Childcare costs

[RagDoll]

interested to compare childcare costs across the country ... pls post what part of the country you are in, what sort of childcare you have (nursery, childminder, daynursery etc) and how much per hour or per day you have to pay.

Have to agree with you, Yam!

I work in a private day nursery (and my 3 children have attended/are attending) - parents assume I should be working for free as well!

If your child is attending 9am-5pm (8 hours) and costing about £25 a day - well work it out - just over £3.00 an hour - below the minimum wage!

I'm not a childminder, but I agree with both of you, you ought to get much more. Who would be able to afford more than that, I don't know, (not me, I'd have to retire!) but still, you are right.

Slinky - I see your point. My ds is in Private daycare and I do think the staff should get more money. However, you use that as an example... £3 per hour PER CHILD!!

What is the ratio of toddlers to carers? 3 may 4 to 1. That is £12 per hour. Much more than the minimum wage.

And I see your point M2T but staff wages are only one overhead (admittedly the biggest) for a nursery.

Yeah I know, Bozza. I just wanted to clarify that it's not one-on-one care and the Nursery Nurses do get more than the minimum wage. I wonder how much profit Nurseries make.... maybe I'm in the wrong business!

Are you all taking advantage of the 3/4 year old funding from local government? If your child is 3 the majority of local gov's give you a grant of around £1200 - £1500 sometimes more, it depends where you live. Call your local council and speak to earlty years dept for more info.

I wasn't saying that I was working below minimum wage - my point was that it makes me laugh that people complain about the cost of childcare - you are handing over the most precious gift yet pay less than the minimum wage for it.

Yes M2T I also wonder about the profit sometimes. I'm sure the staff do not get paid what they deserve and my nursery is run by a manager but I'm sure the owners do pretty well out of it.

Slinky - yes he is my most precious child, but it doesn't mean that I can pluck money off of a tree to pay for child care! Just coz i love my son it doesn't mean I'm going to pay fortunes more than I should for child care.

Slinky, I'm not sure I get your point. As stated, you're not getting below minimum wage. If I was paying for one to one care I would expect that the carer would charge me that (well, not me, couldn't afford it).

My childcare fees used to pay for my childminder's son to go to private school - ugh, the irony