NOW CLOSED: Do you use any kind of childcare? Please give us your opinions - you could win a £50 Amazon voucher

[AnnMumsnet]

This survey is open to all Mumsnet users who use any kind of childcare (paid for or informal) for one or more of their children (excluding school, but including free sessions at pre school).

We know that lots of Mumsnetters find the cost and availability of childcare a real cause for concern. We also know it's an issue the government (and other parties) are interested in, so we thought it would be useful to understand your views and learn a bit more about your experiences.

We're working with the Daycare Trust on this survey - so we can get a really comprehensive picture of your views. Thank you so much for taking the time to complete the survey and as a thank you all respondents (who leave their details at the end) will be entered into a prize draw for a £50 Amazon voucher.

Here's the link again

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Done, as best I could. Couldnt see any option for rearranging hours/ working from home etc to reduce bills tho, as well as turning down jobs etc

Done but the question re childcare costing more than rent/mortgage needs to be expanded if your children now qualify for funding.
For the first 2.5 years, part time nursery fees were more expensive than our mortgage but now it isn't because of the free 15 hrs per week but there is nowhere to state this.

Done, we use a mix of friends, family and resciprical arrangements as well as formal childcare (mostly during holidays) When they were younger, my childcare costs often used to be more than I was earing, now they are a bit older and more independant, it is costing less as friends/family dont mind looking after them for several hours at a time ie before/after school, especially as they dont need " hands on" entertaining/ assistance.

I have an amazing flexible childminder, she is the holy grail of childminding for someone who works shifts where I often don't know what I'm working 3 weeks in advance but flexible as she is I still wouldn't be able to work without the assistance of family and friends as the childminders working hours just aren't long enough for someone who works 13 hour shifts. I don't know what the solution is but I'm in awe of the single parents who work in the NHS for instance as I don't know how they do it.

done

Done

Done.

Done.

done - feel that the point in the survey about working could be expanded to include having to give up work as childcare does not have provision to cover outside of core hours. my husband and i both worked shifts but i had to change jobs as paid childcare, it seems, starts at 0730 and stops at 18.00

done

Your survey would IMO have benefited from another option on the survery question asking what we do. I ticked SAHP but I would have preferred to tick carer. I am not at home out of personal choice or for financial reasons but because I have to be to care for my child with a disability.

I use a child minder for one after school session a week. It's the only socialisation outside of school that my DS has.

I hate the geographical question at the end - being pretty central to the country in Oxford, it's always hard to know precisely where we count in terms of Midlands, South East, South West...

Oh hi comixminx - fancy seeing you here! Are you back for a new antenatal thread?

I had to tick part time but I'm a freelancer so it's feast or famine. Still the childcare needs to be paid regardless.

We also have a whopping mortgage that is over 50% of our net income so that might skew your results a bit.

comixminx - it's standard government regions fascinating map here if you are interested Oxford would be in South East.

done but I also ticked part time, because I am pseudo self employed working officially 0.8 but my 0.8 is usually 50 ish hours per week

Done

Done. Yes it's a minefield, my child care costs are fairly minimal in term time, breakfast club only x 3 days, but the holidays will be different. DS is just finishing p1 (Scotland) in 2 weeks time, I have 7 weeks to cover, it will be a nightmare both financially and logistically. A survey on this would prove v v interesting I think!!

Ps,glad I'm not the only saddo with a spreadsheet for holiday child care!

Like previous poster I ticked that I've not had to pay for childcare on card or borrowed but have had to use the card for messages, petrol etc and borrow money from parents as once mortgage & childcare paid we're crippled. Last year I was working full-time & ds 1 yr was going 5 dys & dd was going after school & this was costing a third of my monthly salary. I've now dropped to part-time as was so frustrated to be paying all my wages to childminder & we gave dd her own key so we didn't have to pay. We would love another & I've decided to take a career break from my nursing job & register as a childminder as there's no way we could afford the costs.

Done!

Done but fon't know if recorded as just as i finished the page closed.

Done, but agree some questions don't give enough options. Also, where you say that it's helpful to compare childcare costs with the mother's salary, I would have thought it was more helpful to compare with the salary of the lower earner, regardless of gender. You can get the information, since you then ask about whole family income, but it seemed to me that there was an assumption running through it that it's always the mother who gives up work. Perhaps (probably) I'm over-sensitive - would love to not work full-time, but it will never be an option!

If you are working with the Daycare Trust could you find out why, when they do press releases about the cost of childcare, they always quote the cost of childcare for 35 hours a week or similar. Why do they never use the cost of childcare for a full working week including time for parent(s) to commute between work and nursery, ie. 8-6pm 5 days a week? The headline might say how expensive childcare is but the figures never give the full story.

Have filled out the survey by the way but agree with other posters comments that the credit card would be used for food/petrol because mortgage and childcare come first.

Also there is nothing about the timing of having children due to childcare. I know several families where they have waiting 5 years to get first child into school before they could think about another child since childcare for 2 is more than most people can afford.

Curlyfrizzball - agree completely. We ended up having to pay for childcare early as I had to go back to work as was main wage earner.

Was really frustrated that I couldn't transfer my maternity leave to dh after first 3 months as we could have afforded for him to be on SMP for 9 more months.
Broke my heart having to put them in nursery early because the wrong one us earnt more. Am still and now when I think about it.
OK - rant over mn, sorry

I only use childcare when i really have to as i feel guilty leaving my boy and that is on the odd night out with my mum when she is out with me so cant babysit! Its usually about once a year, i have a lovely babysitter who i arrange my evenings around to make sure my babe isn't left with someone we dont know or trust :)