sibling reduction

Minimum wage (remember to add 11% NI)

Yuk I hate that sort of childminder

I once had a child for 2 settling in sessions before mum & I realised we hadn't spoken about price

BTW teens must be at least 17 or they won't count with OFSTED

The others I went to see charged for my holidays as they would still be available to c/mind. But not their own holidays.

But then I don't know what it usual. I just know she was very different from the rest.

I know. I would nearly give up my own job to earn that kind of money!

How much would she be paying the teen?

She has a brand new jeep on the drive way.

And when she give me her list of holidays they were the very bloody days that one would need a c/minder!!

ie: If common holiday was April 10/11 most people would have the whole week off... but in both dhs & my jobs we don't (just the 2 days)... she will have the whole week off & we would need to find someone else for the rest of the week.

The thing that bothered me the most was that she only talked about money! How much she charged & how if the child was hospitalised she would manfully charge half fee..... in all her spiel she never once asked dd what she liked playing with, if she liked reding etc....

I don't think it's all that unreasonable for a CM to have paid holidays is it?

Normally yes

Most (note: not all) siblings fight/argue with each other especially if one is school age - wading in to a sibling disagreement is not how I want to spend my days

I (again generally, not always) don't have school age siblings - they are very hard work

I wish I could get the deal your lady has

Do siblings really take more work than 2 seperate children? I find that hard to believe.

The c/minder I looked at the other day charges £4 per hour per child. And she charges from 8am when she opened until 6pm when she closed, regardless of how many hours she would have my kids.

She charges usual rate for everything. And she tried to tell me that I even paid her when she took her holidays. And I innocently asked "But you wouldn't be available to mind my children" She said she knew that but they were her rules.

She employs one teenage girl & another girl comes in to cover school runs.. she has 12 children per day.

In my book she's earning £480 per day.

Of course she then has to pay the girl she employs... but that would be easy enough out of £2400 per week!

Needless to say I won't be using her.

I don't

Siblings often take more work that individual children so why charge less?

Oh, thank god! The thread title made me think someone was thinking of a mass cull of siblings! Dopey moo, I know!

Anyway, I always used to do reduced rate for a second family member. 50p less per hour.

I used to give a discount but stopped as I was suffering a lot financially as I only had 2 full time spaces for under 5's and was loosing money that I really needed. I don't think it's that common round here to discount. If I had another sibling situation, I'd probably just have a look at their ages, hours etc. and have a think to make sure I could afford to take the cut.

Sibling discounts seem to be far less common than they used to be. Childminders have told me they gave discounts for fear of losing potential business where parents may not be able to afford the cost of more than one childcare place. Discounts have varied from 10p an hour to half price or less for 3rd/4th siblings. But I know some childminders have really struggled financially, having reduced their income so much.

Since the introduction of the childcare element of tax credits and the employers childcare vouchers the likelihood of parents not being able to afford multiple places should (in theory!) be substantially reduced.

The quality of care and the costs of providing the service are not reduced just because the children come from the same family - before giving a discount you need to be really sure you can afford to do so.

I have 3 boys from the same family, I charge £20 per day for youngest as he is in nursery till 11.30 when I pick him up and have him till 5.30/6pm, the other two I charge £40 per week each so that gives me £180, I knocked off £10.00 to give me £170 as the parents don't get any WFTC (Working family tax credit) due to him earning just above limit so it would be a huge chunk out of their wages. I get £40 of another child I look after so I am happy with that.

In the hols I charge them £200 for the 3 of them but that may have to go up to £250 due to fuel rises in October.

I live near Manchester which may explain the low pay!

My dc's childminder discounted the second place by 50p per hour. It is fairly common round here to do that.

Why would you want to give a discount?