Childcare Options - Sorry for the Essay 😂

[RebeccaThea1]

Hi Mummy’s! I was hoping I could get some much needed advice! I’m a first time mummy to my beautiful girl Thea, she’s 5months!
I wanted to start getting all the information I will need regarding childcare! My Fiancé works shift work and when I do go back to work I will be working 8-4 5 days a week ! The shifts my fiancé works is 4 days on and 4 days off! Which is great while I’m off but when I go back I don’t want to put Thea into fully time childcare when he could be home for 4 days a week! Does anyone else have this issue ? Does any childcare centres take baby’s on this flexiable?
Sorry for so many questions but everyone i know there partner works Mon-Fri so don’t have the same problem as me? Xx
Thanks
Rebecca

you generally can't get childcare that varies week to week, it's a real issue for shift workers. Nurseries still have to pay their staff and they have strict ratios so if you don't pay full time but are effectively stopping them taking another child, they will go bust.

So either he changes his shift pattern (is he a fireman, I know they do 4 on 4 off?), or you pay for full time and suck up not using it, or you find someone else that will be flexible week to week e.g. a family member.

or you see if you could do your 40 hours in four compressed days so you at least only need 4 days not 5? having said that though, you may not save much - many nurseries reduce the per day cost if you take more days and often the fifth is almost free.

I work shifts and my childminder doesn't need or want to be fully booked so happy to be flexible week to week. We try to work around each other. It's possible to find this. More likely with a childminder than a nursery.

Thank you ! I will start looking into a childminder, hopefully I can find one as flexiable as yours.

My dh works shifts (6 on, 4 off). We never found a childcare provider that would work shifts for the reasons laptopdisaster gave. We just had to suck it up and pay for childcare we didn't need. I just gave dh lists of things he needed to get done on the days he was home!
Once they are older it gets easier as I have friends that offer to do nursery drop off or pick ups a few days a week who can work round his shifts and in exchange I offer childcare on odd days in school holidays and dh drops their children sometimes. It reduces our costs massively.

My partner works a very random shift pattern and unfortunately we had no choice but to base childcare solely on my working hours. It's worth a look, but I think you'll struggle to find any childcare that will work around your OH work.