To pay more for childminder who has less children

[pingu2209]

With the talk of deregulation of childminding where childminders can look after a lot more children than currently, in our area childminders are £5/hour but are limited in numbers of children they care for.

For those who currently use a childminder or have done in the past, would rather your childminder charge, say £2.50/hour, but the number of children she looks after at a time are double?

I wondered with all things being equal (other than numbers of children and fees) - so the hours would be the same, the location etc.

I would pay more for a childminder who has fewer children, yes.

In general I would pay more for a childminder who had fewer children. But I do think with CMs it is so dependent on the individual circumstances. My childminder has been doing it for over 20 years, has 3 grown up children, and all the kids she looks after have been with her since they were babies. She is absolutely fantastic with my son and all the children she cares for. In her specific case I would absolutely trust her judgement on how many kids she could cope with safely and still deliver a good level of care for them all. And I would pay whatever she charged reardless, as long as I could afford it of course!

As a childminder myself, I can't imagine that any childminder would be prepared to actually work harder (as in look after more children) but reduce their fees and I think the government are crazy if they think this will happen!
I mind for a 4 mo, a 17mo and a 3year old, there is no way I would take on any more children (except for school age). With 3 I can give them all individual time and cuddles and know them inside out. I would not feel that I could give children my best care if I increased my numbers.
I am sad that cm's are often not recognised for the great job we do, we are not just a house to chuck as many kids into as possible!
But in answer to your question, OP, as a parent I would not pay less and go with a childminder who takes on more children unless of course I felt that the cm had the resources to look after more children than usual such as assistant(s) and a large enough house.

Yeah, take on more children but reduce your fees so you are earning the same amount? How would that work? I think the 'government' is announcing it hoping that it will open up a flood of new places without them having to make the capital investments necessary. Somehow I'm not sure that is going to happen.

Thank you for your feedback. I'm looking into becoming a childminder, which I as I would be self employed I am concerned whether there will be enough business to make it financially possible for me.

However, with the Government suggestions of deregulation, I am wondering whether to wait and see what they will do.

I have 3 children and at one point they were all under well under 5, so I know I can look after 3 but I also know from experience that I couldn't look after more without the children suffering or me going insane.

If they expect childminders to look after more children but reduce our fees I won't do it. I would only ever look after a max of 3 under 5 no matter how many I am allowed, but if I can only do it for, say, half the amount I would charge currently then it is not worth it financially.

What the bloody hell do the Government think they are doing?

Yes, I would definitely pay more for someone who had fewer children. The new ratios being proposed really worry me and imo it would be worth paying a premium to keep the numbers within an acceptable (to me) level.

To be honest I personally think anyone who wants more than six children at any one time must be a bit mad..

On 3 days a week, 3.15-6.30ish from I have a total of 4 (ages 6,7,8 & 10) CMinded kids, plus my own two (11 & 14) thats more than enough for me.

For my youngest (aged 2) my Choice would be driven by the number of DC in the childminders care and the amount of quality 1-1 or as close to it care, i wouldn't scrimp.

For my eldest (aged 10) I would prob go on price as long as he was happy. In a year or so he will be able to be at home on his own in the afternoon. So a lot of DC his age having fun and being supervised by a responsible adult for £2.50 per hour would be OK in my book. It would be just like an after school club, which his school doesn't offer. There would have to be enough space and activities though.

I would pay more for a CM who cared for fewer children too. It was the fewer children thing that attracted me to a CM over a nursery anyway.

My CM only cared for my daughter f/t and had another child p/t and it was perfect.

There is NO way that a childcare provider, who is often only a small profit margin anyway... would willingly take on more work, need more resources and equipment - maybe even a bigger car etc etc. to then be paid the SAME as when they had less kids.

Apart from the HUGE safeguarding and welfare issues involved... it makes NO business sense at all.

I was a primary teacher then an outstanding childminder,there is no way on earth I would have increased my numbers. Attention and quality of care are what parents want and why they often choose cms,tiny children are hard work if cared for properly. I found doing a quality job was hard enough with the numbers I had and I'm a mum of multiples so well used to dealing with toddlers on a bigger scale.

Aside from all that CMs aren't going to move to bigger premises if they increase their numbers so you're going to get too many children squashed into small houses without enough attention. It will happen.

It's utter madness and yet another example of how this gov simply don't give a shit re the welfare of young children.

You can be rest assured that most Tories will have nannies and wouldn't dream of sending their dc to a cm or nursery with larger child/adult ratios.

And yes no way would I charge less when you're still doing the same amount of risk assessments,tax returns,policies,house heating,provision of equipment/toys etc.

Thanks for the feedback

"I would pay more for a childminder who has fewer children, yes."

Posts like this make me want to bang my head against the desk.

I would pay more for a cm who has fewer children too, I'm not sure how it would be possible to mind more than 3 very young ones...

I think that this will just create a two tier system.

Those that can afford it will get low ratios but those that can't will have to use childminders that care more about money than the childcare they offer

As a nanny and childminder myself, I would always opt for a low ratio of children so that the children in my care get a lot of love and attention. It is easier to get out and about with "only" 3 little ones. Put more young ones into the mix and safety may be compromised.