To be annoyed paying childminder over Christmas?

[oinkyoink]

We have had a childminder (it's a mum in her 60s and 30ish year old daughter who work together) for the two kids since September. She collects my son at 11.30 from nursery and my daughter at 3 from school. She doesn't provide any food which is fine... She's not exactly a quality childminder or one that you rave about and say things like she's worth her weight in gold etc. I don't mean it in a nasty way, I am just aware that she never takes my son out and puts the TV a lot! When I first met the two of them I said I was interested in term time only. The mum had popped out for a second and the daughter said yes that is absolutely fine. When the mum came back I mentioned it again and she said oh no that's not possible at all, we are a business and we want 100% pay all year round whatever the issue. She gets 4 weeks holiday included. I was taken aback as the daughter had just said term time only was fine... Anyway because we had no other minders who could do what we needed we went with them. Now it's come to Xmas and we are having two weeks off and they are having 1.5 weeks off. I have to pay them £240 per week for the two weeks we are away and it's really irritating me. A nanny would cost me a bit more but we would get such better value out of her (doing cooking kids laundry etc) so what do I do? Is it normal a minder charges so much?

There have been a couple of incidences too. My son told me they went to a cafe one day, he asked her for a drink and a muffin and she said no no yet she sat there and had a coffee. I brought this up with her and she was highly embarrassed and the next day she had him in a cafe sending me photos of him with a big muffin etc etc (too late- my son already got the idea what he means to her) he asks her to play with play doh or paint and she says no they can't as one of her nieces has taken the paint (white lies) or play doh. It's not acceptable. It's very clear they are in the business just for the money. I didn't sign the contract she have me at the start, it's still lying on the microwave... I think if I were really happy with them id pay however they really aren't amazing in any way and the little incidences have really bugged me. Thoughts appreciated...

Why the Hell would you leave your children in the care of these "Childminders", they sound shit???

I know several childminders, they all take X amount of leave per year (pre-agreed, usually 5 weeks) so their parents pay them 47 weeks per year and know they have to make alternate childcare arrangements. If the parents take holiday at other times then they still pay the CM.

I would say that if you want term time only childcare it's usually more expensive per hour/per day than where you pay all year round

We do dogs, not children... but we wouldn't treat our animal clients this way and (putting on my other hat as a parent) I'd be disgusted if anyone treated my children this way.

YABU in that you've tacitly agreed their contract by sticking with them for several months. However I think you should be looking for alternative childcare arrangements right now.

FWIW we (as pet carers) work our prices out as though the year was 48 weeks long, not 52. That means we can afford to take four weeks holiday a year. We also build in the cost of insurance, health insurance, tax, NI, etc etc... I sincerely hope yours are doing the same, although they sound highly unprofessional and I wouldn't be remotely surprised to hear they weren't!

Loads of xposts... glad you're looking for a new child care plain OP!

plan not plain* !

The payment thing sounds tough but obviously the norm as CM posters have said.But,what kind of person takes a kid to a cafe and buys them nothing whilst stuffing their face ? [shocked]. If you can,get rid as soon as possible.What a horrible woman.

I pay my childminder term time only, and this seems to be standard in my area. I would have to pay if I didn't use the childminder during booked time for any reason but she's not a nanny, not my employee so I don't expect to pay her holidays or sick time. There are different types of contract so I daresay you childminder chooses not to offer term time only. This is her prerogative but above all you need to feel the childminder is warm and caring towards your children. I would certainly say it is part of her job to offer your children activities such as playing with play doh, painting etc

I am self employed and couldn't have dealt with a childminder needing to take paid holidays as we probably couldn't have matched ours to theirs so id have to just not work and therefore not be paid whenever my cm went on holiday.

I use a nursery instead which is open 51 weeks a year, only closes 5 working days at Xmas, open bank hols.

As others have said, is it really this childminder or a Nanny?

For comparison, our childminder is lovely and I feel as happy leaving DS with her as I would with family (happier if I'm honest!) Can't you look at other childminders?

(She also doesn't charge at all for her time off... but we are very very lucky to have her.)

(As a childminder, I don't charge if I am not available, and I don't charge if parents give me a months notice of holiday, , although I do charge if children are sick at short notice. I live and work in a neighbourhood where most parents are on minimum wage if they are working at all- they don't have reserves to pay me with. I don't know how 'standard' this way of charging is)

the main issue here is the quality of care being provided for the children. Again, op, I'm really glad you are looking for alternatives.

Yes I really resent the fact they are not child centred at all and are in it purely for money. Well I won't be recommending them to anyone in the local school where my kids go! In fact I'll do the opposite. No wonder their ofsted report was satisfactory...

You expect to get paid holidays and its a legal right so why shouldn't she? You know she's cheap so do your son a favour a find day care he deserves

She's crap not cheap

For all the complaining you've done here, you still kept your son with them. You were fully aware you had to pay up now so you're finding all these issues. With the cafe incident, you sent your son back so why now is this all such a big problem, because you have to pay?

My Mum was a childminder and she made her terms with parents individually. If they were paid for holidays she was, and if they weren't or were on low wages she didn't. She believes that everyone wants a really good childminder but few want to pay for them and even less want to pay their holidays even if they're getting paid for theirs. Sometimes peoples unwillingness to pay left her royally stuck at times like Christmas....

You agreed to the terms and kept sending your kids to a childminder who now that you have to pay holiday pay to, suddenly there is a massive issue with her. You are being unreasonable to not want to pay what you agreed in the beginning BUT you are even worse to send your kids back to a childminder who you feel was so cruel to your child. Or maybe what she was doing wasn't so bad until you had to pay her as agreed for her holidays!!!!

You need a better childminder not a cheaper one. Childcare is expensive -fact.

I'm a childminder and I charge for the parents holidays, but not mine. I take five weeks off per year, I book them in at the start of the year to give parents plenty of notice and I try space them out a bit. I don't charge for these five weeks but if, for example, a parent decided to take a weeks holiday and I was supposed to have their child that week then I do still charge. This is in my contracts and is standard where I live. I don't charge for bank holidays but all of the other minders in the area do, even though they don't work them. From next year I'm planning to be open on bank holidays, except Christmas, as I've had queries about offering these days so if the bank holiday falls on a day I'd normally have that child and the parent keeps them instead then they'd be charged.

If I need to take emergency time off, e.g., sickness, then I don't charge the parents but if their child is off sick then I still charge (this covers me in the event that I catch whatever the child has had and then have to take time off).

I don't have anyone who is term time only right now but if I did then I wouldn't charge them for school holidays. In effect not having that child in the school holidays means I have a free space foe the duration of the holiday and there is always someone who needs holiday only care that can fill that space.

All childminders looking after children under the age of five need to be following the EYFS. He's three years old, they should be supporting his early education with appropriate activities, keeping a learning journal for him, and carrying out observations to help build on his skills and interests. It's part of the national curriculum and they are failing OFSTED registration requirements if they are not delivering this. Messy play is part of it, if they aren't doing it at home they should be going somewhere where it's provided (for part of our messy play we go to a weekly craft-based playgroup).

If you have doubts about what they're doing with him then ask to see his learning journal, their latest observations, and for details on where he is within the EYFS framework. Ask how he is progressing and where he sits now as compared to where he was when he first started. If they're rubbish, they won't be able to give you the information because they won't have it.

If you have any misgivings about the person looking after your child, you need to find a new provider.

Sounds like the care isn't up to scratch. I'd be looking elsewhere tbh and you should do asap. However, if a contract is signed agreeing to payment terms they must be adhered to. Apologies if you mentioned this further down thread.

I'm a childminder and like TinselHalo, I also don't charge for my holidays. I am however in the minority in my area. I feel I can financially do so, but it we had a low joint income I'd be charging for holidays. How many other occupations have such a high level of responsibility (and paperwork) for £4.50 an hour? Why shouldn't childminders be paid for their holidays if you do? I am graded as a 'Very Good' childminder, but only have a couple of children and mainly one a time so that I can give one to one care whilst attending lots of clubs. My £4.50 works out at a lot less over a year including food and trips out.

No dig at you at all, but I've heard so much negativity in recent years about childcare costs. Cleaners are paid more than me and folk are happier to pay them!

Just re-read your message. Why didn't you sign the original contract? So you're able to skip payment because you never signed it then? That's handy.

They're separate issues. Yabu not to pay her because that is what has been agreed, verbally at least. Yanbu to never send your child back there again and find better quality care elsewhere.

I am very confused about why you'd send your child to somewhere you believe isn't child centred. Why do that? Her T's and C's are really beside the point...

I'm a childminder as well. I don't charge for BH or my holidays or my sickness. I provide care for 48 weeks of the year and only charge for 48 weeks. My parents make 12 equal payments across the year which helps with budgeting for both of us. If they take holiday outside my holiday, they still pay as I am still open. I have 3 children term time only, parents pay a very reduced fee during school holidays with the option to pay the full amount and use me if needed.
All registered childminders follow the eyfs, does yours? Ask her to show you what she does and ask for evidence.
You can challenge her if you haven't signed a contract, also your local council will hold a list of all childminders in your area.
If you are not happy with the care, find someone else, thete are loads of great childminders out there, all my parents are lovely and we have a great relationship, couldn't do this job otherwise
Put your child first, Good luck

I'm an Ofsted Registered childminder. Is this woman registered? Different childminders work in different ways, please don't tar us all with the same brush! I work 48 weeks a year, trying very hard to accomodate the lovely families that I work with. The children I care for become part of our family. I charge for their sickness but not mine and I charge for their holidays but not mine.
I would say that if you are leaving your children with a childminder you must be happy and comfortable with the care they are providing. If you are not happy with the contract you should have said and negotiated the changes. If something happened to your child whilst in her care and there are no signed contracts then it would effect the insurance.

Eh? They're self employed. Surely that means they only get paid when they work?

Our childminder doesn't charge us when she is 'closed' eg Christmas or two blocks of two weeks for holiday. We just take our holiday when she does.
Not signing the Contract doesn't mean much. You've agreed to the terms by continuing to use the services. Worth reading the Contract fully before you let them know you removing your DS, just in case there's some hidden charges.