Family childcare -lessons learned or advice?

[somename]

I am starting to think about returning to work after my maternity leave and my SIL has offered to look after DS for a the couple of days that me and DP can't cover. Can I ask those who have done this before - any advice or lessons learned that you could share? What should we put in place before we proceed? I want to avoid fall outs down the line if expectations (from both perspectives) aren't met etc.
We plan to pay her - any ideas about reasonable amounts? Thanks in advance!!

I'm assuming that she has kids but basically you need to know if she's going to look after him like she looks after her kids or whether she will follow your rules as you're paying.

If you're not sure about details on her parenting then you need to find out about her attitude towards things like discipline, screen time and eating as these vary massively amongst parents.

What happens if she's ill? What happens if her kids are ill? Would she want paying if you go on holiday, bank holidays, have a day off work?

If you aren't paying market rate (what a childminder charges) then you would need to provide nappies, formula and food/snacks as a minimum. Would she want some babysitting of her kids if you're paying a discounted rate?

I would suggest a trial period after which either of you can decide to not go ahead.

Thank you!!! Some really good tips there that I wouldn't have thought of - until they started to annoy us all down the line!!

I don't think it's a good idea using family for childcare. It can strain relationships and prove unreliable. But of course you know better and will decide accordingly.

The points made above are good.

I think, if your paying her she needs to be Ofsted registered. Double check on that though. Also unless she's registered you won't be able to use tax free vouchers or funded hours when your little one is old enough.

If you are paying a reasonable hourly rate you might find it cheaper to use a childminder or nursery.