Not to think that childminders are underpaid?

[miniwedge]

Last childminder charged £4.50 per hour, she had three over eights full time, ie retainer for school hours, after and before school care, full hours in school holidays. Plus three pre schoolers at the same rate.
My average monthly term time bill was £400, holidays was ave three times that.
So as a self-employed person she was actually doing pretty well for herself.

Surely childminding is like any other profession? Its regulated and you have to pay for exams, just like say a gas fitter, you have to have the right equipment, just like a mobile mechanic say, you have to make sure you pitch for enough work to cover your financial needs, just like a mobile hairdresser?

So, am I being unreasonable to think that it is just the same as any other self employed profession in that if you have enough work you can do well, if you don't it leads to a lean time but the basic underlying wage is not the issue.

I am fully prepared for my first mums net flaming and have my new name ready if necessary. ;-)

Disclaimer; I have no issue with a childminder earning well, I am not posting to be inflammatory but I am interested to see if it's a point of view that anyone else has considered.

[saturdaynightpants]

£14 a day? Thos kids must spend a lot of time in the car

[saturdaynightpants]

Can I ask what you mean by a retainer?

[saturdaynightpants]

feck me thats cheap insurance

[OptimistS]

My CM is slightly better off than me. She earns less than my salary, but because of TCs and the fact she is not paying for childcare or a work commute, she comes out with a greater disposable income than me. Her fees are a similar level to what I am paying for nursery.

Paying childcare costs absolutely cripples me and there are months where I am glad the children are fed at nursery/CM because there isn't enough food in the house. HOWEVER, I think my CM and my nursery deserve every single penny they are paid, and if I could afford it I would happily pay more. My children love both settings and are happy and thriving. That's priceless.

What's really needed is a debate on how childcare is paid for, not whether or not it is value for money. The provision of childcare is a feminist and a social issue, not one that only affects individual families. As a result, the solution IMO needs to come in part from society. Greater subsidy and tax relief would be a good place to start to ease the burden on parents while not cutting the CMs earnings.

[shoshe]

Sorry, meant 14 miles a day (7 miles each way)

[saturdaynightpants]

I get paid £130 a day in a senior position at a university. My drive is 60 miles return. My work hours are unsociable - i work all night and weekends.
I may childmind.

[shoshe]

And by retainer I mean I dont charge anything for the hours they are at school, just the two hours they do.

If the are on holiday I charge for the full day if that is what they use, if the dont use me during the holidays I charge half their normal fee, to retain their space for after their holiday. ( Mine all come in the holidays as they are siblings of my fulltime children.

[hatesponge]

I dont think overheads are necessarily the same in every case, tbh.

Petrol costs were mentioned - none of the CMs I have had used their cars to transport children around, as we live in an urban area and schools etc are within easy walking distance. I would imagine this would be the case for most CMs other than those in rural areas.

With respect to crafts, my DC only drew pictures/made things etc at one CM. At the others they generally played with toys/games. So not every CM is going to have the same initial cost for craft activities if thats not something they do?

[HalfCaff]

Every job has it's pros and cons: CMing may not be the best-paid but it has some huge and obvious attractions for people with their own dc, which is why it is a popular choice of career for people, some of whom are highly qualified and experienced in other professions, once they become parents. I know a teacher, a TV producer and a PA who have become CMs.
As for the wage, it varies enormously depending on local conditions, not just 'south-east' or whatever, e.g. in London £5 an hour is not unusual, in Cambs £3.50 an hour if you are lucky - my friend was without work for a year after moving there having made a good living in SE London.

[turnitup]

I am a CM and like others have said if you fill all your spaces and work 50 hours a week, yes you can earn good money.

However there are

• plenty of overheads
  
• loads of paperwork to do in your own time
  
• tidying up etc outside your hours
  

Plus you are running your own business so you dont neccessarily have a guaranteed income.

On a good week the max I can earn is about £800 (before tax)

[ohyaychristmas]

Go for it Saturday. Let us know how you get on.

Would kill for 60 miles to myself...

[ThePrisoner]

I hate any general "let's bash someone for earning/charging too much or too little" comments.

I work long hours as a childminder (currently 7.30am - 6.00pm) - those are my "paid" hours. Over and above that are the unpaid hours which infringe big-time on my family life - training courses, unbelievable amounts of paperwork (meeting Ofsted criteria, group and individual planning for the children etc), shopping, preparation for following day/week .....

Yes, I earn good money, but my expenses (which is money I pay out and do not recoup) run into £1000s. I regard my job as a proper profession - I do not have small children of my own any more, so don't do it to accommodate my own family, although my house looks like I do.

I work hard to earn my money, and would really hate to think that any of my parents begrudge what they pay. I don't earn if I don't work, so have no fixed, guaranteed income. I have also been told I have less entitlements, as a SE person, when I become a pensioner.

Childminders can be so different to each other - different methods of working, different attitudes to everything - be very very pleased if you have one that you are happy with!