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

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We would find it very difficult to manage without the extra bit of help we get from grand parents

I have always worked full time so my son was in full time childcare from the age of 1. Would drop him off on the way to work and pick him up on the way home. When he started primary, luckily my dad had retired so was able to drop and collect him. As I was commuting, I was leaving the house at 7.30am and getting back at 6pm. My dad has continued to do the school run until recently, now that my son is old enough to catch the train and walk to his grandparents house. Without my dad, i would have been in a very different position!

I really couldnt cope if I didnt have family help. It's very difficult to juggle everything alone

There is a lack of childcare round here so we are very dependent on friends and family to help each other out. Free childcare provided by the government sounds like a great idea, but it's still not available to everyone due to location etc

For us it's been about the quality of the setting and the dc's ability to be comfortable and settled first and foremost. But we've also had to consider opening times don't clash (one dc in nursery & one with a childminder due to big age gap); that childminder is able to do pick ups at the school we've chosen, and that both providers are open in school holidays. They would be my biggest tips when looking for providers.

I worked freelance for 6 years after the birth of my DC1. This meant working during nap times and evenings, tight deadlines, stress rashes and lean months with no work. However I did get to enjoy my children while they were little, and I will never regret that.

We've now moved across the country to be near grandparents who can help with childcare.

Both parents changing from full time to part time work and sharing childcare duties 😊

Childcare vouchers have been great for us. We have always had DC in for two days at nursery and then split the rest between us whilst working shifts. Now school presents a bigger challenge particularly as there is no wrap around care. We've been lucky to find a lovely child minder with space who can do pick ups but it hasn't been easy and I agree, childcare and work do not blend well together in this country. I still feel like I am arriving at work 'late' and leaving 'early' as I no longer have the flexibility I used to have.

Keep spare wellle boots, rain mac st nursery/school as a mum of 4 in childcare this has taken the remembering out of my morning.

Have your clocks 10 mins too fast st home to make sure you arrive early

My top tip would be to find a local child-minder! My child-minder was my godsend, she was so much more flexible than the nurseries were and we still use her now for school drop off and pick up's.

We pair up with other parents so if there is a problem we have a network to rely on.
This works really well for everyone, in fact I took my daughter's friend to school today as her mother had to see to another family member who'd had a fall.

This was a great way to save money. We used childcare vouchers when my eldest son was in full time nursery. We don't have any family living near us and no support in terms of childcare from friebds/family so had no choice then to use nursery. We weren't getting help from tax credits so this was a way for families who were just over the tax credit threshold to actually receive some form of help. My 4 year old is now in a free entitlement only nursery until I go back to work but this will be next year and I will not be able to use the voucher scheme then so know I'll be paying out a fortune.

Having childcare available in the first place would be good. I have an autistic child who goes to a special need school with no before or after school care, I need to be there to put her on her special needs bus at 8:30 & at home to receive her at 3:30. As she is 14 there is no other provisions for her out there as most kids her age would be alright getting home themselves (at least I did at that age). More needs to be done for childcare for disabled kids.

There were no money-saving options available to me when I had my child.

My sister saves money as she has been in a position to cut down her days and our Mum has been able to look after her two while she works from home.

Sadly not close enough to anyone who is willing to help out with anything! Be prepared in advance!

Posted too soon. Prepare everything in advance and be realistic about how broke you might be. It's depressing how much childcare costs but I try and see it as short term.

If it wasn’t that I am retired and can help with childcare my daughter could not return to work. They both have to work shifts that sometimes don’t finish until 7 pm. No nursery is open to that time.

I worked full time and had dd in private nursery. Thankfully my mum and/or dad collected her early a few days per week otherwise she was in there from early till late. I got most of the fees paid with tax credits and didn't know about childcare vouchers or workplace nursery schemes then. Even now I don't think most people realise they can use workplace nursery schemes for any nursery, it doesn't have to be in a workplace!

My parents have been amazing but we gave up our careers to move to semi rural & a PT job for me that doesn't pay much.

I'm going to start childminding myself to ease the burden on GPs

grandparents are my lifeline , i dont know what i do without them

When DS was born we did nursery 3 days a week, grandparents 2 days. After DD1 was born I reduced my working days to 2 1/2 days a week but after DD2 was born and we had three children in nursery I became a SAHM.

I found the nursery years really hard as I worked in the City, a 60 - 90 minute commute away (my bank moved from Docklands - Southwark - Tower of London Area during my time there). The nursery was a 8am - 6 p.m. or we could pay extra for 7.30am - 6.30pm and it was in our town as commuting with toddlers and prams on busy commuter trains didn't seem like a great idea. Even with the longer hours the hours didn't work with the job. In my department if you left before 6pm, you had left early and we weren't paid overtime it was expected to start a 8ish and work til 7ish with lunch at your desk.

We only made it work as DH taught in our town so he dropped of the kids and picked them up and my parents acted as backup, I only did the nursery run when I was on maternity leave.

Understanding the pressures of being a working parent means than now I am a SAHM I act as emergency pickup for a number of families at school.

I wish I knew what the answer is, childcare doesn't seem to get easier now they are older with most night having to drive or walk them to numerous after school clubs.

When our eldest children were small we used to work opposite shifts and literally meet in town and swap the children over. I've now changed jobs so we have to use wrap around care but we try and keep it the minimum days.

Swap turns with other parents for joint pick ups and drop offs.

My Mom and Dad were brilliant between them they had the whole thing covered and I had the luxury of knowing that my kids had the very best of childcare

Childcare vouchers have been a godsend to us as save us money so it's terrible that they are wanting to stop them for new parents from April 2018. My partner and I both work and have 2 children aged so we have to work around school and nursery drop offs. None of us drive either. I do the nursery drop off and school run then jump on the bus to work and he finishes earlier to do the school collection then I do thr nursery collection on my way home after work. It's tiring and hard work but we manage ok. Ive signed the petition to try and keep childcare vouchers as they are a big help as childcare is so expensive. My son's nursery is £48 a day.