Share your childcare tips with The Childcare Voucher Providers Association - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[EllieMumsnet]

Sorting out reliable childcare can be a difficult task for any parent. The struggles of trying to organise appropriate childcare can sometimes turn your whole day upside down. With that being said The Childcare Voucher Providers Association would like to hear about the tips or shortcuts you have for arranging your childcare, whether you’re a working parent or not.

Here’s what the Childcare Voucher Providers Association has to say: “We are on a mission to ensure that working parents have the best support possible for arranging their childcare. And this includes a genuine choice in the financial support that best suits their families. We think it’s great that the Government is focusing on improving access to childcare support and we welcome the additional choice that tax-free childcare will bring to accompany the support that millions of parents have received from Childcare Vouchers.

However, the Government wants to close the voucher regime to new parents in April 2018. For many parents, Childcare Vouchers will provide far more financial support than tax-free childcare, including for couples with one working parent who won’t be able to claim any financial support at all under tax-free childcare. That’s why we think rather than closing one scheme, the Government should keep the voucher scheme open as well as tax-free childcare to give parents a genuine choice and access to the support that best suits their family. If you agree with this then please feel free to sign this petition to keep the voucher scheme open.”

Do you have any tips on managing your childcare around a busy working life? How do you manage when you have to drop your kids off at different providers? Have you got any tips that save you money? Or perhaps you enlist the help from family members as well as childcare providers?

Whatever your tips are share them on the thread below, where one lucky MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck.
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Roping in grandparents for occasional babysitting or playgroup drop offs makes a big difference for us.

I work as a PSA in a school so that I can drop the kids at breakfast club (25p each) and then head to work.
I'm finished in time to pick them up at 3 and have school holidays off.
It doesn't pay much but it means I am always around for them.

It can be so difficult....but finding childcare that you're comfortable leaving your children with, and where your kids are happy, makes a massive difference.
So view lots of different settings- I think I ended up visiting 6 or 7 nurseries when we were looking for DS1. Most were nice, one was a 'I don't care if it is the cheaper option there is no way I'm leaving my child there' kinda place. When we found the right one both me and DP realised very early into the visit that we'd found 'it'.
Trust your gut/ mum instincts- they're usually right!

I currently attend university, and they have a children's centre that we're able to use, so it's very useful for me.

However, if I didn't have access to that, I have family I can rely on.

I've learnt that you can't put a price on an understanding boss. I'm very loyal to my employer because they've been so understanding about childcare issues.

So my tip is also for employers - be as flexible and supportive as you can, it will be returned by your staff.

We found that before children were school age it was easier as they could go to one place year round but once at school it ends up being more of a juggle.

We are lucky enough that my parents are able to look after them once a week when the children can't go to nursery so that I can go to work. My parents also pick them up once a week too so I can work!

I find it really tough as a single parent with no family to ever help out.

What I've done is compress my workweek into two 12 hour shifts when me ex has the dc and then work 9-2 the other 3 days.

This wouldn't work for everyone but it means full time hours for me but I can still do drop offs and pick ups.

I have a best friend that helps me with childcare in the week for work and I help her at the weekends when she works weekend nights when I'm not working and have her kids to sleepover so her and her other half can have a rare and well deserved night out and vice versa.

View a few nurseries and try and get word of mouth recommendations from friends you trust with your childs life. I worked at an awful nursery and would actively tell people not to take their child there... regardless of wether I worked there or not! I hated my child being there and could not wait to get him out of there when I went on maternity leave with DS2.

Ask nurseries if they're flexible in changing days... some charge for the privilege, some don't if thats something you need.

Look at staff turnover... this will say ALOT about the nursery. Said nursery above I saw at least 1 staff member leave and 1 new staff member join the team every month. Parents said they were grateful I was still there.

I don't have the advantage of having grandparents in the picture so when I had DS2 I had to leave work, sending two children to nursery cost more than what I was earning... 5 years later I'm now trying to forge a career where I can work from home so I don't have to pay the extortionate prices for our breakfast and after school club.

One summer holiday a group of 5 of us arranged to have all the children at ours for the day meaning we all had child free time / could focus on siblings. the kids would usually play together anyhow!

My children are all school age now; 3 children in 3 different settings (one in a specialist setting) takes some organising, mornings are regimented to get us all out of the house at different times, but luckily our village school has before and after school club. Without out them, and the excellent community links the school has, I would not be able to work.
Inset days however remain a nightmare as they never match up.

Childcare vouchers out of my husbands wage and topped up by some of my wage enable us to afford it.
Previously, with one preschool age and two school age, and no before/after school clubs I could not afford to work as childcare costs are astronomical.

I really miss having my family close by to help look after the Children. As a child I used to love it when my Nan came to look after me and my brothers when My parents had to work. I think it is lovely the child to bond with the Grandparents. I am a stay at home Mum and I have been lucky enough to do this for the past 12 years and 5 Children later I am ready to go out and get a little job. I am lucky enough to know someone who is going to create a position for me around school hours. I am so thankful for this because in other circumstances I would not be able to afford to make it work. Child Care is high (& so it should be). I can't wait to get back out there and get in the workforce again!!

I am one of the many that have to enlist the help of my own parents to help with child care, and because of that I restrict myself to less hours and pay, because I need their help, but at the same time I'm mindful of not taking advantage of them.

I'm lucky enough to be able to work my (part time) hours flexibly across the week so that I can fit it in between the school runs. On the odd occasion I do need to work earlier or later or during school holidays I take turns with family members to help each other out with school runs/child care. DH is also able to be flexible with his start and finish times or work from home occasionally which helps.

Nursery was pretty easy to arrange and we had help two days a week from the grandparents, but for some reason I had no idea that starting school would make things so much harder. We have been lucky with both our employers so one of us drops off in the morning and the other collects in the afternoon but not everyone is that lucky.

I've signed the petition.

Make the most of family whenever you can, if they offer take them up on it!

You’d think childcare got easier when they’re at school but holidays can be a nightmare. So many clubs are 9-3 which is no use if you work full days. Do swaps with friends. Having others peoples kids can be hard work but worth it for them having your children

I think waiting and making sure we were financially able to cope with me going part time was a huge help. I really think we would have struggled otherwise both mentally and physically. Having parents who are able to help out as well is a massive help but I appreciate some people don't have that luxury.

my motheer in law lived with us for a few years and looked after my daughter. if i could do it all again though id pay for a minder, only because my daughter has picked up alot of my mother in laws bad habits and is very spolied lol

Take your time to choose childcare and make up your own mind. What is great for your friend's DC may not be quite right for yours.

Family members were a godsend for me as far as childcare goes. On a day to day basis, organisation is key! It's difficult to juggle everything but putting things in order the night before helps enormously- particularly with several small children.

It's taken a while but the DH and I have found a fair balance. I work part-time and he works full-time but his job does allow for a little flexibility. We've reduced our need for childcare to 2 mornings only, but we pay a bit extra on childcare vouchers which helps spread the annual costs and means we can cope during the school holidays when we run low on our annual leave allowances.

We use breakfast club at school and I drop off there, then a lovely local lady collects her and looks after her until.I leave work. We don't live near family so need childcare and at first I found it a bit overwhelming looking and of course there is the cost. I don't have a flexible job so it makes it tough but I've found the right person to look after her 4 nights a week, on Fridays my partner can leave early which saves us some money

We've got by mostly with reciprocal arrangements with friends. They key word is obviously reciprocal - it doesn't work at all if one person constantly asks for favours but never gives back. But in general, I'm happy to take someone else's child to school each morning because I don't need to be in the office until 9.30 and I know they will help me out during the long summer holiday.