Childcare ideas for ten year old DD Pleeeeaaase!!

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Posting for traffic Hello, I really need ideas for my childcare for my ten year old DD.Family and friends are not optional anymore they all work etc. I dont to leave her alone she is very sensitive and young for her age.

How long is it for? Is it while you work? Or just for short periods?

Childminder? Are there any with children in your dd's school? My did goes to a childminder who has children at the same school and she loves it, plus less scary to settle in as she knew one of the kids already.

Hi just to answer some of the questions,

I need childcare five days a week, currently dd goes to after school club that finishes at 6pm which has worked relatively well so far, bar a few emergencies when i'm running late from work. I had a friend who would pick her up on this occasions but she has recently started full time work. Great for her not so much for me.

I seriously considering leaving my current job and being a locum in my field, however this will mean working further away and possibly longer hours due to increased travel distance.

Currently i pick her up at 6pm but its to the wire most days, i know if/when I change jobs my likelihood of being late will increase. I dont know any childminders at her school not sure how to go about finding out really.

Oh and forgot to say no DH

Any responsible teens in the area that could just watch her after school when she gets home? What about neighbors with kids?

Other than that your only other options are after school clubs or a child minder.

You have no easy options.

Local authorities keep lists of childminders. You will have to get the list and call the childminders up one by one and try to find one who will do the school pick up at 6pm. Good luck with that, I think you will struggle, but you just have to buckle down and you might get lucky. Been there, done that.

There are some after-school programmes that will run until 9pm, but not many. You will spend many many hours searching. Been there, done that.

This is very difficult, but if you just keep at it you will find a solution. You might end up paying for more childcare than you use, that was my experience e.g. if you do get a childminder willing to accommodate you, you will probably have to pay her for 5 days a week even though there might be (many) times you are able to pick your dd and not need help. Or you might end up paying for an after-school (6-9pm) slot that you don't want to use every day. Most spaces must be paid for in blocks, they don't allow you to say that you need them 'sometimes'.

The trouble I found with late daycare is that you will want to use it only in emergencies when you get held up at work, nobody wants their dd out in daycare until late every day. But nobody will accommodate you for emergencies - well, some people will advertise that they are available for 'emergency' care but I never found this reliable. Better to pay for a 'space' that is guaranteed yours.

I've been there, I sympathize. Ultimately it's important that you work, so I hope you find a solution for your dd.

I would recommend finding a childminder over asking friends/family/neighbours if this is going to be long-term. It's work and deserves to be paid, otherwise it could lead to unnecessary resentment and tension.

I woukd go childminder route. Probably more amenable picking her up from school the. Keeping her until you can pick her up. If your after 6pm I would expect to be paying more after that point

Thinking about it, my local daycare opens until 6.30pm and does school pick ups - could be an option if this is late enough but it will cost quite a bit more than an afterschool club

cut out the after school clubs and get a child minder from school pick up till 7.

I have a nearly 11 year old DD, am a single parent and on certain days work long hours.
For us the perfect solution in an au pair who works 19 hours a week (4 are a babysitting night) over 4 days a week. DD gets to come home from school do homework, relax or go to after school activities.

Google 'family information service' and your county for a list of childminders. Or ask your local children's centre. I agree with pp that a childminder would be your best childcare option.

Stop afterschool club and use a childminder.

Most won't want to come out again after 3 because of their other mindees.

My neighbours had a lady who met their girls from the chool bus, took them home and generally supervised them until parents returned. Seemed to work very well for them...the girls were 8 and 10 or so at the time....just needed safety net really.

The au pair idea sounds ideal really.

My dd1 went to a childminder after school in P6 and P7 because I was working full time, and there was no after school club. I was worried she would find it 'babyish' but actually the CM had a daughter one year older (as well as a couple of teenagers, she cared for toddlers on a few days a week but also did pickups for older children) and they had a great time plus CM got them started on homework. Look on your council website, they will probably have a list of registered childminders and 10 is well within the age most of them take (usually up to 12).

My first thought was au pair.
But also remembered something from DDs school. Does your DDs school have a community notice board? Our school does, and I've seen adds looking for school pickups. A friend of mine started childcare as response to such add.

G

Could you take out a small ad in your (if you have one) parish newspaper or nearby parish for CM for school pickup until 6:00? There might be retired mums or mums of older children that would love the extra money. I'd definitely pay for late nights.

When she gets a bit older maybe the CM can pick her up from school and drop her off at home.

When I needed to work late, I found a childminder on the Family Information Service of the council who would pick up from a nearby nursery at 6 and have my DC until 7.30.

She would also look after my DC on a weekend on an ad-hoc basis.

If you are reasonably well off you could consider a part time housekeeper who would do pick up (does she need pick up, or could she make her own way somewhere, so long as she was headed to somewhere with an adult?). If your hours are a bit variable then that would give you more flexibility, and could make your life a lot less stressful, but would probably be expensive.

The 10 year oldsi knewin this situation went to nursery after school that opened til 630. Or do reciprocal pick ups with friends...eg they pick up your dd from after school club then take her to brownies or whatever with their dd and you pick them both up from there. I know one mum who is paying another mum for 2 afterschool nights a week. You could find a mix of solutions.

Several staff from our ASC offer babysitting services.