Am I paying too much for my childminder?

[ArialAnna]

In South West London, £80 per day with 4 weeks paid holiday for her but we still have to pay if we go on holiday iyswim. She provides all nappies, wipes, etc.

If so, any tips on how to negotiate it down? I don't want to risk souring the relationship as my son loves her and I rather overpay than move him.

If you want to pay less you should move minders bot negotiate it down. how many hours is £80 for? And how old is the child? Childminders are like gold dust where I live so can charge what they like. If youre happy with her and your son is and you could afford it I wouldn't sour your relationship by asking for a discount. I dont think you can over invest in your child's early years, they are so vulnerable and growing so much at that age and excellent childcare is in my experience hard to find and worth hanging on to.

I pay £50 per day in Wales, and have to provide nappies and meals / snacks / drinks. Childminders are rare, ones with spaces are even more rare, I just accept it (and feel a bit sad when I pay the bill admittedly).

Son is 1 years old and hours are 7.30am - 6pm. I only use a half day on Wednesdays but still have to pay for the full day.

So for a 10.5 hour day...and for a child she has to have low ratios for at that age, I dont think thats bad for London to be honest. Do her prices decrease as the child gets older and she can care for more at once? The weds thing is fair play if she doesn't have a family that wants weds afternoons so having your child prevents her from otherwise earning in that time. At nursery you wouldn't pay for the session not attended, but its different for a self employed person.

You need to know what other childminders in south west London charge - living costs are a lot higher in London than say Wales or Hull so they won't be comparable.

I think it's expensive. We're in South East London and pay £63 a day for nursery and that includes nappies, wipes, milk, sun cream and 3 meals a day plus 2 snacks. I thought that was bad enough!

What zone are you? Maybe that makes a difference. We are zone 4 so fairly far out.

I'm in Yorkshire, I pay £37.50 per day 730am-630pm. I'm aware it works out at less than minimum wage but that is my childminders rate for day or part day and I still pay if my son doesn't go. It sounds cheap compared to some of you on here but it's expensive for me That includes all meals and snacks. My boy is in pants now so no nappies but it usually included nappies when he was and they go on a few mornings out a month to paid play centres too.

I would annualise the bill....total yearly cost including value of nappies food wipes any outings etc. then ring around and see what the bill would be elsewhere so you can compare and decide if what you pay is worth what you get.
Its pretty normal to pay when you are not there as she cant sell the space. Similarly the odd time on a Wednesday. She will only have 3 spaces to sell assuming she has no under 5's her self and will still have to pay the going rate for mortgage or rent, I know where I am that's £1300 a month for a small house and its not an expensive area of London this will obviously impact on costs.

Does she include outings or classes? Consider this in your comparison.

You could have a chat explain your struggling and ask to provide food she may come up with something.

For London, and if it includes everything, I think that is fairly reasonable. In my area (Essex) the charge would be around £50 but would not include nappies, wipes etc and you would have to pay extra for food (other than drinks and snacks).

I dont think it's fair that you pay her 4 weeks holiday. Either she's self employed or she's not! Fine to pay whrn you go 9n holiday, because her service is still available but you are choosong not to use it. Not fine imo to charge you for something she is not available to provide.

The daily rate seems fine to me, as does your provision of nappies etc. Those are things you'd be paying for if your child was with you.

Sorry, just saw she includes nappies. Yes, that rate is reasonable

You can’t put a price on an excellent childcare especially as your child loves it.

The early years childcare really does cost the earth but it’s only temporary.

We're on the border of zone 2 and 3 so a bit more central. Most childminders in the area charge £60 - £70 a day according to the council website, but I don't know what that includes in terms of food nappies etc. The £80 per day does include day to day trips to playgroups etc but she said she might need to charge extra for special trips.

Thanks all for your replies. The general consensus seems to be it is fair for London, so this puts my mind at rest.

I would ask what she means by special trips and how often they would be. I do these once or twice a year and always make it clear that I am happy to amend my plans if for any reason it is not possible for parents to contribute.

I'm a childminder on the border of zone 1 and 2 and would charge £78 for your hours. Mine are in washable nappies but I provide a few disposables for backups.

I would only bill you for your half day not the full day and would not charge for my holidays either, although I realise that's unusual.

I'm in se commuter belt and would charge £60 +£3.50 for meals for your hours and also charge for 4 weeks holiday but not the week between Xmas & NY. That said, I only took 3 weeks last year as I work mon-wed and can usually avoid taking the extra week.

It’s£7.50ish an hr. for London that sounds good esp with nappies etc

Yes she has to charge all day as won’t be able to fill it when you aren’t using her

The 4w paid holiday is a bit ouch but you must have agreed to her terms and conditions which would have said this

I think its a lot actually, I'm in SE London. £6 per hour here, inclusive of all meals etc, play groups which is the normal rate round here and its a well to do area. Four weeks holidays a bit much, I only charge bank holidays max 2 per years and had parents complaining about that!

Thing is, she is self employed and you have accepted her terms and your son is happy.