amydown

Just to add that a sole charge nanny normally seems to charge ?10/h net if just working for one family but if it's a share, I believe they charge more per hour (eg. ?12/h net to be shared between families)

Both my son and I have had a private test done on Harley Street (London Allergy Clinic) and it was covered under our insurance if you have medical insurance. I and my toddlers started wheezing and coughing non stop when we moved into a temporary rental whilst having our house renovated and it turned out to be severe cat allergy - we had had our cats for about 5 yrs by then but I hadn't really noticed it in our own home. The rental house was much smaller and carpeted everywhere so my symptoms then came out big time. We sadly had to rehome our cats which was really upsetting for the whole family but it was the right decision for our family.

Hi Dev I think a nanny share can be a wonderful set up for both parents and kids when it works and it's good that you are thinking these things through now. There is no hard and fast rule on any of the above I think and it depends on the financials, logistics and most importantly, what the nanny and the families look to achieve. I have been fortunate to have the same wonderful nanny for over 5 years and in our third nanny share arrangements and all shares have been really enriching and we remain good friends (shares ending through pregnancy, etc). Some thoughts on specific questions you raise: - split of cost: I think this can be affected by a number of things, including the age of the share children. I have seen more shares with 50:50 split because families with older children tend to have at least one or both of them in school/ nursery during the day and also younger babies can arguably be harder work for the nanny and demand more attention/ energy - personally, I find doing the share in one house far easier for the nanny and children, particularly if the share is not for all 5 days - In terms of share of food costs (and you need to take into account cost of fuel, car insurance, food for children obviously but also for nanny food cost if you provide it). I have, in the past, tracked the cost for a month and then agreed a fixed contribution by the other family. If the other family's needs are specific (eg. Baby in nappies), I think providing them separately will be sensible. - you may also want to think about how you share kitty money. This can be quite a big expense over time, particularly for paid activities - in terms of sickness, we have always just been very relaxed about it. When one of mine had chicken pox, our nanny share boy got it too (poor thing!) so depends on the severity of it I think. For normal colds and sick bug, we have always accepted that it's something that just goes round so no worse than nursery or school. If it's more serious though, I would anticipate the parents to take charge rather than exposing share children to the same serious illness. Hope that helps and of course others may have different set ups/ advice. Just some general thoughts - money and parenting issues can be difficult to bring up so best to have many scenarios discussed up front and if issues do arise (which they will inevitably do), talk them through early and just enjoy it. Also, it can be quite a juggling act for the nanny so I think having that conversation with re nanny can also be incredibly helpful. Good luck!

We also rent out our huge guest bedroom through AirBnB and have had lovely guests stay with us for the last few months. We have excellent reviews too. AirBnB comes with all the appropriate security and insurance measures too. Happy to answer any questions if you would like to find out more :) https://airbnb.com/rooms/4057185?s=1

It's mortifying when that happens! I similarly feel uncomfortable about "Do as you are told" and my husband and I are fully committed to never saying that. We do have two principles we try to stick by (picked up from a book called How To Talk to your Kids): 1. Always explain the reason for you asking them to do something/ not to do something (eg. Stop playing with the glass - it can easily break and could give you a big ouch) 2. Always match punishment to action ANDY explain the link(eg. If you keep throwing your food on the floor, I will have to take your food away because that is wasteful as opposed to if you keep throwing your food on the floor, I will lock your favourite toy away - the latter has no link between action and consequence if that makes sense). It seems really drawn out at first but with 2 simple-ish rules, we find that it works most of the time. Wishing you all the best!

We have the Suffolk range I think, with leathered black granite.

We have Neptune and are very pleased with the quality. We got them through Woods of London in Blackheath. The cabinets are really solid and lovely.

Just bumping this thread to recommend Giulio Scala. I trained with Giulio to recover after having baby number 2 and would thoroughly recommend him. Very friendly, helpful, motivational and I was very happy with the result.

Also worth noting that cat allergy symptoms don't always include runny nose and itchy eyes. As I mostly just had the coughs and not other synptoms, I didn't think I had cat allergy but my blood test told a very different story!

Was going to suggest allergy test too - I recently suffered from persistent cough and test revealed severe allergy to house dustmites and cats. We sadly had to rehome our cats. I was prescribed an inhaler and asked to come back for asthma test but since rehoming cats and making bedding changes and a new sofa, my symptoms have pretty much disappeared.

It's disheartening to see judgemental comments about parents who send their kids to private schools. All preconceptions are dangerous and those against privately educated people/ parents who choose that route are no exception. The motivation for private education is not as black and white as some posters make it out to be. Given the state school place shortage, we wouldn't have got a place in a state school that didn't involve a long bus journey for our kids. Lots of parents in our private school are in the same situation and indeed, some children switch back to a local school when they are offered a place after staying on the waiting list. At the end of the day, as all parents do, I want my kids to have the best opportunities in life. I don't mean that in the financial/ getting a good job sense but in them being able to experience lots of different activities, which in my view, private schools can facilitate better. This obviously comes at a hefty cost but as parents, we have chosen to spend that money on education rather than other luxuries in life. That's our choice - not better or worse than others' but just our personal choice.

And nanny tax companies will also help you find the right gross rate by working back from net pay. I agree that nannies play a very important role in families and totally see the cost of our nanny being worth the financial sacrifice. I wish however, that more can be done from tax policy point of view (ie making at least a portion of nanny cost tax deductible) to encourage the right economic behaviour of encouraging mums back to work. It seems completely illogical that a family that is providing another full time employment gets no recognition through tax. In fact, I recently found out that from April 14, employers cannot claim statutory sick leave through National Insurance either if their nanny is to go on long term sick leave. It does make things incredibly difficult for working families to manage, both financially and logistically... This is of course nothing to do with nannies agreeing rates on a net basis but more to do with the UK tax system but worth bearing these potential costs in mind when employing a nanny.

Both my boys have started out on balance bikes from about 2. Our eldest, now nearly 5, went pretty much straight from balance bike to a full on bike with a very brief spell of stabilisers (don't think he needed them at all!). Our youngest, now 2.5, is super fast on a balance bike and am a very confident rider. I would thoroughly recommend it. I can't rid a bike and am considering investing in an adult size one!! We have the Strider brand, which is a lot lighther than wooden bikes and are very happy with it. Hope that helps.

Given the shortage of state school places, I think the more they can do to encourage quality education through the private sector, the better. People who then end up sending their kids to private school are, at the same time, relieving pressure on the state school. As thee parents don't get any tax deduction for education expenses coming out of their net pay, the state doesn't lose out and it provides more space in the state system. If private schools were to lose charitable status and therefore tax paying, for instance, the cost would get passed onto parents. That would have a huge knock on impact on already-stretched state system capacity.

Love love love our kitchen island. Instead of having the island in the middle, we had it attached to the wall to maximise floor space for our table.

We have pretty bad house dustmite allergy in our house so we use these: http://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-new-anti-allergen-enclosed-duvet-liner/p439235 Not designed for accidents per se but I have found that it's quite good at keeping the duvet protected for occasional accidents.

Volvo XC 60 and my 6ft 4 husband can sit in the back between two giant car seats.

I have but sadly not the person I was looking for.. Thank you though.

Now found the person I was looking for - thank you

We haven't had any false alarms (been 2 months since set up) and they have a remote technical assistance which is really quick and can sort many problems out. Our issues related to the I oral setting not being correct due to sales person/ installation person miscommunication (eg which alarms are left on for the night) and they could check and reset it all remotely whilst on the phone.

ADT have been good for us. Takes a bit of patience setting it all up and making sure installation is as you had requested but have had no issues with customer service once installation was complete. We looked at Banham and we're not impressed with their emergency call out system (eg. If you press panic button, Banham tries to contact you and if they can't contact you, they just send a letter out the next day - alarm is raised with the police only if Banham can speak with you and establish there is emergency). The sales person might have had it wrong but either way, didn't fill me with confidence. ADT does have a 36-month minimum contract though and it's not cheap...

I had made an enquiry about the iopod beds - as hpsaucey says, the cheapest option was ?2,200 before mattresses. There were also other options that went up to ?2,550. We went for two cabin beds instead (Stompa ones from John Lewis). I was in a bunk bed with my sister and as the younger one, hated being in the bottom bed all the time!!! :) Very happy with our two stompa beds.

Malmaison Oxford - one of my favourite hotels!! It is a conversion from an old hotel and in the same complex as Oxford Castle so good for kids to run around in. We always stay there when we go to Bicester Village :) Choose one of the rooms in the original wing for added character (either old prison cells or bigger master rooms). Breakfast to die for and lovely staff. Often do special promotions if you look on their website.

Definitely yes!!!! We have just done a big refurbishment and have a good sized utility room/ larder. I "think" it's nicely decorated there but we did it cheaply (reclaimed butler sink unit, IKEA wall units) etc. It holds washing machine, dryer, utility sink, 3 tall wall units for all kitchen larder stuff and shelves to hold everything else. I absolutely love it!!!

Choose oiler finish and a dark ish finish with lots of natural grain and the marks really don't show! We have the same boards throughout the house, including bathrooms and bedrooms. For bathroom floors, we did an extra layer of Danish pop for added protection (very easy to do) and love it.