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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

childminders - do you bill parents for activities?

15 replies

becj53 · 12/02/2009 22:01

being half term next week and having a couple of extra kids as well as the usual ones do you think it is unfair to ask the parents to pay for the entry costs to ball pools and such like? or is it my choice to take them (rather than stay in) so therefore my expence?

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sharonanne · 12/02/2009 22:04

i always pay has i deduct my outings has expensives when doing my tax.but up to you really

JenniPenni · 12/02/2009 22:47

I have always paid and pop it into my expenses.

dietstartstomorrow · 12/02/2009 22:54

I always pay, then like the others put it on my expenses.

Must be mad, but am planning to take 5 (2 are my own) to the cinema next week.

JenniPenni · 12/02/2009 23:52

Good luck!!! ;)

HSMM · 13/02/2009 08:56

I used to charge them, but always agreed it in advance. It was such a pain though ... so I put my rates up and now I pay for everything.

Illhavethisinsize12 · 13/02/2009 08:58

all depends on the activities. if it was legoland i would ask for a contribution. but soft ball, cinema etc i would just do.

arcticlemming · 13/02/2009 09:08

As a parent using a childminder I would be more than happy to pay if it were agreed in advance.

badgerhead · 13/02/2009 09:09

I always pay & put it through my expenses as well. Next week I am out twice with the mindees. On Tuesday to the Bluebell Railway(they have a special offer over the holidays of £1 for each child)our local childminding group is going en masse! Then on Thursday I am joining in again with the CM group & we are doing a craft & activity morning in a local Scout Hall that we use regularly for drop in sessions.
My policy is that I will always do one good outing a week in school holidays subject to transport arrangements. It meant that in the summer I had to hire a 12 seater mini bus to transport up to 9 children around. All that cost was put through my books & it is something I expect to happen. Helps reduce the tax bill lol!

leonifay · 13/02/2009 09:40

i pay and put it in my expences, although i charge £25 a month for food and outings and use this money.

coolj · 13/02/2009 10:48

I normally charge parents every week for Toddlers and soft play. At holidays I find that most places ie animal parks, museums, castles have free entry for under 5s or 3s. If I have older children then I notify the parents and they pay. I dont charge a big hourly rate anyway and have never had a problem with parents paying for their child to have fun. Its what they would do anyway if they were not at work.

nomoreamover · 13/02/2009 13:56

I pay for toddlers and soft play etc - but I charge 50p an hour more than some of the local CMs so thats how I balance it all - all my parents prefer to pay the extra per hour and have no expenses bills....

Jenf2306 · 13/02/2009 14:04

normal every week activities such as toddler group, soft play etc i pay for and put it through expenses.

next week we are going to the farm and the parents of children over 2 (under 2's are free) are all paying as its nearly £8 each. this has been arranged for about 6 weeks now and parents haven't been bothered about having to pay extra.

ayla99 · 13/02/2009 17:09

I do the same as Jen - routine outings like toddlers are included in fees. If we go out on spur of the moment trip I don't charge either.

But for planned outings like farms, soft play centres I give the parents a permission form in advance, asking for a contribution. So although I have made the choice about where we will go and when, the parent is not forced to pay. No-one has declined to pay yet. As all my mindees are p/t it shouldn't be a problem to re-arrange a trip for a day when that child wasn't due to attend. But that could well change. I realise that doing it this way may mean that one day I could have to cancel a trip if just one parent says no.

Original poster

becj53 · 13/02/2009 21:00

Thanks for all the imput everyone

I normally pay for toddler groups and soft play for under 5's in school time but the adventure play centre near me wacks the price up for half term week and the thought of being stuck indoors next week if the weathers rubbish with boisterous school age kids was filling me with dread!!

I have now consulted all my Mums asking if they would be happy to have the entry fee of six quid and I've been really suprized by their reaction!! they all said "absoloutly-no problem, more than happy!"

So all is well in the world again, and I'm looking forward to the half-term even if it rains/snows

OP posts:

underpaidandoverworked · 14/02/2009 19:38

I pay for playgroups and toddler groups but have a 'pocket money purse' of £20 for each mindee which the parents supply. As I spend it on soft plays, etc I put the receipts in the purse and just let parents know when it's running out. Works really well - when i started out I used to pay for everything and, yes you can then put it against expenses, but at the moment mindees are thin on the ground round here and my earnings are low so I can't afford to pay for outings.

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