Childcare - 9 Months to 2 Years

BSM2014

tea_lover wrote: »

So she could work p/t somewhere else - It's just a different employer. I don't see why your wife being made redundant means you ranting at the government for not funding your childcare?

Sorry if its come across as a rant (i suppose it has ). I just wonder what it is the goverment do actually expect people do for this period. Maybe they dont care if mums dont work because it will cost as much in childcare as it will working.

embob74

sinizterguy wrote: »

The dad is just as free to take over child care. The woman doesn't have to if they can work it out within the family. Or both could be part time.
That's for each individual family to work out.
As for part time child care, the hourly rate may be more, but the total expense is less.

Of course the dad is free to take over childcare but I know families that have decided the dad should be the main caregiver and none of the dads work part-time. In contrast I know a lot of women who are the caregivers who work part-time around their partners work and this often means working in a low-paid, low-skill job.
Of course part-time care means the total expense is less but proportionally the cost is much higher.

bossymoo

It does get easier, mine are 5 and 3 now and I'm a lone parent. My childcare bill has dropped from when they were both in private nursery (3 days/wk) at c£1k per month down to now (where they are in school and school nursery, plus wraparound care) to an average £120 per month.

I still only work a 3 day week until my youngest can start school next September so it's not a massive wage but then having kiddies was never cheap.

At least we have the options now, when i was a nipper the only nursery spaces were for under-privileged single parent families in our area. Most mums gave up work so families had to manage on single incomes anyway.

Kiddies are a big financial responsibility. We tried to sure up our finances before starting a family so it wouldn't be such a shock to the system. A different type of family planning

Of course, man plans, god laughs. He certainly must have at us...

LilElvis

BSM2014 wrote: »

In no way do i think it is the responsibility of the state - and therefore other taxpayers responsibility to pay for my childs childcare. On an equal merit i dont feel its my repsonbility as a higher rate tax payer to have almost half my income pay for people who cant be bothered working and squeeze every benefit out of the system. We pay in way more than we take out.

Thanks forthe advice on child care vouchers too. We'll look into this further.

In which case you might want to rewrite your original post which explicitly asks what the State expects you to do with regard to childcare.

BSM2014 wrote: »

Hi All, sorry if this is the wrong section as not sure where it would fit into...

Anyhow this is mostly a vent , but would like others view on this...

The government provides SMP for maternity leave upto 9 months for my wife. However there is then a big gap until 2 years where you become eligable for potential free childcare support...

What is it that the government expect mums to do from 9 months to 24 months. Not work and recieve no support? Go back to work but pay for childcare until reaching 2 years? For my wife to go back to work part time it would likely cost us more in childcare, i just find the situation a little baffling and illogical. :mad:

Would be interested to hear other parents view on this?

Thanks

FYI the 'free' childcare is only available after the child's 3rd birthday, is for 15 hours per week, excludes payment for any food provided and only covers school term time (not 52 weeks)

embob74

fannyadams wrote: »

When my two were born (2000 and 2014) I had 18 weeks paid maternity leave and THAT WAS IT.
I went back to work when mine were 12 weeks old and it felt like I was paying my salary directly into the childcare coffers without passing go or collecting £200.
My partner didn't get ANY paid paternity leave, but had to work half days when our second child was born because I had PND and couldn't cope with our eldest at home after preschool, and the baby.
The FREE sessions came in when my two turned 3, and this was only in term time and was 5 half day sessions per week for 39 weeks. Not easy when I was back at work full-time 12 weeks after having my second child, but it did make a small impact on the fees.
The Child Tax Credits have cocked up more than once (their fault every time), and they've chased me for well over £5K overpayment.
I'll admit I am finding it difficult to sympathise with you.

I assume it was your choice or necessity that made you go back to work after 18 weeks as legally you are entitled to 39 weeks SMP. Was your partner not entitled to Paternity Leave? I know the take-up rate is very low as many men don't feel comfortable in asking their employer for it.
I'd love to know how you could afford to go back to work having two young children? I know it would have cost us more financially and I assumed that only those with high income jobs could afford to return to work.

GwylimT

Why is it only your wife's responsibility to pay for childcare, do you not believe in financially supporting your own children?

My wife went back to work when each of ours were six weeks old, her disability means at the age she cannot care for them alone. We used a combination of both of us working part time but separate days, on the odd occasion where we has to work the same day we would send our little ones to a childminder, funnily enough we weren't at all put out at paying for a good quality carer to look after our children when we were at work.

sulphate

I have to agree with embob here.

My husband and I are having our first child in February. We can definitely afford it, we will have to make cutbacks in several areas but it's a choice we willingly made. We certainly don't expect the government to provide a level of childcare beyond what they already do and we earn very average wages - certainly not high rate taxpayers so I find it difficult to sympathise with the OP too.

fannyadams

embob74 wrote: »

I assume it was your choice or necessity that made you go back to work after 18 weeks as legally you are entitled to 39 weeks SMP.

18 weeks PAID leave, then SMP at a whopping £60/week... hmmm difficult choice but the mortgage/food/gas bill won't pay itself on that money.

embob74 wrote: »

Was your partner not entitled to Paternity Leave? I know the take-up rate is very low as many men don't feel comfortable in asking their employer for it.

PAID paternity leave hadn't been 'invented' then and NO we couldn't afford for him to have 2 weeks unpaid leave - he did have 3 days paid leave as I'd had an emergency C section so he 'saved' them til I came out of hospital after a week.

embob74 wrote: »

I'd love to know how you could afford to go back to work having two young children? I know it would have cost us more financially and I assumed that only those with high income jobs could afford to return to work.

When I went back after my first one (2000), I was paying about 80% of my wages to the childcare. As I said we wern't extravagant, we bought second hand and necessities only. We saved our money, shopped carefully and managed.
When number 2 arrived (2004) my older child was at preschool (with 'paid for' 5 sessions/week/39 weeks/year) and to a childminder when he started school after I went back to work and number 2 went to childcare, where I ended up once again paying out around 80% of my wages to childcare again. Although when you were employed by NHS there was a sort of 'subsidised nursery' on site (with limited places) that you could use. But if your shifts didn't co-incide with nursery opening hours you would end up paying ££££ 'unsocial hours' care.
I've been made redundant twice, so has my partner. we get through it...
We coped, we budgeted, we squeezed every penny to make it work for us the best we can.
So now you know...

freebiequennie

Paid childcare at 2yrs isn't available to all. At 3yrs 15hrs free is only free if that's all that's used over a number of sessions otherwise Bill is reduced n is only term time.

I work 4 days a week and my husband full time in addition I do some ad hoc maternity night nanny and babysitting work to supplement income. We use a childminder 2 days n nursery 2 days n pay £650/mth childcare.

My little one starts school in September I am actually due to go on mat leave again in Oct n have saved so can be off til next Sept and husband n I have negotiated some flexible working with annual leave for first 6weeks of school so we can drop off n collect but come next Sept we will have 4 days full care for baby n before after school care for older one.

We get no help other than both signed up to vouchers and dependent on childcare costs may be better staying on vouchers than New scheme using a calculator I found online.

We know childcare costs are a high proportion of wages but it's the long term goal I have had a master's paid for by work n had a promotion since returning from mat leave last time so am in a place I could not be if not in work for several years.

LilElvis

fannyadams wrote: »

18 weeks PAID leave, then SMP at a whopping £60/week... hmmm difficult choice but the mortgage/food/gas bill won't pay itself on that money.

PAID paternity leave hadn't been 'invented' then and NO we couldn't afford for him to have 2 weeks unpaid leave - he did have 3 days paid leave as I'd had an emergency C section so he 'saved' them til I came out of hospital after a week.

When I went back after my first one (2000), I was paying about 80% of my wages to the childcare. As I said we wern't extravagant, we bought second hand and necessities only. We saved our money, shopped carefully and managed.
When number 2 arrived (2004) my older child was at preschool (with 'paid for' 5 sessions/week/39 weeks/year) and to a childminder when he started school after I went back to work and number 2 went to childcare, where I ended up once again paying out around 80% of my wages to childcare again. Although when you were employed by NHS there was a sort of 'subsidised nursery' on site (with limited places) that you could use. But if your shifts didn't co-incide with nursery opening hours you would end up paying ££££ 'unsocial hours' care.
I've been made redundant twice, so has my partner. we get through it...
We coped, we budgeted, we squeezed every penny to make it work for us the best we can.
So now you know...

You need to apologise to Embob as his post was in response to one you wrote with a large inaccuracy in it. You initially stated that your second child was born in 2014 when SMP is paid for a longer period and paternity leave is a legal entitlement. It is only in your reply that you have said the child was actually born 10 years earlier when different rules were in force. Hardly Embobs fault that your typo led to misunderstanding.