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Parenting

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Original poster

Really daft question for all Mums who have school age children and who work full time.

45 replies

MrsTittleMouse · 23/09/2007 09:46

DD is only 11 months and we're thinking about another, and we were chatting last night about buying a house and when I would go back to work and how much child care would cost.
I know that DC go into nursery full time when both parents work full time, but what happens when they go to school? School finishes too early for FT working parents to pick them up, right? Do they go to after school clubs? Do they go to a child minder? Is it really expensive?
Sorry to be so clueless, it's a bit , but I just hadn't thought about it before.

OP posts:

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BBBee · 23/09/2007 09:48

after school club or childminder.

If you are buying a house and looking at school catchment areas put after school club as a high priority.

dissle · 23/09/2007 09:53

it is a nightmare tbh!
i work pt and still have to rely on mil to pick my child up.
i worked out nursery for 3 days a week being about £300-400 a month. that is more than my mortgage.

after school clubs are ok, not too expensive BUT its such a long day for them.imho
i want to be the one to drop off and pick up.

JackieNo · 23/09/2007 09:53

Or one of you drops their hours, which is what I ended up doing, but I know that isn't an option for everyone.

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moondog · 23/09/2007 09:54

My dh is away and I work f/t.They both go to a childminde and love it.

It costs £135 a weeek.

dissle · 23/09/2007 09:55

mine will end up in borstal or prison any way so child care wont be a problem....

BBBee · 23/09/2007 09:57

(moondog - thank you - you once gave advice to someone and I stole it and I am doing exciting things now.)

WideWebWitch · 23/09/2007 09:58

My ds goes to breakfast club and after school club and it costs about £175 a month.
Dd is at ft nursery, costs about £650 a month

It can be done, dh and I both work ft oth. Next yr though if we manage to buy a bigger house we'll def consider an au pair to drop off and collect both of them.

ladymuck · 23/09/2007 09:58

If you have the room then an au pair can be fabulous (as well as cost effective). Can do school run, after school homework and play and cook evening meal for around £75 per week. Personally I think that one of the issues with after school clubs for reception and little ones is that they will end up spending a lot of time with older kids very quickly, which can be a bit of a shock especially if they are used to a nursey environment. The adult:child ratios are very different from nursery ones!

School holdiays can still be a headache though.

LyraBelacqua · 23/09/2007 09:58

After school club where I live is £10 a day. Breakfast club, if you'll need is, is extra too.
FT nursery here will set you back at least £250 a week. Make sure you do your research before deciding whether to go back full time as it might not be worth your while financially.

moondog · 23/09/2007 09:59

Really BBB?
I wonder what it was?
Glad it was of use anywaY!

BBBee · 23/09/2007 10:02

(moondog - it was about working and children and getting on with things. Helped me a great deal, realised I was scared and worried about things that were nothing really and so gave me a bit of a kick into applying myself to the whole 'career' thing)

elfsmum · 23/09/2007 10:02

we tried breakfast club and afterschools for a bit, but we spoke to our employers and adjusted our hours.

DH and I share drop off and pick up.

He drops off twice a week and goes in early 3 days - he picks up 3 days and works late two days. i do the other way round.

Employers are happy with this as they still get the same amount of hours in work, and we're happy with our employers as we still get to do the school run.

moondog · 23/09/2007 10:03

Oh,ok!
I've been a lot jollier myself since getting back to f/t work and cracking on with stuff even though it is hard with dh away.
(Still can't get over thrill of people taking my opinion seriously!)

whoops · 23/09/2007 10:04

I pay £1 pd for breakfast club and £5 pd for after school club.
Next year dd will be starting school so it will double, I am trying to persuade dh to consider an Au Pair as I think it may be better financially

tigermoth · 23/09/2007 10:05

The afterschool club would charge approx £64.00 a week for both children ie £32.00 for each child. Depending on your income, some of the cost would be covered by tax credits.

Find out the costs and availiabity of afterschool clubs in your area to give you an idea of what's in store.

But cost is only one element. Time and disance are just as important. Will either of you be working close to the school/afterschool club? Is the school/afterschool club near to where you will live? For an easy life, you need to cut travelling time between work, home and school/afterschool club as much as possible.

If you both face a long journey home from work, with a big chance of delays, this puts much more strain on everything.

Also, remember that there is more onus on the employer to offer flexible working conditions to parents. If one of you can go into work after 9.00 am, you can drop off your child in the morning, which will be a great help.

BBBee · 23/09/2007 10:09

(MD - it had a very profound effect, it really did, it was kind of stuff I knew but hadn't admitted properly to myslef. Will shut up now or might get all gushing and stalkery)

tigermoth · 23/09/2007 10:10

PS the prices I quote are from the afterschool club I use (sorry it wasn't clear)

moondog · 23/09/2007 10:10

Very flattered.

NannyL · 23/09/2007 10:13

This is how my exboss does it

(i was their old nanny until youngest started full schol time, i only work 4 days a week)

I have the children on my day off
There other old nanny has the children one day. (she is now a mum and brings ehr own child)
Their grandmother has the children one day
The children go to a friends house for the day one day a week
Mummy OR daddy take a days holiday

Their school has a holiday club but the children HATE it, but they use it to cover odd days as well!

Original poster

MrsTittleMouse · 23/09/2007 10:14

Wow! So many replies so quickly!
The area that we're thinking about at the moment is in a good school district (I think, it's one thing that we're checking out - note to self, must check out school clubs too). So the distance between us and the school should be small. The distance to DH's work will be very managable (could even cycle if he wanted). That's another issue of course, whether we'd need another car if I was working, so even more expense.
I hadn't thought of an au pair, but the house has three bedrooms, ie one room bigger than we'd need with 1 or 2 small children. We'd thought about having it for family visiting (usually one family member per week, DD is very popular!), but it would work for an au pair. It's a shame that we don't live close to family, my DPs would love to step in, but it's not an option.
We're thinking that we wouldn't get all (or even most!) of my salary in the first few years, but with a big morgage even a couple of hundred a month extra to overpay would be great. My Dad has suggested taking "any job" just to get back into work (having doubts about pre-baby career), but I pointed out to him that I would need a career-type job to cover the costs.
Looks like this topic has struck a nerve! Can't believe that I didn't take it so seriously when we were TTC!

OP posts:

Acinonyx · 23/09/2007 11:57

I'm wondering about this too. If you use a childminder - do they do all the school holidays too? We want to move out of town but that will mean we are both commuting to work. Jill

ruddynorah · 23/09/2007 12:08

the way we do it is dh works early shifts, i work lates. so no problems for kids being ill/holidays/school plays etc.

FeelingOld · 23/09/2007 12:36

I am a childminder and I have some children before/after school and then I have them during school hols too.
I find parents are ok with after school clubs for older children but not so much for the littlees cos it does make it a very long day for them.

FeelingOld · 23/09/2007 12:37

I should also add that I have 2 siblings who go to after school club during term time (I can't pick up from that school as opposite side of town to my kids school) but they come to me in the holidays.

evenhope · 23/09/2007 12:43

MrsTittleMouse this is why so many mums work part-time!

We worked shifts around our older children (DH works nights) and it was a relief when they were old enough to entertain themselves during the school holidays.

Now we have 6 mo DD and I work full time we will have this same dilemma ourselves before too long. School hours are a nightmare for WOTH parents.

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