Emergency childcare?

[user1489844432]

Hello

I am after some advice/direction on emergency childcare, just wondering what others do as I am at a loss here.

There is just two of us and our little one 1yr old. No family around or anyone else who could help out in emergency.

Little one seems to be going through spells of good and not so good health since he started nursery last Nov. He has been sick about 5-6 times since then. I appreciate this is not a lot but it is serious problem to us as we both work FT. So far my partner and I were swapping and staying with little one at home. However I have recently changed job and now on probation until Oct so cant really stay home for obvious reasons.

Little one was sick already twice this month and my partner stayed with him on both occasions. However there is concern how long the employer will tolerate this.

We solely relay on nursery for childcare so if this is unavailable we are in tough spot.

If you would consider a nanny share, it’s cheaper than a nursery. I paid £7ph (net) for a nanny in a share (so she got £14ph (total) and that was £70 a day. Nursery would have been £85 a day and with nursery you have to drop off and pick up too. Nanny share is such a great option, makes your life so much easier.

I am a working mother also, hence my sympathising with the OP.
My experience at safeguarding courses makes me hesitant to use many forms of childcare. I was very thorough picking a Nursery due to this. I didn’t think it would be helpful to the OP to go into great detail regarding this.
Others are making helpful suggestions, I am not going to post any further so you don’t feel the need to derail the thread and ‘call me out’.

I've called out the comment I thought was unhelpful and unkind. I've got no other issue, so please don't feel you can't post if you have advice/info for the OP.

It's not a derail to address a post about emergency childcare being unsafe in a thread titled 'emergency childcare'. It's very much on topic!

The whole emergency nanny thing depends on where you live. They don't exist in my area.

We just take it in turns. We have two children and are often having the 'whose meetings are most important' conversation. Once children are more settled in nursery the constant colds do calm down. Chicken pox is a nightmare though as that's usually about a week off work.

It is a nightmare - I have taken a step down career wise since having children as we just wouldn't be able to make it work while they are little. Then once they are school age there are the holidays to work round - I think it's very tough to make two full time jobs work with no local family unless you earn enough for a nanny - no other childcare will deal with a child with D+V. I know people who do it and it is a struggle. So there is no magic solution I'm afraid, I wish I could be more helpful! As they get older it is easier to ask people to help though as they are less needy than a 1yo in terms of physical looking after. Sorry that was a bit of a ramble but just to say I haven't solved this problem either! The other issue of course is taking time off work unpaid and still having (quite rightly) to pay the childcare - it's rubbish. I hope you have understanding employers who know it's worth supporting you through this in the short term to get more committed employees longer term.

No magic solution here. Sometimes we have to get MIL to come and stay and help out if we know it's going to be a few days. I spent all of last week juggling looking after DS and working. DH and I are fortunate that we both work remotely all the time, so it's easier as we don't have a physical workplace to go to but it's still a struggle to balance work and an ill child. I think I'd have lost my job if I was still working for my previous employer as DS has been ill so much since October.

Just a quick question. Nanny share was mentioned here couple times as a potential solution but I am not sure how this would address the issue. Surely my little one still would need to stay at home when ill so the other child doesnt get sick?

When you nanny share you basically treat them like siblings i.e. if one has it the other one will get it/already probably has it, so you wouldn't have to keep him home.

Obviously if it was something serious you would. Or maybe chicken pox, but even then if your child is with the other child 5 days a week, going to all the same places with the same people....it's almost certain they've both got it anyway!

You just have to make sure you discuss things like this with the other family (and the nanny) right at the start and get it written into the contract so you all know where you are.

Doing a nanny share with a family with older children could work, as they tend to be a bit more robust in terms of their immune system!

I advertise on childcare.co.uk as an emergency/adhoc nanny. You might find others on there.

Also with a nanny share you'd probably find he was getting sick a lot less in the first place.