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Paid childcare

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

Original poster

Childminder not doing school holidays anymore. Can't find anyone else for my 9 Y/O stressed

31 replies

Alicew00 · 27/08/2024 15:28

My child is a sensible 9 year old. I have no one to look after her apart my partner who works nights and her childminder who has just decided to stop doing school holidays as her husband works from home now and needs quiet. I start work at 8am and need to leave at 7:30am. My partner wouldn't get home til 8/8:30am. I'm just so fed up now. We're pushed and pushed to work and I struggle. I've tried finding other childcare but there isn't anyone available.Stressed/feel like crying.

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TomatoSandwiches · 27/08/2024 19:28

There is a huge market for unsociable hours childcare, someone could make a good living from it as there is very little mass scale competition.

kitchenhelprequired · 27/08/2024 19:37

During the holidays you could see if there's a local student willing to come to the house for whatever hours you need. Possibly someone studying childcare.

jannier · 28/08/2024 21:56

caramac04 · 27/08/2024 19:25

@BuffaloCauliflower @jannier
i don’t think it’s fair when CM changes their hours knowing full well the person paying them cannot just make a significant change to their working hours.
As I said, I’d not be paying her in term time if that was the case.
CM’s are an integral part of the working community and, yes, they can change their hours but need to accept that they might lose work if they cannot continue to provide the agreed service.

Of course the cm is aware that by reducing or changing hours the client might leave. If they choose to it's not an issue others take spaces.

qualifiedazure · 28/08/2024 22:07

I'd leave a sensible 9 year old home alone for 30-60 minutes during the holidays.

lavenderlou · 28/08/2024 22:08

Do you have any Barracudas camps in your area? I think they have early start clubs.

stichguru · 29/08/2024 08:42

caramac04 · 27/08/2024 18:52

DD had similar situation a couple of years back. I was able to care for dgc but obviously a big commitment for me.
I just don’t think it’s fair for childminders to just reduce their service like this. DD’s CM was a bit miffed that I took on all the care and she lost a dc.
As pp said, you could probably leave your dc for 30 minutes but I’d not want to pay the cm during term time after changing her terms.
Also, what happens if your DH is delayed significantly or, heaven forbid, has an accident en route home?
Sorry I’ve no answers.

It's not fair for the childminder to be miffed at parents for removing their child if the childminder changes the service they are providing. It is totally fair for the childminder to chose to work different hours. Anyone is free to work different hours. They might find that some parents walked, but they would pick up others. They are not providing a statutory service, they are providing a service they have decided to provide, and it's fine for them to provide it whenever they want. After all, anyone can leave a job and look for another that better suits them. This is no different.

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