Im a new childminder..charges and meals??

[juliaemma]

Hi,
I would really like to hear what everyone charges firstly, then what you do about meals, secondly. Ie, charge more or add on extras and how much???
Im really stuck as what to put.
Thank you. (smile)

Some advice please on meals and charges.xx

I paid my cm 4.00 an hour and all food was included.

Roughly what area is that? Is it standard around there? (smile

depends on age and competition in your area tbh

I paid my cm £2.50 an hour and that included all food (DS was full time 5 x 10 hour days when I worked then went to 1 x 8 hour day a week when I stopped)

I then did childminding for a short while and charged £5 an hour plus if child under a year the parent provided all food, if over a year I would provide

Twiglett? Did you then charge extra for food, or was it included in the £5?

Did you find work, considering it was double the cost of the childminder you had??

Ds was 4 and stayed until he was nearly 8. Outer London, I expect she charges more now as that was 5 years since he was 4.

to be fair I only took one baby for one day a week alongside my 2 year old as I found out I was pregnant the week before he started (I warned parent and told her would be happy for her to find alternative, or I'd have him until she found alternative care .. unfortunately I couldn't convince her to find someone else for abotut 6 months) .. it never came up tbh ..

I think I would have just covered meals out of the fee because over a year a childminded child would eat the same as the rest of us

I also turned 3 people away by the way

I had a bit of a USP though .. I would only take one other child on top of my DS so there would never be more than 2 children in the house and people kind of liked that ..

I charge £3.50/hour, request parents to supply their own meals (I don't charge for snacks/drinks, and will obviously provide meals if they've forgotten theirs!), and don't charge for anything else (outings).

Minders in my area usually charge between £2.75/£3.50 an hour, some will charge for meals, some provide an inclusive price for all/some meals. Some charge for petrol, others don't.

You also need to consider what you will/won't charge if children don't attend (because they are sick, parent is sick, on annual holiday, having an occasional day off, bank holidays). Most minders don't charge if they themselves are off sick or on holiday, but I know some who do!

Oh my, you are going to have to do a lot of thinking!! Do you know other minders in your area so you can get an idea of how they operate?

I charge slightly less now but once NVQ3 qualified in November will be putting up my hourly charge for new parents to £3 per hour. Or doubled for guaranteed one to one care. This includes all drinks, healthy snacks and outings but I also charge an extra £2.50 for a home-cooked, organic two course meal which I provide fresh at lunchtime or at tea-time. Not all parents require this and some only want it on certain days and their children bring their own packed lunch on other days. Good luck!

I do not charge for snacks, drinks or lunch (sandwiches, pittas etc) but if they want a main meal at tea time I charge £1 for the 2 courses. My Mum thinks this is a bargain cos they get a home cooked, fresh (organic where possible) meal. My mindees who eat with me are all under 5 and I state in my portfolio that I charge £1.50 for school age childrens main meal.

My childminder charges £4 p/h in London but this includes all food even for DD who is 10mths. As she often has their leftovers this seems fine and efficient. Not organic but I don't mind too much. I give her nappies, wipes and formula, and a kitty for outings like farm, playgroup etc. Holidays are paid as well.

Juliaemma, I think you need to maybe talk to other childminders in your area and see what they charge and base your decision on that. I'm very new to childminding but I don't think you will go far wrong if you base your charges roughly in line with your competitors. You don't say where you are and obviously if you are in a bit town or city with lots of other childminders then the above advice will be more applicable. If you are more rural and there are no other childminders nearby then just use your own common sense and judgement. I try to think about how I would feel if I was the parent putting my children with a childminder and think about what you would think as fair. I don't think many parents would quibble over a small charge for a meal if they are happy with every other aspect of the care you are providing.
Good luck and I'm sure you will come up with a reasonable figure.

P.S I am in Devon and chose to base my hourly rate at £3.00 per hour which is the middle ground for this area.

I charge a set rate of £10 per week which is for meals and snacks (one hot and one cold meal per day and 2 snacks) I have found that by doing it this way i just declare the £10 per child to tax man as expenses and dont have to show reciepts for food etc, sometimes it can be more than that on food sometimes less but it does even out. This set rate is on top of my fee, i am very cheap but thats cos i worked out how much i needed to earn and then split it over how many children i wanted, it also means i dont pay too much tax etc, if i earnt more id pay more tax so i keep it all low!!!

Thanks everyone for the comments. Its still hard to know what to put, as every one is so different in what they put!!

I am trying to find out what the others in the area charge, but it quite hard to find out, as on the list, alot have not put it!