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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

sibling reduction

64 replies

chickenmama · 28/03/2008 21:43

I will be looking after the older brother of a child I mind in the school holidays. Contract hasn't been drawn up yet but in case the parents ask, is a reduction for siblings usual? And how much is the fee usually reduced by? I charge £3.50 for one child, should I make it £7 or £6.50 or maybe £6.75 for two??

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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looneytune · 29/03/2008 18:47

I also agree that having siblings definitely can be harder work!!!

Original poster

chickenmama · 29/03/2008 20:09

Maybe I'm doing something wrong here but I only charge for the hours I have the children, which is 9-1 and 3-5 (one I drop to nursery and mum collects him, the other I pick up after school). What do other CMs think of this?

And thank you for all the replies, I won't mention a sibling reduction. Not sure if mum would be aware of it but wanted to check so I could give a confident answer if she does.

OP posts:

MaureenMLove · 29/03/2008 21:08

No, you're doing nothing wrong, its your business. I actually only charged for hours used. Although we did set hours at contract time and they paid for those hours whether mindees were picked up early or not. TBH, I could have charged a lot more for part days, since it did mean I wasn't able to full time spaces, but as long as I was earning as much as I needed, I was happy with that. I have probably lost alot of potential money over the years, but (and this is going to sound really perfect cm like!) it really was more about the children than the money! I found with all my parents, that if I was good to them, they were good back.

WallOfSilence · 29/03/2008 21:29

Maureen, the friend I use at the minute (she just minded ds whilst I was at uni 2 days a week but now I need something more permanent) always says that to me! "You're good to me & I'm good back".

I'd rather someone hug my child & give him a kiss than worrying about the weeks wages!

MaureenMLove · 29/03/2008 21:54

The reason its like it is these days, and this is in no way meant to 'diss' my fellow minders, is that Ofsted are making it so difficult for us. Unfortuantely, as a parent, you only see the cm as working the hours you need her for. There is so, so much more work that they do 'behind the scenes'. They are turning cm's into nurseries, with all the paperwork that comes with it. It actually costs a lot of money to become a minder and to stay registered annually (possibly going up to £300 this year!). So minders these days have to charge more to make it worth their while. I have been lucky that, because I registered long before Ofsted came along, I had a good reputation and I never had to do much to fill my spaces. These days its much more competitive and minders have to charge for everything. That woman that you saw, is still way off the mark with the way she runs her business, but if she's got 12, she must be doing something right!

vInTaGeVioLeT · 29/03/2008 21:55

i don't offer a sibling reduction - i can't afford to - anyway siblings aren't easier to mind than individual kids - siblings bicker and fight more!!!

WallOfSilence · 29/03/2008 22:05

You know what she's doing right?

There are 5 registered minders on the list my local council give me.

2 of them no longer childmind!

1 of them has a son who goes to my dd's school & is a nasty little so & so & I wouldn't want my kids to be with him all summer.

Then I am going to see the other one on Monday. She has space for both my kids & it went well when I rang her, but we still want a meet up.

The one I saw on Friday had a great set up btw. She has just built a great new house & the whole of her extension (A bit like a little granny bungalow) is set up for childminding. She has about 5 rooms all painted bright primary colours & pics all around that the kids have painted. Great set up... but it's more like a creche/nursery & I felt that dd was a little too old to be with younger children all day.

Also she said she couldn't pick dd up at the time she is out as she had another pick up elsewhere, but that I should ask the school if it was OK for her to wait about for 10/15 mins..... I felt uncomfortable with this though. Do any of you do this btw?

Sorry chickenmama for taking over your thread!!

Original poster

chickenmama · 29/03/2008 22:31

Hey no worries, I'm reading replies and picking up tips so it's good for me! Carry on

OP posts:

MaureenMLove · 29/03/2008 22:41

I honestly don't think I could operate like that. I have great sympathy with my parents, because I'm a parent and I've used a cm too! I know how hard it is to leave your lo and I know how hard it is to make ends meet. I'm a bloody softy, that's my problem!

I don't think I'd be happy leaving my dd or a mindee hanging around for me. Sounds like she's spreading herself too thin. What if she's delayed at the first pick up or stuck in traffic. 10 mins turns into 20 and so on.

The other thing is, its all very well having separate areas for the mindees and all lovely and painted, but I was under the impression that parents that have to work and choose cms, is because they want there lo's to be in a family environment as close to their own as possible.

WallOfSilence · 29/03/2008 22:47

Totally Maureen.

I would have no problem getting a place in an all day playgroup setting for ds, but that's not what I want.

I want a family environment, a home away from home. Which is what we have at the minute whilst my friend minds him, but as I say, she's just doing me a favour & she's not registered. She said she couldn;t be bothered going through the hassle, but she is ideal. She has 3 kids of her own & she loves my little guy to bits

Is it common for childminders to be single women with no kids of their own?

MaureenMLove · 29/03/2008 22:57

Dunno. It's not the sort of job a single woman would want, is it? Maybe I'm wrong. I guess there are woman who can't have there own and so this is a good option, but they have the benefit of being able to work away from the home, so surely it wouldn't be their first though.

KatyMac · 29/03/2008 23:00

My dd was 5 when I started - it wasn't really about working from home - more about being S/E

nannynick · 30/03/2008 00:20

I would say that it is probably quite unusual for a childminder to be a single woman with no children of their own. I don't know the stats, but expect there can't be many. Probably even less single men who are childminders.

Original poster

chickenmama · 30/03/2008 08:38

I'm minding because I want to work but also be with my dd until she's a bit older. Depending how it goes I'll probably carry on at least until she's school age. From what I remember about the ladies (and one man) on the ICP course I attended recently, almost all had (young) children. There was one young woman whose mum was a CM and she was following in her footsteps but the work she was doing at the time was more like a nanny.

OP posts:

RahRahRachel · 30/03/2008 15:37

I think it's true that most CMs are mothers - I'm not sure if parents would be interested in a young, childess CM?

I'm a childless nanny and I really like the idea of being a CM though - working from home, being your own boss, choosing your own schedule/hours/mindees etc.

Mum2Luke · 30/03/2008 17:34

Be careful there Rachel, yes its great working from home (sometimes) but you can't really choose your own schedule/hours/mindees, you get whatever comes to you and if they like you and you like them thats fine.

I chose to do this job as I have a 6 yr old and could not afford to go out to work as I have no family nearby to help. I am now looking after 3 brothers (8,6 and 3 1/2) and a 5 yr old as well as my lad. I made a rule when they started that I do not have fighting, bullying or running in my house or they don't have treats and so far its worked. I will have to see how this first full time week goes...I'm hoping the weather is good so we can let off steam in the park. I think as long as children (even siblings) have boundaries we all get along just fine.

The only other bit iof cming is the paperwork and OFSTED want you to be trained in everything so you do endless courses after work when you least want to. Right, off to plan this week's activities!

vInTaGeVioLeT · 30/03/2008 17:35

i have a {new}friend who is a childless c/m and she is great - i'd definately use her for my ds - look at it this way ; when my mindees have gone home i still have my kids/dp/my needs to sort out - she has herself to please so she can really unwind from the day once the mindees are gone.

imananny · 30/03/2008 18:11

I am not putting down childminders, or saying that nannies are better and without sounding nasty, why would a childless person want to be a childminder, rather than a nanny?

working as a nanny, you dont have to be registered/qualified/you get paid holidays and your house doesnt get trashed/made child proof, ie stair gates, plug sockets, oven guards etc

as a childminder you and your house have to go through rigerious checks (though i think all nannies should be checked/registered), you have to be qualified, you are se so often dont get paid holidays.

Nannies are sometimes lucky enough to take their child to work with them, but i assume (and sorry if im wrong ) but most CM do it as its the only way to work and look after their own children

RahRahRachel · 30/03/2008 18:41

Well, one reason is that you're self employed rather than employed, some people may want to work from their own home, and as a CM you're in charge of your own day.

Mum2Luke - I can see how it might not always work out like that, depending on how much competition their is for mindees/places etc.

Vintageviolet - do you know why your friend went into CMing?

vInTaGeVioLeT · 30/03/2008 18:59

rachel - her mum was a c/m so she's grown up with it!!

i've not asked why she choose c/m over nanny but i'd imagine that it's because as a c/m - we are self employed - not all your eggs are in one basket - you can pick'n'choose your mindees - you decide when you want to work - i do get paid for holidays[if parents don't like that then they choose another c/m]- we work from home.

vInTaGeVioLeT · 30/03/2008 19:03

another reason - we can earn more than a nanny if we are lucky and there are not too many c/m's locally - if i wanted[i don't!!] i could earn over £16 p/h just with under 8 yr olds.

nannynick · 30/03/2008 19:10

A childminder local to me earns far more than I do, even after taking account of costs, tax etc. So if you are in the right area and fill all your spaces, then as a CM you can earn quite a bit - I'm talking annual turnover exceeding £50k.

vInTaGeVioLeT · 30/03/2008 19:15

i'm fairly lazy and like to just mind 2 kids and my own ds so i'm lucky if i earn minimum wage usually!!

imananny · 30/03/2008 19:39

vintageviolet - and so you should be paid for holidays

nick - OMG - im in the wrong job - 50k

though guess if you have 3 under 5 at 6ph min plus your over 5 school picks ups etc, I can see what you mean, and yes would earn more

least a childminder will get more for 2 children, where as a nanny gets a hourly/daily rate whether she 9or he) has 1 or 4 children

KatyMac · 30/03/2008 19:42

That's turnover - not profit

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