Holidays...

[foureleven]

Following on from ramsgateCM's thread.

My childminder charges nothing for her holidays but 100% for mine.

It hasnt come up yet and dont feel comfortable to ask so can I ask you MN CMS?

I dont have any alternative childcare so will have to coincide my holiday with hers. If she tells me hers and then I'm off too.. will she charge as technically thats me taking holiday?

I charge the same way as your CM foureleven and I don't charge during my holidays at all, even if the parents' holidays coincide with mine. Yr CM doesn't really need to know that her holidays are your holidays too as she won't be working so it won't make any difference to her IYSWIM?

Hope this helps!

I wouldnt tell her you were having your holiday at the same time as her doesnt really matter you dont have to take a holiday during her working time.

Thanks guys. She's bound to ask what my alternative arrangements are though..

Oh well we'll cross that bridge when we come to it I guess. Thanks for the advice. Littlenuttree, I hope you are my childminder! wouldnt that be funny.

Well by the end of this year I will have told all my parents the dates I'm taking for next year. I knock this amount off the cost over the year, regardless of whether they take the same holiday.

I only charge when I'm available, so if I am on holiday, the parents and their children are free to do whatever they like, without being charged, because I'm not available. Hope that helps.

Same here. i remember having this discussion with a fellow CM at a drop-in who was complaining that a parent had 'deliberately waited for the cm to book her hols before booking hers for the same time so she didn't have to pay her' and me being astounded by her attitude. To me it made perfect sense for the parent to wait as otherwise she would a)have to find alternative care and pay for it and b)have to pay again if she took hols when the cm was available.
It is not possible normally for a cm to book her hols to suit the parents because we may be looking after children from many families (I have 10 on my books) and you couldn't coordinate them all, though obviously I would try to accommodate any special requests. I set most of my hols in Jan to give the parents plenty of time to plan and leave a week to play with that I always give a month's notice for. I don't charge for my hols as I'm not available and i assume that parents will often cooincide their hols with mine. If parents choose to take hols when I'm avail I charge their full fees

Sorry, that was very long winded

yy Children, me too; I issue my hol dates In Oct for the following year Jan-Dec

I charge if they take hols outside of mine, otherwise if they chose to coincide with me then that's fine too

Well Im pleased the general opion is so thoughtful, thanks guys