Nursery/childminder question...

MrsTinks

Before I statr making any decisions etc I was wondering if you good people could answer a question for me

Do nurseries and childminders demand that you or someone else can pick your child up within a certain time frame whilst they are in their care? I've looked at the T&Cs for a couple of nurseries and can't see anything Problem is work have rejected my flexible work request and looks like I will have to go out on sites if I return to my job - that means I could be several hours away from my daughters day care - the only saving grace is that my husband would probably only be 1 hour away... would that be too far (not even going to go into my personal view other than to say I don't like being that far from her! But I may need to return to work until I find another job...)?

BitterAndTwisted

Some nurseries and childminders are more flexible than others but the only way to know for certain is to ask them. I know of some where if, for instance, the agreed collection-time is, say 5.30pm and you are delayed and can't collect until 6pm they will charge you for the additional time.

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

Personally i would say from a safety aspect, i wouldn't do it. Just because, god forbid but if your child was to have an accident you may not forgive yourself if you are so far away. Especially if medical attention is needed. That is just a personal opinion though. Once i had DD i made sure i found work within a certain distance so that i could get to her quickly if anything should happen. The most that ever happened was she came down ill and was vommiting but i was there withing about 25mins of the phone call. And even that felt like a lifetime in getting to her.

I don't thik they have any set rules of distance though. But if you and OH are that far away, any chance of a friend or relative being able to pick her up if they got a call. You are allowed to specify certain people to pick up your child as long as the nursery are aware in advance.

I hope that helps a bit - sorry if it has put more doubt in your mind though

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

Sorry did you mean end of day or if something were to go wrong and you received a phone call to pick her up?

Ooops i may have got the wrong idea!

warehouse

Nurseries are much stricter on times than most child minders. Most childminders are very nice and will explain exactly what they will or won't work up to if you ask up front and will then put it into the contract. When my own wife has had children late she just needs the parent to contact her in plenty of time so she can feed the child if required and knows when that day the child will be collected.

Millie's_Mum

Hi Mrs Tine :hello: , hope you and Alexandra are well.

Usually Cm's and Nurseries let you specify someone else to pick up as long as you have introduced them/use a password system.

My CM charged extra if you were late and didn't work past 6 so if I was late after 6 she was really pxxxd off too! My Nephew went to a nursery which closed at 6.30 and you were charged if late and fined if it happened too often.

I think if you say you are going to pick up at a certain time then you need to be there at or around that time after all the nursery staff/CM's want to go home/get on with their evenings.

You need to move to RiverseaFingle from Me Too, the childminder on there seems to work all hours!

MrsTinks

If something went wrong and she'd need picking up - it's not as simple as just quitting - sadly there are bills to pay. And finding a new job "nearby" isn't that simple either.
I don't want to be very far from her at all but I may for a short time until I can find a new job need to accept that this is the only way to bring in a salary - problem is if something happened... husband could be there probably in an hour or less - but if I've had to go on site I would not be there in 15 minutes or less (which I would be if I was in the office) - trust me I am doing everything I can to find another job because this isn't my idea of ideal either...

MrsTinks

And to clarify - there IS no-one else that can pick her up. No family nearby and no friends who could pick her up in an emergency - all work and non of them nearby. The one who might be able to doesn't drive and would be 30 mins away by car from where I'd probably put her in day care...

galvanizersbaby

MrsTine wrote: »

Before I statr making any decisions etc I was wondering if you good people could answer a question for me

Do nurseries and childminders demand that you or someone else can pick your child up within a certain time frame whilst they are in their care? I've looked at the T&Cs for a couple of nurseries and can't see anything Problem is work have rejected my flexible work request and looks like I will have to go out on sites if I return to my job - that means I could be several hours away from my daughters day care - the only saving grace is that my husband would probably only be 1 hour away... would that be too far (not even going to go into my personal view other than to say I don't like being that far from her! But I may need to return to work until I find another job...)?

Oh No......Mrs T - that is a shame

I only ever used a private nursery so only have that experience to go on but if the children were ever sick they liked you to be there to collect within half an hour (I'm pretty sure if it had taken me an hour to collect every time they wouldn't have been too happy about it)
I'm not sure whether they could have enforced this or not - think best to ask at the nursery you have in mind

I would imagine a childminder would be more flexible but I don't know for sure - again I guess best to ask but if they are looking after other children they will want the sick child collected asap

Best to ask I reckon - especially if you explain that you are looking for another job closer and it will be temporary

BTW - I am assuming you mean if your DD is sick and not that you are likely to be collecting late?!

MrsTinks

Picking her up at a set time won't be a problem (unless there is a traffic accident and we physically can't get there!) - trust me there will be NO loyalty from me to my employer moving forward after their recent behaviour - come the finish fo the business day - meeting or not I'll be out that front door!

mummy_Jay

I found child minders are flexible if you let them know up front. So as these are business trips, you just need to inform work that they need to give you maybe a weeks notice so you can arrange suitable childcare.

I use to have a job before DS where I could be anywhere in the world tomorrow but once I had DS I put my foot down and ended up refusing to travel (intially said I need to be within 1 hr of CM but work pushed it and you can't predict traffic). It made me take a huge leap backwards in my career and pay but to me optimising my family life was more important.