Childcare

[Diplomum]

My wonderful mother has looked after my two children up till now, but after four years she is not going to be able to come anymore. At present, she stays with us from Monday to Wednesday, so she can do school drop-offs, pick ups and clubs. I am wondering what I am going to do now. We don't have room for a live-in nanny, but I am worried about the costs of a live-out one. We also have a slightly odd need for hours to be covered. DH and I both leave for work by 7, usually home by 7-8. So we need someone from 0700-0830 to do getting up and school run, and then from pick-up (1500) till 1900-2000. Are there nannies around who might be interested in such a split shift? DS (9) and DD (7) are at different schools, so there is quite a bit of driving around and taking to clubs etc. involved. I don't even know where to start!

Before/After school nannies exist but what will happen during school holidays, occasional school closure (snow days, polling day, teacher training) and if the children are mildly ill (unwell so not at school but not unwell enough for you to feel they need you by their bedside).

The early start and late finish mean that a childminder may not be that suitable, unless you can find one which will do that early in the morning. It also means you need to get the children up, dressed, ready for school and take them to the childminders, all before 7am.

I'm a CM and have often had children arrive at 7. Lots of people do this and would be cheaper than a nanny as you'd be paying just for before and after school, then holidays.
Also not unknown for kids to arrive in pj's and get changed here beore I give them breakfast.

Thanks for that. Is 1900 too late in the evening for picking up from a childminder? We both commute in London so our travel is often disrupted!

Somehow managed to post on 'nanny in hampstead' thread... Doh!

Good luck in yr search Diplomum x

There are plenty of childminders in my area, myself included, who would be willing to work from about 6:30 to 19:00 or even later. However, I think the different schools thing might be an issue so you may need to send your children to two different childminders. The after school clubs may also be a problem for childminders as they will have other children to consider. I think your chances of finding a single childminder who can work early mornings, late nights, collect from two different schools and take your children to after school clubs are not very high. Most childminders will also charge a higher rate for the early/late hours.