Child minding

[ritus]

Hi

I am new to this place and will start work soon. But what has hit me is the high cost per week for child minding , so that when this thought came to me.

Why dont mums who work part time in a particular area swap their childminding/ caring duties.So within a group of mums in my neighborhood I would not mind taking care of by neighbors children if she does the same for me on the other days. Can also be done when we need the much needed break from children and spend time on ourselves.

I think this could help me save in the constrained economy currently. So pls send your opinion on its feasibility & based on feedback will then try to work out the logistics.

I think most people would be reluctant to leave their children with strangers.
Childminders are registered, insured and qualified paediatric first aiders.
i wouldn't leave my lo with someone just 'cos she happens to live in the same area!

Hi Ritus!

Your thought is not bad , but this can only work out within friends circle...As moogster1a rightly said childminders are ofstead registered and insured. Not many people would welcome the idea of leaving their children with neighbours especially if you are new to the area :-(

ritus,

The idea is nice, but I think in practice it wouldn't work, unless you are close friends and work the same/similar hours and have the same number of children a similar age.

What if someone worked more hours than you and you ended up looking after their child more. Finding someone that worked the exact opposite hours you do. What if they had an older child at school/pre-school which needed picking up. You would still need to consider insurance, as lets face it, if something awful happened, friendships soon break down. You would have to consider double buggies (when not necessarily needed by each parent), suitable car seats, extra travel cots, be on the same wavelength when it comes to childcare.

I understand childcare is a large cost, I don't know where you live, but I charge £3.75 per hour on the essex/suffolk border. I don't consider this a high charge considering that I have to heat/light, pay insurance, keep my qualifications up to date, purchase food, equipment, even if I was full (which I am not) with 3 under 5's (max I'm allowed) I can earn £11.25 an hour. At the moment I only have part-timers maximum 2 a day.

It is a huge commitment to care for someone else's child, especially if they are strangers, which is why we are heavily regulated and have to do so much work.

It is also illegal to care for a child under 8 years of age for reward (which includes reciprocal childcare) for more than 2 hours in a day except for immediate family or friends or in the child's own home. If you plan to do this with neighbours and acquaintances (as opposed to genuine friends) you need to register as a Childminder with Ofsted and comply with other accompanying legislation. Look on the Ofsted website under 'requirements for registration' for more info. If you are not registered you cannot refer to yourself as a childminder as this term is defined in law and refers to a specific & heavily regulated occupation.
Hope this helps

Must be friends, not just other parents that live in your area.

www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/factsheet-childcare-childminding-between-friends

HTH

There are a few mums who live near me who do something like this but their children are all older (school aged) and they have known each other for some time. They take turns looking after each others children in the school holidays. So one might take a week off from work over the October half term and look after 1 or 2 other children, then another will take time off over the easter holiday etc. That way they save quite a lot of money that they would otherwise have to spend on holiday clubs.

One of these mums is a casual friend of mine and she says it can be quite stressful at times and can very easily lead to resentment if one of the mums is not pulling her weight.

ChildrenatHeart - that's not correct. Reciprocal child care is NOT againt the law - and there's a court case to prove it!!!

yes know some people that do it - but mainly where the children and parents are good friends

Sounds like a great idea to me my friend and I swop husbands. My husband is a builder and my friends is a painter. They do it day for day

chitchatting - I am fully aware of the law and the court case you refer to, and Stomp kindly provided the link to the factsheet produced by Ofsted which explains it. Reciprocal childcare IS against the law UNLESS it is an arrangement between friends. The situation Ritus described could be illegal, depending on her relationship with her neighbours and their relationships with each other. If they are also all friends then all fine, but, if like mine, they are simply people you smile and nod at or say the occasional hello to or briefly pass the time of day with, then no, it wouldn't be fine, it would be illegal.

Well I would keep quiet if I was doing it. Against the law or not.

Some parents would not want to care for other friends children.

Fairness - would need friends who need childcare of equal amounts of time, equal number/ages of children.

It can work but if it did work well more people would do it.

Thx a ton for all the replies , it definitely helped me think further

eastnorth sounds fun