Aupair/childminders/nanny....shift work!

[Crazyjo56]

Ok so myself and husband are trying for our first child and actually we've began thinking about childcare already since we live in an area about 120miles away from our respective families. We can't expect friends to be on hand always and I'm really not keen on the idea of an au pair however we are both nurses and work full time irregular shift patterns and I was wondering whether it's possible to find a nanny/child minder to have your child on 4 weeks notice of our shift patterns? Can anyone offer any advice or experiences of au pairs? Thanking you in advance!

I think an au pair is out as she should not have sole care of under 3s anyway and the shift pattern would mean she can't go to college to learn English.
Your best bet would be live in nanny.
Some childminders may be flexible as well but you need to be very clear about the shifts and how they work.

two nurses here too.
an aupair isn't suitable for sole care of a baby. A live in nanny is likely to cost you around 30k by the time you have paid the employers ni etc.
One of us ended up working pt and/or on bank basis in order to work around the other so we could manage childcare between us as other options were just not viable. its very difficult.

I'm a childminder and I currently look after a little girl who's parents work shifts. I have had other shift workers in the past too. So it might be possible for you to find someone, but it will probably be difficult as not many childminders work this way. The only reason that I have agreed is because I don't want to fill all of my spaces fulltime and I can charge a slightly higher rate for shift work. It does depend a lot on the times that you need though. I have turned down many enquiries from nurses because they have needed care from 6am or until 9pm. I only work 7:30am - 7:00 pm so their work hours have to fit into those. I ask for the rota 4 weeks in advance. I also charge for a minimum of 30 hours a week, even if they are not used, so that I have some guaranteed income.

I know someone who work shifts who uses the nursery / crèche at a local gym.

I hate to be controversial but our au pair has sole charge of our 2 year old. We're very lucky though as she's a qualified special needs teacher in a nursery so I feel completely confident in her abilities. I'm a shift worker too but her English classes are in the evening when my husband's home so she can always go.
I can thoroughly recommend an au pair. I had my reservations but with a lot of research and interviewing it has turned out to be the best thing for our family and not nearly as intrusive as I feared a live in position might be.

I've left an au pair in charge with an under 2- but I wouldn't leave a young baby of say 6 months with one (when I see parents advertising for au pairs when they have young babies it makes me shudder). They tend to not have the experience and the ability to cope with a role like that- i've seen it first hand believe me (i've had au-pairs who have done infant care under my supervision) and I wouldn't recommend it.

I know a local childminder who is flexible to cover shift work between 6am-8pm so your stumbling block there will be if your both working a night shift. Nanny is your best option but I doubt it will be financially viable for you- here in London the average live in Nanny wage is £350 NET a week- which is what, £450/500 gross? Thats say £2k a month you would have to pay for childcare- without expenses.

Could one of you consider giving up work or just doing bank shifts? My sister does bank work and she's never been unable to get work if she has needed it.

an average/usual au pair is generally a late teenger 18 to 25ish and is foreign and has come to uk to learn a language daytime and normal weekly hours 25/30 so 5ish a day, ie am and pm care for older children at school

i have never met an au pair who is qualified special needs teacher in a nursery

so yes either a live in nanny/live out nanny if no space but you may need to average her hours so always has a certain income and sometimes pay her for doing nothing if you are off shift

some nannies exp with own child (nwoc) are more flexible and happy to do diff hours/days a week

I'm a nanny, I would work to cover shifts. However I would want a contracted minimum no of hours/month. We are expensive though!

Can you work around each other, say by booking at least 2 days full childcare in the week and the remaining days work alternately.

On the full days one do an early and one a late etc if you can't get an early/late enough carer.

Ask at work many other nurses are married to doctors/nurses. Or u may be able to set up a reciprocal arrangement.