Mike is a childminder - Londoner #260

10 years ago Mike quit his job as a graphic designer to become a full-time childminder. Being a man, his career choice is often met with stigma. 1000 LONDONERS This film is part of 1000 Londoners, a ten-year digital project which aims to create a digital portrait of a city through 1000 of the people who identify themselves with it. The profile contains a 3 minute film that gives an insight into the life of the Londoner, as well as their personal photos of London and some answers to crucial questions about their views on London life. Over the course of the project we aim to reveal as many facets of the capital as possible, seeing city life from 1000 points of view. www.1000londoners.com    / 1000londoners   www.facebook.com/1000londoners Twitter @1000_Londoners Instagram @1000_londoners 1000 Londoners is produced by South London based film production company and social enterprise, Chocolate Films. The filmmakers from Chocolate Films will be both producing the films and providing opportunities to young people and community groups to make their own short documentaries, which will contribute to the 1000 films. Visit www.chocolatefilms.com TRANSCRIPT I'm a childminder, I've been doing it for 10 years. It started with my daughter and 10 years later here I am. Has everyone got a torch, Arthur have you got your torch? (child) Yes! (Mike) Let's have a look, hold on let's have a look in here. To give a child an opportunity to go out of their comfort zone - that's it, got it, I'm here with you, I'm not gonna let you fall - and trying to learn just a few life skills to see how much they can push themselves, without uhm, no falling (laughing) But also knowing that there's someone there to catch them if they do fall. We're not going past that tree that's fallen down there, you can hide up here… 12, 13, 14, 15 16 Oh I wonder, I just saw someone in a white shirt running right past us. running right past us. (whispering) We'll have to shift it. (children talking) (Mike) We can all go find Dilan, come on. (Mike laughing, sound of Mike and children running) I have faced discrimination, a lot. And it is when you're out with the children and people give you that look of: have you been left in charge of the children? 'Is mummy sick?' is another one. I was actually told by a person: men can't be childminders. It will wind you up and and then it kinda upsets you for the rest of the day but you feel stronger about it because then you tell the children that if, you know, you try and teach them your beliefs of what makes you strong. I don't know what would've happened if I'd stayed as a, working the 9 till 5. But I can guarantee you that I wouldn't have been as happy as I am now. At the end when a child leaves me I give them a book. I can't help but I get teary-eyed every time I put these books together because it's there's so many moments that I can go: yeah, you know, I was part of that, I remember that and how much they enjoyed that moment. It's an amazing thing to watch life through a child's eyes. For anyone, even if you're not a parent just to watch a child for a, and watch a child learn is, yeah it's pretty awesome.