Tell me how I can afford to go back to work when I have three children o/w 2 under school age?

[drowninginlaundry]

I can't, can I?

I have just done some sums and I can't afford childcare

so if I have a 9 month old, a 3 year old and a 5 year old, my cheapest option is a F/T nanny, but at £25,000 gross p/a I'd have to earn, what, over £40,000 to cover it? There's no way I can get paid that in the South West, after 7 years out of the job market. So does this mean that I can't go to work? How do you people do it who are not a) bankers b) lawyers c) other so that it actually makes sense financially to work and that you don't end up out of pocket?

I am in a bit of a panic at the thought of a decade stuck at home sorting lego and picking raisins off the carpet

the only people i know who seem to manage it are

1. where one person is freelance and works from home around the children
2. where one parent has their own business (and doesn't work very hard). That's not a criticism but most men i know with their own business do 100 hours a week and are less able to share childcare than those in employment
3. where both parents are on very big salaries (£100k+ each) and have a ft nanny & housekeeper
4. with school age children and au pairs (no one i know has a very successful time with this i must add and also use additional clubs etc. in the school holidays)
5. where they live close to parents/siblings and they all muck in with each other's childcare needs.

nightmare!

Holiday childcare option No 6. work from home as much as possible. No I appreciate not everyone can but if possible it's helpful. And no, I don't get huge amounts done during the day

Alternatively get your partner to work in a school and then you never have to worry about it again!

We manage because

a) we have one in nursery, about to start school
b) other is in breakfast/after school club
c) we have wonderful ex mil who takes ds for weeks at a time in the holidays
d) I am a contractor and able to take 7 weeks+ holiday a year
e) we have a good income
f) dh works 35 hours and drops and collects and his employer agreed to a reduction to allow him to leave at 5pm every day

I am already wondering what tf we will do next year as dd will be at school and so we will have to cover the holidays and she wont' want to go to ex mil.

Agree with MummyforThree. I was in the exact same position - you either bite the bullet and accept that you will be working for a phase and not seeing any of the money because it will go on childcare. But the plus side is keeping a foot in the door - very important IMO.
However, looking at the OP again, it seems you have already had 7 years out of the job market, so is it really worth getting too stressed about this - i mean, another 3 years of not earning doesnt seem too bad in the circumstances. I guess most people would have continued working after dc1 and 2, when it would have been financially worth your while to work, and then maybe given up for a while with 3 dcs at home. TBH if I were the OP, I would probably accept that another few years out of the workplace is not make or break at this point. Maybe use the next 3 years to do some training/updating of skills??