Advice on flexible childcare for freelance mum

[DaisyBailey]

Hello,

I am hoping to find some help and information about what options may be available for flexible childcare locally. I have a one month old little boy and work in TV. I'm planning on going back to work later this year and will have family help for 2 days a week. For the remaining 3 days I'm planning on looking for a childminder or nanny share. The issue is that being freelance, when my contract finishes, I will want to suspend childcare for all or some of those 3 days but I know this usually means losing your place at nursery/the childminder. I know quite a few people in East Dulwich work in the media and I was wondering if there was any advice/thoughts on how the work/childcare balance can work for the self employed.

Thanks very much,

Daisy

[redjam]

Hi, I work freelance though my situation is slightly different to yours - I work part-time from home on lots of very short-term projects, so my problem is more never knowing from one week to the next how much childcare I'm going to need.

But to answer your question I think you'd be very lucky to find someone who will be completely flexible - nannies/childminders have their own bills to pay so they need a guaranteed minimum income. What I do is employ a nanny for the average number of hours a week that I need, then if I hit a busy spell I ask her if she'd be happy to do some extra hours (which she often is) or beg friends/my parents to see if they can take the kids for a couple of hours here and there. Of course the flipside is that I sometimes end up paying the nanny when I don't strictly need her - though to be honest even if I've not got so much work on I'm always 'busy' and grateful for a few extra hours of childcare.

Another tip is to pal up with a friend who also works from home and get into a reciprocal arrangement whereby you take their child(ren) for a few hours one week, then they do the same with yours the following week. As it's more informal, it's easier to vary hours etc (and if they're freelance themselves, they will be more understanding). But I realise that might not help your situation, with longer contracts.

Whatever you do, I wish you luck - it's not easy (as is testified by the number of evenings/weekends I end up working having failed to find extra childcare during the day). Roll on school when all that lovely childcare comes for free - in term-time at least!

[Kes]

Assuming it's still going you could try emailing [email protected] I was in touch with her about a year ago when I was looking for childcare, she runs the at home childcare service which is aimed at placing childminders with families who want the childminder in their own home but work unusual hours or shifts etc. We didn't pursue it as our house was a building site so wanted childcare away from home so can't say if it was any good but might be worth a look.

[supergolden88]

There are emergency nannies you can hire (at a premium) or perhaps call a nanny agency and see about short term contract. You pay agency fees but they can tailor to your requirements

Or you can find a nanny that has a couple of days available and see if you can arrange a short time arrangement.

I have found a lovely girl through this forum that works as a nanny but is available (most) mornings only. That works if I am not terribly busy. But I do find myself working evenings and weekends quite a lot as I am freelancing from home. I also have a nanny I call on days when I am super busy but she is likely to find full time employment soon... (just when I suddenly find myself really busy).

When your contract ends are you not likely to look from more work? I initially had my daughter at nursery 3 days a week when I first started freelancing and within a couple of months I was asking the nursery to do extra days so often that I had to ask for a full time place.

A childcare arrangement between freelancers can work nicely if you know them really well and the children are old enough. But I would find it quite stressful I think.

[womanofdulwich]

i think you need to think about having some continuity for your child too. it is unsettling for them to see someone 3 days a week for several month s( say) and then not see them for a few months. eventually you may find an au pair is better as you son is older ( if you have the room).

[leta]

hi

I agree with [email protected] is doing at home childcare.

I am a childminder and i know that they do childcare in your home on a short contract basis.

This is to help parents even in emergency cases.

good luck

[littleEDfamily]

What about working out a nanny share arrangement within an established arrangement. It may be that you can cut a deal with a family that you pay for minimum amount of hours, and then increase them on an ad-hoc basis. If that family can essentially afford to pay for the nanny on their own, then they may be able to be flexible in offsetting their costs on an ad hoc basis (and giving the nanny a chance to earn a bit extra). Not explaining myself very well, but hopefully you know what I mean.

[plimsoul]

thanks kes and leta, i was just moaning about the 4 week gap over the summer holidays before i can take leave and without any chidcare/school. i shall email the southwark lady and see if i can get someone for that month to come to my home, i'm assuming that they'll all be signed up so i can also apply for the child tax credit type help.

it's not just freelance mums suffering, but all mums that work with children at school age yet not old enough to go to clubs for the break or be on their own.

however, my heart goes out to you because freelancing although now considered a norm in many fields simply does not fit all year round.

sadly, outdated childcare issues remain unaddressed and impede working mums from all backgrounds and with a recession this will only get worse.

[Moi23]

I'm in a very similar situation to you. My little one is looked after 2 mornings a week and then extra hours are done ad-hoc. This works out well because they need to be familiar with their childminder, otherwise they quickly forget and could get distressed with someone they don't recognise.

It's really tricky though. As mentioned by various people above, you end up having to work silly hours or on the other hand pay for unwanted childcare.

On another note, am I alone in thinking that childcare should simply be deducted off your net earnings before working out your tax? A bit like deducting advertising expenses, or business running costs like phones, etc.? After all, you can't actually do the work or look for it unless someone can take care of your child.... isn't that an expense?!? Maybe I'm being naive...

[kristy]

Hi there.

I don't know if you have found what you are looking for but I have an availability for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. My minimum requirement for any week would be one day a week to pay my bills as I take two lovely little girls that I look after after school from Monday to Thursday. If I knew that I was always getting paid my one day a week ie. ?60 per week, I could be flexible on how often and for how long I had your little boy. I would be able to take him 3 days a week, one day a week or even half a day a week when you weren't working, or a combination of all so long as I always received the ?60 per week retainer. That way, any other hours that you required me for would be a great bonus! This is all very difficult to explain in an email so if you are still looking for the perfect solution, perhaps you would like to give me a call. My number is 07876 222 174 or just reply via the forum. You should also know that I have a two and a half year old boy and a 14 month old little girl of my own. I am an OFSTED registered childminder and I live in Rodwell Road, ED. I look forward to hearing from you if you haven't found what you are looking for.

Best wishes, Kristy

[new mother]

Kristy, am I reading this correctly? you have two children - a toddler and a baby- who you look after all week, plus two little girls after school on Mon to Thurs. How does that work? does ofsted allow a childminder to have four small children under her care? It sounds extraordinary, especially when two of those are your own and are at a demanding age.

In addition you can take the OP's child on a Monday?!

I think I must be misreading this or else you must be employing someone else in addition as these numbers just cannot work. Would you mind clarifying as it could well be that I don't understand how cms work.

[BeccaL]

New Mother, I think Ofsted numbers differ for children under 1, between 1 and 5 and over 5, though I am not a child minder. As Kristy's children are over 1, she would be able to have one child under 1 (I think!)...

[crystal7]

I thought it was 3 under 3 for CMs (only 1 can be under 1) and over 3 depends on size of premises, hours they are there etc. Could be wrong though...

[Helen GV]

Ofsted allow a childminder to look after three pre-schoolers , one of whom can be under the age of 1, plus up to three school age children under the age of 8. The two little girls are after school so I presume they are of school age, leaving Kristy free to look after one additional pre-schooler.

[new mother]

Goodness I'd have a nervous breakdown, trying to keep an eye on so many children. My understanding had been that cms had one or two children but in their own homes.

[Coach Beth]

Childminders have to go through professional training and OFSTED inspections - and therefore are better able and prepared to cope with a number of children than those of us who have not done so. Nannies look after children in the child's own homes - whereas childminders tend to look after children in their own homes (although sometimes will go to yours).

[minder]

New mother, I think becca, crystal, helen and coach beth have explained it perfectly.

The two school pick-ups are probably in the 5-8 age range and so having three under 5's is what most childminders do every day. The 5-8s are only there for a couple of hours and are usually helpful and (sometimes) easier to look after and keep occupied with parks, homework, craft activities. It's a long day for school age children.

After all, most nurseries operate a 3:1 ratio for children under 5 and staff.

[teacher93]

Hi,

I am a qualified teacher and registered foster carer. I also have a daughter of my own, who is 12 this summer. I am currently not working nor fostering, as I have taken time off as I am pregnant :) . I have applied to register as a childminder, but am not registered as yet. However, I have my CRB's from both teaching and fostering available.

I am available to do any ad-hoc childcare/babysitting. I plan to be off work for at least 1 year, potentially 2 years, so could provide a long-term/flexible solution, plus it would be great company for us! especially as the age gap between my children will be quite large. Please feel free to send me a private message if interested...

[DaisyBailey]

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who commented here. All your thoughts and suggestions are very welcome and very helpful. I have managed to find a lovely childminder who can be flexible with the days I need (up to 3 days a week) with my parents also looking after my little boy on the other days. I agree that continuity is key and it seems that we will have that.

All the best,

Daisy

[TezZep]

Hi Daisy

Thank you for posting this thread. It has been very useful to read as I am also a freelancer working in TV and looking to go back to working part time. I know this is a very old post so you may not even be on this forum any more but I wanted to know how the child care worked out for you? If you have any more advice on how to go about this I would be very grateful.I have found a couple of people including a friend who can cover 3 days of the week but as you know I have no idea one week to the next what my days will be. I know there are emergency nannies available but I agree with you in that continuity is the key so want to avoid going down that route if possible.

Hope all is going well juggling work and being a mum!

All the best

Terri

[AnyaJoeli]

Hi Terri (and everyone!), I've just been rereading this old post too as I'm self-employed as a Pilates teacher and writer, and find it hard to juggle the childcare situation, as I know that ad hoc doesn't work for the childminder or for my little one.

My current arrangement is to have childcare on Thursdays and Fridays, and I have a childminder who i pay ?8 an hour, but it means that there are weeks I pay for childcare and don't have any work on, so I end up paying someone to look after my toddler while I clean the house, etc...which seems a bit silly. But I don't see any way around it really.

I've got a freelance day's work lined up next week in a publishing company that I used to work for pre-baby, but I'm being paid under ?20 an hour, which means after childcare, tax etc I'm probably earning about ?20 for the whole day. Which is a bit disheartening and doesn't really make sense...

I totally agree that childcare should be tax deductible!

It's a really difficult one. As much as I love having a job arrangement which means I can for most of the week look after my little one myself, teaching in the evening while my husband babysits, it's also difficult as every work decision needs to be lucrative enough to justify the childcare.

Maybe we should have a self-employed mums coffee morning to share tips and moans!

x

[shelly2012]

Hi , I am a childminder and my mum is to . We have worked together for the last 10 years . We do freelance and emergency childcare . We are based right oppsite sand park . If anyone is intrested in finding out more please pm me .