-25 09:20:03

Just to buck the trend Kandinsky I worked in the late sixties and early seventies. My daughter was cared for in the creche at the hospital where I worked. The cost was subsidised by the hospital I think. Worked well for us, I wanted to continue working even if only part time and qualified nurses were in short supply.

Whitewavemark2 Fri 05-Dec-25 09:21:31

OK - let’s think this through.

Assuming that every family can afford to have only one breadwinner, how are you going to make up for the withdrawal of millions of employees?

How are you going to fill the skilled jobs many of them do before becoming parents?

What are you going to do about -for whatever reason- the single parent?

How are you going to compensate for those being out of the job market and thus losing skills and knowledge as they remain at home.

How are you going to stop anyone setting up a nursery for the under 5 s? Are you going to incorporate it in an oppressive law?

How are you going to recognise that many tinies live in less than desirable conditions and that nursery provides shelter, food, warmth and education during their vital years.

I could go on of course + but you get the drift?

GrannyGravy13 Fri 05-Dec-25 09:25:42

Kandinksy we are not in the 60/70’s

Parents need to work, have you seen the price of houses to purchase or rents?

I come from a longline of working women, we have all raised successful well adjusted offspring.

I had no choice other than to have a Nanny for our sons, then went on to use a combination of private nursery (Montessori) and part-time Nanny

Women fought for equality, no shame in using it.

Whitewavemark2 Fri 05-Dec-25 09:27:46

And don’t forget the benefits system, which will be totally overloaded with many more families being tipped into poverty.