Childcare - 9 Months to 2 Years

angelil

BSM2014 wrote: »

Yep tottaly understand that. We made a decision to have children and it is our responsibility. However it is still a flaw in our govermental system - there is no mechanism for childcare at the end of maternity and until 2 years - so what do they expect to happen?

For instance a married couples tax allowance where i could recieve my wifes tax allowance within my tax code as she would be not working but also not recieving any benefits. That would be a start...

What do other parents do during this period?

Errr....save up before having kids? I'm 28, no kids yet, 7k in savings. OK, 7k won't buy the world, but it would cushion me for an extra 3-4 months. And if you think "only" 9 months of paid maternity leave is bad, get this: I live in France, and you only get 10 weeks after the baby is born.

Sympathy = nil.

emsywoo123

I do hope all the posters with all their confident plans never find themselves in need of a supportive ear, or a space to rant, or a different perspective, or unexpected circumstances.

:eek:

pinkshoes

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

You have plenty of options!

1. She could get an evening job or hours that mean that you do child care whilst she works. I know many people who do this.

2. There are child tax credits for people who work on low incomes. It used to be wwww.entitled to.co.uk but I think it has changed now, but there's a web site that tells you how much you can get.

3. Child care vouchers, which are deducted from your salary before tax. This saves about £500.

4. She could become a child minder.

Spendless

BSM2014 wrote: »

What do other parents do during this period?

I worked evenings and weekends so that hubby could have the baby whilst I worked. Returning to my job wasn't a possibility, my employer only employed full-time workers (the right to request flexible working didn't exist) and the childcare bill was the equivalent of my wages, it would have made our household no financially better off by me returning to my day-time job. This was in 2000.

Paid paternity came in in 2003, my daughter was born in March of that year and it wasn't available then , but my friend who had her baby in May her husband took it, so it came in between these 2 points, but it was only around £100ish per week and we couldn't have afforded for hubby to do it anyway.

I'd packed in my job due to ill health in pregnancy with youngest, so I stopped at home for a couple of years before returning to college to update skills and qualifications. By then childcare vouchers were in so we used a combination of that and the funding for 3 year olds at nursery to pay for childcare whilst I studied.

gayleygoo

I was told by my MWs that maternity pay is supposed to encourage mums to breastfeed until at least 6 months, and delay weaning until then also. Since that's what's recommended by the WHO. Mums who went back to work at 6 months often stopped breastfeeding much earlier or started weaning earlier as they thought it would help when they went back to work.

Maternity pay is not a "childcare payment". Taking time off after the baby is born has lots of benefits, and it would be unreasonable to expect women to go back to work just a few weeks after the birth if they had no pay at all (countries where this happens often have poor child welfare outcomes). You also get child benefit and tax credits to help with family finances. I think it is sad that these days many families need two incomes to pay the bills. A parent who stays at home is often criticized for being "work shy" when in reality it is usually better for children to be looked after at home for the first few years.

BSM2014

GwylimT wrote: »

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

Its not my wifes responsibility. All our finances are shared, regardless of who earns what. Its one pot. So yes ill financially support my wife, child and family.

custardy

BSM2014 wrote: »

Its not my wifes responsibility. All our finances are shared, regardless of who earns what. Its one pot. So yes ill financially support my wife, child and family.

problem solved then.

supersaver2

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

I hate to bring more bad news but your child may not be entitled to the 15 hours free at 2 years so that may be an extra year you need to pay full fees for. My daughter is 2 and entitled to free 15 hours from September due to receiving Disabled Living Allowance, this is one of the qualifying criteria. I'd just check the criteria for the free places for 2 year old as you might not have an entitlement.

FBaby

Why is it that families returning to work after having a baby and moaning about childcare costs always assume that part-time is the only option? It isn't. You can go back full-time and in that instance, it is rare that childcare costs will be more than you earn, especially if you benefit from vouchers.

Yes, having a baby with both parents working full-time is tough, but if you need to do so financially, then that's what you do. I have known many mothers working full-time with babies whose partner was always working full-time. It's hard, and yes, some woudl say you miss out, but the benefits you gain (mainly a much better chance of an increase income after a few years) make up for it for these families. And of course, you do feel very rich the day you don't need to pay childcare any longer (first time last year for me after 14 years!).

18 months of paying high childcare costs is not that much in one's life of supporting children really!

duchy

embob74 wrote: »

A big problem is that part-time childcare is more expensive than full-time. The hourly rate is reduced if you book a whole morning, reduced further if you book a whole day and reduced more if you book the whole week.
I also think it insulting that women are expected to be happy with part-time roles which are usually lower paid and at a lower level than they had when they worked full time.
I realised very quickly that there will never be equality while women bear the children.

I never found part-time to be more expensive than full-time -it was simply pro-rata. If the nursery you are using offers discounts for more sessions that's not quite the same thing. It's a matter of perspective.

I also didn't find it insulting that part-time work was available-I was delighted ! I had a fulltime job but whilst on maternity realized that part time was a far more viable option as it reduced childcare costs , comutting costs, etc but more importantly it gave me the choice to spend time with my son. I had assumed I would want to go back to work fulltime and thought financially we needed to but when I number crunched properly I discovered that working three days ended up wit the same nett figures as five days the way my childcare arrangements worked and allowing for other expenses.
Before he started school I had three jobs the firs part-time to keep my skills updated, the second shift fulltime but a bit of a killer with a toddler and then finally a jobshare . Of the three the jobshare paid the best and had the most fantastic perks so to say all part time roles are lesser is an exaggeration-some are and some aren't.
Where I currently work full time and part time is paid and treated exactly the same in everything the only difference is that pay and bonuses are paid pro-rata which is fair.

I do agree there will "never be equality whilst women bear the children " Any man who tells his boss he wants a year parental leave to be with his child will soon find himself at the bottom of any promotion list....Oh wait a minute.......
Anyone choosing to take time away from their profession be it to travel, raise children, care for an elderly parent or train for the Olympics is likely to find their advancement delayed compared with someone putting in the time without any kind of career break. It isn't sexual discrimination anymore it's about more flexible lifestyle choices -and apply equally to men and women ! With choosing to have children comes other checks and balances -after all in this day and age children are a choice , a popular choice but nonetheless a choice.
Our government currently offer financial support for that choice with maternity pay and child tax credits - in a way none of the other career break or reduction choices mentioned are financed. Even caring for an elderly or disabled relative doesn't attract such generosity - carers allowance is a pittance by comparison.

As for the OP they have several choices- number crunch and see which option suits you best....a sole wage earner plus tax credits may be financially better than two adults working full time or again depending on earnings one full time and one part time may work better - you won't know til you number crunch properly and see what you options actually are.