Should I look after friends child?

VRose

Hi
This is my 1st thread, so I am hoping this is the right place!

I have been a stay at home mum for 10years. In this time I have done alot of volunteering in childrens work through church including running a toddler group and being a mentor for Surestart.

I have been asked by a friend to have her nearly 2 yr old for 1.5 days a week and she will pay me. I have been looking after her son as a favour on a causal basis for about a year.

In addition to this I have a friend who needs childcare for 3 days a week from next week until September.

I have told the 1st friend that I would look into it and get back to her.

I looked into becoming a registered childminder and the start up cost is +£200 and could take between 3 to 6 months.

We are a family of 5 live on less than £11,000pa, So we could do with some extra money.

I am tempted to take on the 2 children like a babysitter and just take the cash. The amount I would be taking wouldn't be enough to change our tax credits or tax bracket.

The mother's of the children are happy with that arrangement.

Should I do it?

Thanks for reading

V

DCFC79

If your happy to do it then yes why not.

Didnt realise there was more to it as posted below.

whitewing

If you became a registered childminder, that would give you more flexibility. It may mean that they can claim a portion of their childcare costs too. You'd probably find the training really enjoyable, with your various experiences. You'd also get a support network/advice eg via your insurance that would help you negotiate through the trickier side of things eg when someone doesn't hand over the cash.

How much are you thinking of charging?

I guess the main question is what are the parents expecting to get for their money?

gb12345

VRose wrote: »

I have been asked by a friend to have her nearly 2 yr old for 1.5 days a week and she will pay me. I have been looking after her son as a favour on a causal basis for about a year.

In addition to this I have a friend who needs childcare for 3 days a week from next week until September.

Do you have liability insurance?

They might be friends at the moment, but if one of the kids injures themselves while in your care that will soon change and could get nasty.

Could you afford to pay out thousands if one of them broke an arm or cracked their head open?

May never happen, but is it worth the risk?

nuttyp

My friend looked after my 2 girls as a friends basis. We decided that the children would all be treated the same, and agreed an amount for the week. I was lucky that even if they were ill she would often have them.

Before you go ahead, you will need to agree on what is acceptable behaviour, manners and also what you are to provide (meals/ snacks and drinks) all quite obvious but must be mentioned to avoid any problems. Maybe you should approach the side of what would happen if they had an accident.

Good luck for your new venture.

caitieface

As others have stated, it can be a bit of a risk. Personally I would go for it anyway, but you need to decide if it's worth the risk for you.

esmy

Have a look here:

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/factsheet-childcare-childminding-between-friends

Looks like you may have to register.

karen_g

Leagally you should register with ofsted...some local authorities help out with the cost of this if there is a shortage of childcare provision in the area...might be worth looking into this.

Just consider if one of the kids has a serious accident and you are not insured or registered you could end up in a very nasty situation :eek:

Racheldevon

There are other benefits too in terms of being considered a provider for things like the '2gether scheme' which provides up to 15 hours of childcare for those who meet a certain criteria - I know of several childminders who do this , which increases your pay

VRose

Thank you for your thoughts. The truth is that I don't want to do childminding generally speaking.
The effort of being self employed is a major factor. As well as the fact that my youngest is only 3 years old and I don't want to be in a position where I have to choose who to put 1st.
I would also like to 'go to' work, when the time is right for our family.
Though I am more than happy to do a few days a week with 2 children that I know my children get on well with and parents who I know and have a mutual respect with.
The link was helpful.
It seems that if I want to do it legally then I have to registrar unless I get paid in services/goods, but they have a registrar for that too.
Then if I care for they child in their own home, you don't have to registrar. I can't see how that child is at less risk when being cared for by in their own home or if the carer isn't being paid in money.

chrisv24

gb12345 wrote: »

Do you have liability insurance?

They might be friends at the moment, but if one of the kids injures themselves while in your care that will soon change and could get nasty.

Could you afford to pay out thousands if one of them broke an arm or cracked their head open?

May never happen, but is it worth the risk?

Agreed, always worth getting insurance, just in case something goes wrong