Pay for childminders

[girlygirl]

Be honest as a parent who uses a childminder.
Do you think they are worth between £2.50 and £2.75 per hour, or more or less?
Remember their day to day responsibilities, how easy it is looking after someone else's child, the wear and tear on their house, etc.
I am thinking about registering as a childminder in my area as there is a demand, but today I've just found out the hourly pay and I am SHOCKED. I know I can have more than one child but I only wanted 1 or 2 as I feel I can give better care to a small group by myself rather than up to 6!!!But going by the measly hourly rate I think I'll not bother...

I pay mine £3

an hour that is.

I pay my childminder £2.00 per hour and she is worth more (but I won't say that to her-anything to save money) but that also includes food and snacks for dd. I don't have to provide anything apart from nappies, wipes etc.

I provided my own nappies.

And have always provided my own food, but that is more of a control thing re diet.

I'm not minding at the moment, but have always charged £3ph and there are parents who will pay that. I only ever take on one or two children though and the last two were siblings and I gave a reduction for the older one, meaning I was earning £5ph at that time.

I also provided food/snacks etc, and parents provide nappies/wipes etc.

Depends where you are - I pay £30 a day in London.

I am new to mumsnet so sorry if i have offended anyone, I just want to know what parents think.

Don't be daft.

I don't think you have offended anyone girlygirl. I understand what you are saying in that to charge less than the minimum wage per child you would need to make sure that you had enough children to look after to earn a living from. IYKWIM

Hi I live in london and charge £4ph. All 3 of my parents pay it although I also give a £1 discount for the 2nd child

No offence at all here, definitely. I completely see your point. It's a vicious circle, paying for childcare - £30 a day times two is a fair bit per week for us, but I know my childminder isn't exactly rolling in it (and she does take several kids, but then she's been in the business for about 20 years!).

you set your own pay though

I took one baby, for one day for 10 hours (8 till 6) and charged £50 so that's £5 an hour

people pay what you think you're worth, or they don't

Agree, but that also depends on the going rate. I would find it difficult to pay £100 a day, and would therefore look for another childminder who charged less.

If there wasn't one, of course, I'd have to stump that up [shudder at thought of £400 a week]

Hi

I get no help with chilcare (i have 3 sons under 3)

I pay my friend £200 per month, I supply all food for the boys, snacks, nappies, wipes sweets etc.

they are unabke to work for medical reasons so welcome the extra cash

If it wasn't for them i would not be able to work as unable to afford a childminders fee.

When I work a sat and sunday only I found only 1 childminder to take on the boys as it was weekend I earned £120 per weekend, childcare would be £100

Surprisingly I never used the childminder

funny thing is MI at the same time as I was childminding, DS was going to a childminder one day a week .. his cost me £25

Message withdrawn

Message withdrawn

I charge £3 an hour and I'm considering putting it up. Although I am quite expensive in the area, I remind parents that (to some extent) they get what they pay for......

Don't woory about offending people...I think that's what Mumsnet is for...sometimes

Where I live the going rate is £3 per hour, and thats what I pay my childminder. I provide nappies and wipes, she provides food and pays for playgroup sessions.

Still wondering if it's worth it
I worked in a nursery for years before having dd, but it seems in my area anyway the going rate is about £2.50 to £2.75 per hour. And I have met with quite a few local c/minders,who have told me they can't charge anymore as parents won't pay it. So all my experience and training can't get me more than £2.75 an hour.Unless I take on a lot of children and give them the barest of attention as there are too many for one person.
Maybe I should try to get a cleaners job, they are paid £6 an hour here.Obviously people prefer a clean house to a well cared for child.

But then you'd have 2 pay 4 childcare if U have yr own child... most cms have their own child(dren) 2 look after, 2. It's completely flexible, u choose yr hours & holiday (&clients, too). My cm is worth more than £2.50/hr per child, but I dont earn that much more myself.

Girlygirl, I think round here that a childminder rate is pretty much the same as it would cost to send them to a nursery if you worked out the hourly rate there. I childminded for a while, but have to say I found it completely exhausting! I liked the idea of not having to worry about paying for childcare for my dd by working from home and having her with me. But in reality I didn't get to give her much attention as the other baby I was minding was quite demanding, and as a result I felt awful and that I was neglecting my dd. So I jacked it in. I'm not trying to put you off, but it is very hard work.

girly girl

I am a childminder and charge more but I only have one mindee because that is what I want to do

I think it is scanderlous that cm are paid less than cleaners or gardeners or window cleaners

It is like we are not worth as much.

So totally agree with you

thanks RTKM.But why does it happen?Is it because c/minders are all women/mums/childcare ex workers and they can't get a decent wage because they don't ask for it?Or parents wanting cover for next to nothing?I think it must be a bit of both.