Childminders Club - have you ever minded your niece or close family member?

[LoveMyGirls]

My SIL wants me to look after her dd (3) which would be lovely but im feeling a little bit weird about charging her though i know if i look after her i will have to charge as she will be taking up a space and i cant afford to do it for free, so im just wondering what you would do or what you have done? should i charge a reduced rate if so how much?

thanks

I personally would charge a slightly reduced rate.

Most childminders fees are competitive with nurseries and other childcare anyway, certainly in my case I'd maybe drop £50 a month but the relative would know they will receive exceptional care for this!

HTH - Joe

I looked after my cousins little boy for 2 years beware they think cos you are family that it is ok to turn up late make demands etc i would never have done it again.

Thanks for replying i think she only needs me part time and my normal fee will be £2.50 per hour so i was thinking taking a percentage off rather than a fixed ammount iyswim but what percentage would be fair?

thanks for the warning! i will remember to outline things very clearly from the start, i was thinking of charging by the hour rather than by the day because then they pay for what they use same goes for what they dont use but i think ill put in the contract that i must be paid for a min ammount of hours i.e. if they are FT then i must be paid for 35 hours a week unless im ill or on holiday if they are PT i must be paid for 15 hours does that sound fair?

I don't mind for a family member, but I do mind my own god-daughter (who's like family). I apply the same rules to her as I do to everyone else in terms of sickness, days off, holiday etc. It actually makes everything a lot easier because her mum knows she can ask for extra hours, or whatever, secure in the knowledge that I will charge for it in the same way as I would for everyone else.

If I have her on extra occasions to help out (perhaps at a weekend, or so mum can go to doctor), I tell her that I have my "fairy godmother" hat on, not my "childminder" hat on (ie. no charge!)

I have friends who mind family members and often charge a reduced rate, or don't quibble about late collection etc. It has invariably resulted in lots of bad feeling (from the minders) who tend to feel a bit "used and abused". I think it's fine to have family, but you should properly sort out hours, times, charges and other business issues, so that you both know where you stand.

I have occasional contracts with 2 of my dd's cousins.

It's not going to well with one of them as it's dp's family and she feels I'm just doing her a favour and doesn't understand I'm running a business. The other is my side of the family and it's going great as I can be more blunt with her if she's tries to take the p*ss

My advice is make it clear from the start that you a proffesional childminder running a business with contract and you are not just doing them a favour.

Bump, wondering if i should charge a reduced rate?

I don't think you should (but that's because I'm a nasty, money-grabbing piece of work!) The problem with charging a reduced rate is that you have to learn not to be judgemental of your SIL's spending. If you charge less because you think they're not earning much, how will you feel if they have a couple of weekends away in a hotel, or she buys some expensive shoes? Minding friends who've minded their own relatives have been resentful of just such scenarios.

I think you should keep it as professional as you can (but being nice about it!) You can always offer to have her for extra hours for free if SIL has shopping to do on a non-contracted day or whatever, whilst wearing your "aunty" hat. (Hope that made sense!)