Childcare swaps?

[2gorgeousgirls]

Hi,
I have a nearly 2 year old and a 3 month old, and really want to go back to work for 3 short days in July (when the youngest is 9 months).
Have been doing the maths over and over again, and finding it very hard to understand how I am going to afford childcare.
My husband had an idea - if we could find another family with 2 kids who also needed childcare for 3 days, then I could look after all 4 kids for 2 days, the other mum could look after all 4 kids for 2 days, and we could pay for childcare on the 5th day. That way I wouldn't have to pay for the majority of the week's childcare.
Does anybody do this? Are there any legal implications even if we're not paying each other?

Thanks.

As far as I'm aware tere are no legal complications, as long as youre not paying you can have whom ever you like looking after your child.

You may be very lucky but I would say that it sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen... what if she's sick a lot more than you and you end up having her kids a lot more than she has yours? What if her child is sick and she desnt tell you and your child gets ill? Is her house safe for children? What if your child is hurt in her care? No insurane?

I think th eold adage - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is - ?

I did this with a very very good friend and it worked very well. However - I think it worked because we were such good friends and had very similar approaches to parenting and knew each other well enough to be honest if things became difficult.

The flip side is that it is a very big committment. You will possibly have very little time on your own with your two. There may be issues if all the kids don't get on and you may find it more physically demanding than you anticipate! I was shattered at the end of a day.

So yes, workable, but you do neeed to really think it through.

I'd rather become a childminder and get paid for it!

2gorgeousgirls I salute you!
This are the type of ideas I come up with and they all seem to make ssssooo perfect sense to me.
I know other mums struggling o I honestly think it is going to happen. When I run it pass them they all go "oooo yes with must start soon to do that".... And here I am not even talking of major commitment in order to be able to work regularly, but say, monday I take yours to swimming pool, or I teach english to your teenager son and you will have mine one evening.....etc
6 years down the line NO ONE of my fantastic idea have so far materialised
I have come to the conclusion than most of the people I know rather moan and get absolutely shattered than stick to the plan and make our life easier
end rant....
so...I wish you all the best from the bottom of my heart!

was too excited to check my spelling

Hi 2gorgeousgirls,
I did a childcare swap with my SIL (our baby boys were only weeks apart in age) - we did it for about 12/14 months, it ended when we were both pregnant with #2. We swapped two days each and had an alternative arrangement for our 3rd working day. It did make for a very busy week, and we didn't feel it was sustainable with two children each so went our separate ways. I was happy with it as a solution at the time though.

Warning though, there was a case in the news in the last year or two, inferring that a childcare swap was breaking the law. Here's the link. How ridiculous, eh?

I think it could be hard work. I do know someone who made it work OK, but both halves of the swap were already working with children in their professional lives, so knew what to expect when looking after other people's children.

Maybe you could try just doing the swap for 2 days of the week? eg. one day of double childcare each. It would still significantly reduce your costs.

It might appeal to someone who has a school age child, but who wants someone to collect them after school. It might also be more feasible when your 2 year old is able to go to a pre-school in the mornings.

Why not put up a few adverts and see what happens? You can only try.

Who woukd you pay for the 5th day? A 1 day a week nanny? Where would you find such people to share with? Would you trust a stranger who has no checks or training or insurance?

It's possible. It's even definitely legal now the relevant legislation has been amended following that case, which defied all common sense. But it's complicated.

What if they're sick? What if you're sick? What would you do about providing food, activities etc? What about holidays?