I'm currently on maternity leave with DC2 and trying to work out how much I need to earn for it to be financially worth going back to work while paying for childcare for both children (when I plan to return DC1 will be 2.5 and DC2 just over 1).
I currently have an amazing childminder for DC1 and would like both to go to her. For two kids to go three days per week it will cost £1500 per month! I'm in a pricey part of SE England and nursery and childminder fees are the same. I could use a nanny I supposed, but I prefer the children going out of the house to a very social setting.
I was discussing the problem with DH in front of MIL, and she said we should get an au pair or 'just find a local girl in the village who can come in and look after them'. She went on to explain that she returned to work after 12 weeks with both her DCs - an 18 year old au pair came in for DH, and a few years later BIL 'went to the neighbour'. Neither had any formal childcare qualifications although the neighbour had a few children of her own who she cared for at the same time. MIL was flabbergasted we'd consider paying that much for childcare. DH and I both agreed that we'd be unhappy with someone unqualified and unregistered to care for two such young children. According to MIL this makes us incredibly PFB...but anyway...
It got me thinking. Although we wouldn't consider it for our kids, I wondered if others had these kind of 'informal' arrangements in place for regular childcare with people who aren't relatives (clearly close family doing childcare is something different) and how they work. I'm talking 8-10 hours per day, 3-5 days per week, rather than babysitting.