A few questions about childcare

archie9uk

I've just got a few questions about childcare. We are looking to start a family soon and know that childcare is going to be a major expense, as we both need to go back to work full-time.

1. How much would be an average or reasonable amount to pay for childcare? In my area it seems that childminders are around £25 per day and nurseries at least £35 per day. Does this sound okay? (It sounds expensive to me!)

2. If you want a childminder full-time do you have to pay for 5 days a week 52 weeks of the year, or can you pick and choose? We would probably need childcare for about 42 weeks a year.

3. Most of the people I know who have kids have parents or in-laws close by who help out a lot with childcare. We are not in this position unfortunately. My in-laws live 100 miles away and my parents live 200 miles away (in opposite directions!). Just wondering how people here cope if they also have no family nearby to help out?

Thanks very much!

Js_Other_Half

http://www.childcarelink.gov.uk/ will show you how much nurseries and childminders charge in your area. ~We pay £37.50 a day in West Yorkshire. A friend of mine pays £60 a day in St Albans!

We have no family, so we went with a nursery - if a staff member is ill, then you can still send your child. If a childminder is ill then one of you is going to have to have time off.
However, quite often childminders are more lenient around a child going who isn't quite well.

Dizie

I live in Leicestershire and in our village there are 3 day nurseries. The cheapest is £28 per day, the one I use £35 per day and a rather posh one that charges a (ridiculous in my opinion!) £45 per day! I looked at several nurseries in and around where I live and the £35 day rate is about average.

The nursery I use charge you for 48 weeks of the year, then divide the annual cost by 12 so that you pay the same amount each month. They close at Christmas and Easter (although not all week) and assume you'll take a 2 week holiday during the year. They do give you an option for a term time arrangement, but you still have to pay half the day rate over the holidays to keep the place. They don't give you the 4 week discount, and so it doesn't actually save you that much.

My parents and my inlaws both live fairly close to me but are not in a position to help with childcare. My Mum is my emergency backup if one of my kids are taken ill but otherwise, either DH or I would have to take the day off work. Fortunately, this hasn't happened very often.

Hope this helps.

Sami_Bee

I used to pay my Childminder (used one for 3mths, april, may and june 2008) she charged £25 a day.
If I didn't send my son I would have to pay half fee to save the place, I considered having my mum look after my son during school hols as she works at a school and therefore has holidays but it wasn't worth the hasstle of informing the tax credits people etc and My son enjoyed the company of the other children

I have no idea how we cope we just do I am now in the position where I simply cannot work, once our 2nd child arrives in June I would be completely unable to get a job that would pay enough to cover childcare etc as I am not qualified to do a high paying job (If I were working I would expect to get between £14-16k pa if full-time) so I am now a SAHM and loving it :T

PS I used the link given in post #2 to find my childminder

JoolzS

This may be not helpful, but it was something I thought about when I was considering having children - how would you cope if you had a child that you couldn't put into childcare (due to a disability of the child or your not recovering from childbirth)?

This has happened to more than one person that I know and has blown all of their plans out of the water. Everyone thinks they will have a healthly child and be healthy enough themselves to return to work within the required limits, but it doesn't always work that way. It's worth considering what you would do in those circumstances.

Julie

jimexbox

archie9uk wrote: »

1. How much would be an average or reasonable amount to pay for childcare? In my area it seems that childminders are around £25 per day and nurseries at least £35 per day. Does this sound okay? (It sounds expensive to me!)

Remember childminders are not glorified babysitters, they have completed the relevant course, a two day pediatric first aid course, themselves and anyone (over 16) in their house is police checked. They are medically checked to make sure they are fit to look after children. Their house and care will have been inspected by Ofsted, then graded.

As to costs, you will usually agree a rolling monthly contract. For set hours per week, this is for 52 weeks a year. If your child is ill, you still pay the full fee. Usually for 2 weeks summer holiday you pay a retainer, which is half fee. For extra holiday the full fee is payable. Contracts will vary from childminder to childminder, you will have to ask.

MrsTinks

For us childcare isn't optional - both of our families don't just live far away... they live in different countries! :eek: So there is no "dropping them at nans" for any reason. We can thankfully afford the childcare and we're looking at different options too. I would prefer an aupair when the little bundle of joy is big enough but also increasingly aware the house isn't really big enough for an aupair (drat!) so whilst we could afford one it's just not going to happen much as I'd like it until we move grrrr - that leaves me with nursery or childminder really. My daily salary after tax works out at about £100 so to me it will be interesting to see how much of that will be eaten up by nursery or cm fees I can easily see how people can't afford to return to work when they have 2 or more children though.

ethelsmum

My youngest goes to a nursery (she's nearly 4). She has been going for 2 years and I pay £30 a day, £20 for half a day and something like £25 for a "school" day - which is 9-3. It amounts to just under £400 a month but we are able to claim tax credits which cover the nursery costs so none of my actually wages are used to pay the nursery fees (I only work part time though). I also get a 5% discount as I work at the hospital where the nursery is based. At the nursery she attends it costs more for under 2's. The only week I don't get charged for is between xmas day and new years day as they are classed as closed but as its at a hospital they offer a limited service for anyone who has to work.

lynnexxxo

Hi,

Just thought I'd add that its unlikely that either a childminder or nursery will allow you to pay for only 42 weeks of the year. From her point of view its her job and if she allowed this there will be 10 weeks she is unpaid.

My youngest son goes 2 days a week (fixed days) to a childminder, I pay £3.50 an hour plus £2 a day for food. His childminder takes two weeks holidays in the summer, one at easter and two at christmas so i pay for 47 weeks in total. I have to pay if he doesn't go but not if she is ill.

My older son is at nursery, its £4.50 an hour (plus £2 lunch) (we get a council funded place for some of the hours though as he is over three). They are open everyday (except two days at new year and christmas) and have stopped offering and holiday reduction.

Its an expensive buisness !

Woodyrocks

I don't really think of it in terms of 'coping' with childcare, I just do and have done since DD was born. Ours is a one parent household and has always been so I have always had to subtract a portion of my sole income for childcare (went back to work when DD was 3months old) and with my parents & siblings working F/T themselves, reliance on family members has never been an option.

I have used private nurseries, early years nurseries, taken her along to work with me, childminders, nanny, an au-pair and most recently after-school club. It has got cheaper as she has got older and that is a consolation in itself. I think if I had been blessed with twins (!) I would not have been able to afford going back to owing to childcare but with just the one it is just about manageable.

The least stressfull and most dependable of all the childcare options I have tried was the Nanny, she was paid all year through including holidays. The Au-pair could have been bliss but had to be live-out as I only have a 2-bedroom and we had time-keeping issues which played havoc with my work, age & maturity was also an issue. I will never do childminders again because there is always some issue or another, mainly involving their own children!

Auzelia

my eldest son is in nursery for 2 ½ days and 1 full day per week.
I pay £69.75 per week for this.

This includes 1 Lunch (snacks are included in the price)