how much cheaper are child minders generally than nurseries?

MissSunny, you are in London and that's about average for the area - charges vary hugely across the country, as do house prices et al I am £5-£6 an hour too.

My cm is roughly in line with local nurseries. She is worth every penny, in fact (imo) she is underpaid. She only has dd2 and another little boy, until her own gorgeous ds comes home from school. The care is fantastic.

Different areas have different fee ceilings.

45 hours a week with me works out at around £146.

Message withdrawn

I charge 55 pounds a day but I offer a lots of flexibility and sometimes freebies (half-hour or hour for free) but I know that my local nursery charge 90 pounds a day per child..I'm living in London.

just a quick reminder how brilliant childcare vouchers are, and this really helps on paying for childcare, whichever (registered) childcare you use.

can add as mindees asleep.. lets just say that having children IS an expensive choice.. my sister hasnt got kids and she has a ball spending every penny on herself and why not.. I have 3 kids, my choice, and I have to accept that was my choice and I have to live with that and pay for that..

Nbee84 I know I earn ok pay as a cm,not omplaining, its enough and I can have the benefit of home working..
And feeling optimistic, cant agree, my taxes are high enough,I pay for my own kids and people should be prepered to pay for theirs.

£3.OO poiund an hour for the responsibility of looking after a child is not a high wage, even multiplied by 3..

Have to go now, sounds of waking up...park and ducks call..its still a great job..

Libra - the point is that childcare IS expensive. £5 an hour may not seem like a lot, but it is when it works out at say £900 per month - that's a huge chunk out of the parent's salary.

Obviously the solution is not paying those working in childcare less, but perhaps having more government subsidies, etc. and maybe more non-profit nurseries, etc.

I don't understand people who say childcare is so expensive I think £5ph (and less in some cases) is sod all to pay someone to look after your children. I wouldn't look after someone elses children for £5ph.

I charge a weekly rate, for full time 8-6pm, of £130 which includes all meals. I know my local nursery charges £35 a day (£175!) For part time I charge £4 an hour

i work out cheaper than the nursery opp me as most of my children are part time term time children 9am till 3pm so i only charge for those hours and cause i can cover their space in the hols i dont charge

My childminder is worth her weight in gold! She is fantastic and I love her home environment, she is worth every penny. When you work it out, per hour it's not that much and at the end of the day you are trusting them with the most precious little creatures in the world....

Ratios are different too

for under 1's the ratio 1 adult to 3 babies
for 2-3's the ratio is 1 adult to 4 children
for 3-5's the ratio is 1 adult to 8 children (unless there is a qualified teacher when it is 1 adult to 13 children)

a childminder can have 3 under 5's

so a member of staff in a nursery could look after 13 children (if in a room with a teacher and another 13 children)

thebody - the rate a childminder earns pr hour varies depending on how many children she minds and whether it is school holidays. If you are only minding one pre schooler then at (roughly) £4ph then you are likely to be earning less than your 19 year old, but if you have 2 then it's £8ph and if you have 3 then it's £12ph - and in school holidays if you have another 2 or 3 older ones then those rates are doubled. So - could be £24 per hour if you have no small children of your own and have your full quota of mindees.

I do realise that there are expenses that need to come off of those figures and that in these times not many childminders are full, but some cm's are making a reasonable (i know, not mega bucks!) income from it. You are also saving on childminding costs yourself.

I looked after 2 children from one family once and Mum told me that after childcare costs she actually took home less than I did from her wage packet - but she reasoned that she was 'keeping her hand in' with her job and the higher childcare costs were only whilst her children were young.

i don't think people think childcare should be cheap - just grapple with the reality that it eats up most of the mum's wage.

and even if you can afford to stay at home when they are little, will your job/career still be there when you want to go back?

these are the issues for many mums. not that it hasn't been said here a million times before.

At the risk of sounding mean Lion taking care of children is actually the worst paid job going. I earn much less per hour as a cm than my 19 year old son does on Saturdays at the local garage...

I think the debate shouldnt polarise CMS and nurserys but why do people think child care should be cheap..

Lion if you are not happy with the child care options in your area and you can afford to stay at home then whats the problem?

Career can wait, children grow fast...enjoy them while they are still little.. honestly its the best time of your life..

AND THAT WASNT A POP AT WORKING MUMS BECAUSE I AM ONE ALL BE IT WORKING FROM HOME..

i'm not going to rise to your bait,

I'm so sad all this.

Local CMs charged about £5 per hour/£25 per day, but after a string of dissapointments we had to opt for a nursery. We ended up at the most expensive at £55 per day (but they were all around £50+).

When No.2 arrives either I don't go back to work or we reconsider CMs.

Well said SillyMilly!!!!!!

I am around the same price as my local nurseries but the care i give is better (runs for cover)

I think I am slightly cheaper by maybe 20p an hour than my local daycare nursery.

We all do the same job so why should the fees be any cheaper?

that sounds like a pop

I charge almost as much as the local nursery but i dont close so parents arnt under pressure to HAVE to pick up at a certain time so I am flexible.. also I will pick up and drop off. All meals and snacks AND LOTS OF OUTINGS included in my £3.00 an hour.

Also, not to have a pop at nurserys, I dont spend lots of time talking to collegues I talk to the children instead.

Some CMs are cheaper than nurseries, some aren't, it differs a lot and you need to do your homework in your area