Childcare costs

Ours have never been that high, absolute highest was when DC2 in nursery and DC1 wraparound and that was £1250/month (though we used TFC). When we had kids DH and I completely reorganised though, I changed from shift work, I reduced hours etc etc. I know it’s not possible for you right now but equally your children are young once. If there’s a way for you or DH (or both!) to be around more I’d be grabbing it with both hands.

OP I really don’t understand what you’re trying to achieve by posting? No your costs are not normal but they are to be expected for the abnormal situation you have created for yourself. Do you want to feel like you’re not being ripped off? Or for people to tell you that your set up sounds ok?

I get you probably just googled that and it’s been simplified for you, because the average on Nannytax at least takes into account the salaries of housekeepers, live in nannies and au pairs in the wider London area and averages it out. I guarantee you that is NOT the going rate for a professional experienced nanny in zones 1-3 and many agencies thankfully wouldn’t touch you with a barge pole if that was all you were willing to pay. I will get on my soapbox about it as you clearly don’t know the facts.

See if a childminder would be a better alternative they follow the same curriculum as a nursery, they way u would r paying twice.

If you can afford it, but can't save, then you may just have to suck it up for a few years until your toddler is at school. Saving will have to wait, if this is the best childcare scenario for you.

We had 18 months where my salary was £17 less than childcare + fuel+ parking.

couple of things - why do you need the nanny until 7 if you WFH? 1700 for one child in nursery sounds a lot - we pay around £800 pm for 4 days, but we are in the North 🤷‍♀️

It’s normal for London, especially when you throw in a nanny too and have 3 children.

I have 3 under 2, work full time and pay £6k per month in nursery fees alone. No nanny.

You live in London - you have the best public transport in the country! Surely you’re better off with them NOT driving?

Why does an au pair need to drive? Is public transport not an option?

There’s no need to get on your soapbox. The average pay for a nanny in central London over the 23-24 tax year is £17.66 per hour gross. OP is paying £17p/h net, so it’s perfectly reasonable for her to reduce to the average rate.

3 kids and childcare is always going to be pricey. Even more so if you need childcare outside the 9-5 kind of day and in london

And you wonder the same about their Dad too, I hope?

I’m not one to criticise working mums, I was one myself but depending on the age of the children I wonder how much you see them presuming they’re young and in bed around 7.30.

That is an insult. We are an actual profession and you should be paid more to be available at the hours OP’s nanny is. That’s the going rate for a good, experienced, live-out and sole charge nanny responsible for multiple children and all that entails. London is an expensive place in which to live. The nanny is a human being with her own outgoings and expenses to meet. These are OP’s children, she absolutely shouldn’t be looking to drive down the cost of having a professional care for them in her home.

Oh and i get op. Dh and i both have big 6 figure salary jobs in london with commutes but nonetheless, you have to consider your children's needs, and two parents who outsource them so entirely, is not good for DC. DH had to accept it couldn't just be me flexing hours either, we share the load.

I dropped to 4 day a week when mine were small, and DH and i both alternated working 7.30-4.00 vs 9.30 - 6, wfh on different days, so that the kids were just in childcare from 9-5 at most, 4 days a week, and usually two of the days were 9-4.15. It is a massive difference from 7am- 8pm.

I'm a working single mum with a career so I get it....but it's not normal for both parents to work those kind of hours - but I'm strict on the hours I work when it's "out of hours" - doesn't take a genius to figure out why your childcare are so high when you have a nanny working until 8pm.

I think both of you need to reassess your careers or at least your employers otherwise what was the point of having kids

When I work from home nanny finishes at 7pm. On the in office days I need until 8pm as I work in office until say 6.20pm and then have the commute

Yeah so you can't do that when you have kids. You & their dad have to tag team so you are out of work bang on 5.30, you may want at least one of you to have a job nearer home.

With kids come some sacrifices. If you haven't made any in your jobs, its usually because you've deprioritised your kids completely.

£17p/h net? You’re paying your nanny too much. You can definitely employee a nanny for day 60hrs a week at around £16p/h gross in London, taking your childcare bill down to around £4700p/m

Your childcare is expensive because those are some really long antisocial childcare hours. You haven't really got any choices other than suck it up and pay it, or reduce your own working hours. Won't be long until they're all at school, you'll be able to save then.

DH and I mostly work at home now, but when we were in the office we took it in turns to finish at 4.30pm to collect from after school club and do dinner and bedtime. I then logged back on in the evenings and worked until 11pm/midnight. That’s just what you do when the kids are young. You have to pick between spending time or spending money. I spent the time because I wanted to see my kids (and they needed to go to bed at 7pm), but it nearly broke me.