My husband and I agreed that he would be a stay at home Dad until the kids were older. My son is now 2 and my daughter is 9 months. For financial reasons, my Husband needs to work full time as of the next week or two. A friend of mine at work has a daughter who I vaguely know, and she had a son a month after my daughter was born (so he is now 8 months). This girl used to work in a nursery and went through college etc to get her qualifications. The nursery wouldn't accomodate her son so she had to leave. I contacted her to see if she is interested in taking care of my two for me whilst I am at work and she is. I think she wants to do it unofficially. I have absolutely no idea what sort of money this is going to cost. She will have the kids at my house most of the time, and if we take them to her flat, we will provide food and nappies. She will either have them from 9am - 2.30pm or 1.30pm - 5pm. I don't know whether to pay her per hour, if so, how much? Or a set amount per month. I think I need to pay her even when she doesn't have the kids but I don't know how much. What about holidays, days off sick etc. HELP ME PLEASE!! I am arranging a meeting with her to discuss the details tomorrow night.