childminders 'additional costs' am i being unreasonable here?

footychick

I don't normally respond to any posts on here (reader only!) but I am a registered childminder and I also work for NCMA so thought I would. As a childminder I always consider that the parents were already paying for my services, to provide appropriate activities for their children, so incorporate the fees of any groups I attend within my fees. I think it is unfair and unrealisitic to think that parents want to pay additional fees. I also agree that the fees are very high, if they are the price per child. I would deffinately want confirmation of the fees.

As a self employed person your childminder can charge what fees she likes providing she gives you adequate notice. As for sharing childcare with your friend I think you are on pretty safe ground as it was announced this week that from April the 1st Childcare arrangements made between friends for no financial reward are to be exempt from Ofsted registration, although you would loose any tax credits/relief you currently get.

Good luck sorting it out.

thatgirlsam

i can understand your CM not wanting to be paid for half a day as in effect she is losing half a days pay by having your child as it would be hard to find another child for the other half and seeing as they are restricted by numbers she couldn't take another child for the whole day as yours is taking up half

when my son went to nursery i paid the childminder for the time he was there as she dropped him off and picked him up and i thought it was unreasonable to expect her to find another child to mind to fill in those 2 and a half hours .. and i used her as an emergency contact for the time he was there

i agree the other costs seem unreasonable - why is she charging you for a group thats free ?

a good childminder is worth keeping hold of , i treasure mine !

dangers

footychick - your first paragraph is very well put and conveys certainly what I wanted to say, but more succinctly than I could. Thank you.

thatgirlsam - the c/minder could only have the OP's child for the pm to begin with and was therefore full for that day. Now she has lost her Mon am child (I assume) she wants the OP to increase her hours accordingly. It is not the OPs fault that she wasn;t able to use the Mon am slot before. I appreciate the c/minder wants to use a full space but it is she who 'made the rules' so to speak and now wants to change them.

Indie_Kid

thatgirlsam wrote: »

i agree the other costs seem unreasonable - why is she charging you for a group thats free ?

Pretol costs? Although I don't think they're that high.

emlou2009

thatgirlsam wrote: »

i can understand your CM not wanting to be paid for half a day as in effect she is losing half a days pay by having your child as it would be hard to find another child for the other half and seeing as they are restricted by numbers she couldn't take another child for the whole day as yours is taking up half

I do and dont agree with this - my sons CM only has one child that she keeps for whole days, and thats my son. Most of her LO's either do mornings or afternoons, so she actually makes money on being more flexible!

She also takes my son out on day trips and to CM & toddler groups which she does pay for, but has never charged me a penny extra for them!

a_confused_mum

G51shopaholic wrote: »

I would check if she has additional insurance cover for these extra trips.
It would be worth asking her about this.
As other parents have said YOU EMPLOY HER - she isn't doing this out the goodness of her heart.
Personally I would NEVER allow anyone to take my young child swimming.

They do not employ the childminder...thecm is selfemployed!!! you can employ a nanny..they are different.

She wont need extra insurance as it is all included in our Public Liability!!

a_confused_mum

thatgirlsam wrote: »

i can understand your CM not wanting to be paid for half a day as in effect she is losing half a days pay by having your child as it would be hard to find another child for the other half and seeing as they are restricted by numbers she couldn't take another child for the whole
day as yours is taking up half

when my son went to nursery i paid the childminder for the time he was there as she dropped him off and picked him up and i thought it was unreasonable to expect her to find another child to mind to fill in those 2 and a half hours .. and i used her as an emergency contact for the time he was there

i agree the other costs seem unreasonable - why is she charging you for a group thats free ?

a good childminder is worth keeping hold of , i treasure mine !

That is true most of the time, but in this instance the cm didnt have the space in the am so only attneded pm and now to turn around and expect them to pay is wrong.

cazziebo

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Just to put another point of view. Although it all adds up, is an extra 8.50 a week really too much to pay to keep your child where s/he's happy and with a childminder you like so much?

I'm sure that you're technically in the right about this but could you be cutting off your nose to spite your face?

This post resonates for me. You hire a childminder because you want your much loved child to have an experience as much like direct parenting as possible. If you were at home with your child you would have these extra costs anyway (and more!). I really value childminders, to my mind nursery care is not a good subsitute.

I'm now an MD of an international consulting business, earning more than I could ever have dreamed of. I've got here almost solely because I had a childminder who I trusted, who my kids loved, who did what she had to do. I hear so many horror stories about poor childcare that I don't grudge a penny. I can say this looking back - my girls are now 20 and 18. . Never, ever understimate the value of good childcare. It makes your life (and ability to earn) so much easier.

thatgirlsam

a_confused_mum wrote: »

That is true most of the time, but in this instance the cm didnt have the space in the am so only attneded pm and now to turn around and expect them to pay is wrong.

yes i suppose this is true . ..

the bottom line is the CM has a business to run and as much as she probably likes/loves her charges will have bills to pay and she is losing half a days money .. now i know this is not the OPs fault but the CM circumstances have changed and she is giving the OP first refusal for these hours ?

i used to be a childminder and its a hard job .. the poster earlier who said that she was shocked that her CM put money first , well that just about sums up the attitude of many a parent ..

i ahd one say to me once after i bought a car ( a second hand car )

' well we must be paying you too much ' :eek:

many people just do not view it as a job and think you feel the same way about their kids as they do !

that sounds harsh because i did truly love some of my charges , in fact am still in touch with many of them , some in their late teens now , make me feel really old

but no ,atter how much i loved them i still needed to be paid properly , it was my job .. how many of the mums would take a cut in wage and be happy ??

DevilsAdvocate1

I wonder if she is trying to recoup some of the money she is losing from the child who is no longer with her on a Monday morning.

I used to be a registered childminder and was encouraged by other childminders to charge for toddlers and other activities. However, I chose not to, but did end up resenting one parent who assumed that I would take her child to different, expensive soft play groups each week. I ended up terminating the contract because the mum was so demanding.

The Early Years used to run a lot of training courses and most of them seemed to be about self esteem and charging for what you are worth. I wonder if your childminder has attended something like this and its encouraged her to change things.

Personally, I would be up front and tell her that you really don't want to terminate the contract but feel that you are being backed into a corner. You can't afford £120 a month, so the difficult decision may be to end the contract. When she realises that she could lose you altogether she may be more amenable.

Good luck, D.