The costs of childcare - how much?????

Posted by: Jonathan Gorse on 01 September 2004

Chaps,

I'm pleased to say that Eilish is expecting our first in February and we've started looking around at childcare options as she will need to go back to work almost full time until I find a reasonably well paid flying job. I'm new to all this and imagine there must be others who have already explored the options and who may be able to share their experience on the forum.

Eilish works at BA and they do have a subsidised creche but it isn't particulary heavily subsidised so costs £800 a month for 5 days a week and over £600 for 4 - eek!!! The other option seems to be a childminder (around £32 a day) or an au pair - around £200 a month but Eilish doesn't really want to share a house with a 22 year old female and I can understand that!

So what do you guys do? What worked for you? How much are you paying?

Seems to me that the cost of the push chairs etc and food isn't so bad it's the childcare that's going to cripple us.

I'm just coming to the end of my pilot training course in November so hopefully will be working by Feb, but in light of my anticipated modest starting salary both of us will need to keep on working for a while yet if we end up still in the South East.

Interested in experiences.

Thanks,

Jonathan
Posted on: 09 September 2004 by Jonathan Gorse
Many thanks chaps for all the good wishes - we're both really excited by the prospect. Mick - if you're going to open a nursery can you do it in South Surrey?!!

I would agree that the best option would be for one of us to stay at home, however whilst that would have been an option if I'd kept my comfortably paid corporate job, it isn't even an option after spending £62000 on a pilot training programme (yes you read that figure right!) and not working for 2 years!! I suppose living your dreams comes at a price and it's no different to starting your own business etc.

We don't know as yet where my first job will take us and if it is out of the SOuth East then it is conceivable that Eilish may not work for an extended period and we could still afford a reasonable house on my starting salary. We would have delayed having children another couple of years until my salary had risen a bit but as Eilish is over 40 it seemed best to get on with it.

Either way we're still pleased to be expecting our first - even if it's clear that like many parents we have some touch choices to make.

Good luck with the new venture Mick!

Jonathan
Posted on: 09 September 2004 by seagull
£62000 !?!

Just think how much Naim kit you could have bought for that!

CDS3/552/500/DBLs/Fraim

and you'd still have change!
Posted on: 09 September 2004 by reductionist
quote:
Originally posted by Joe Petrik:
No offence intended, as it was just a joke... one that apparently bombed.
Joe


I laughed
Posted on: 09 September 2004 by Rasher
I did a basement conversion on a large house in south London 3 years ago to use as a nusery. They spent very large sums of money to convert it, including disabled ramps to the front needing retaining walls etc, which cost well over £100k. I thought they were wasting their money, but they came back to me yesterday to have the garden reduced in level to make a playground, removing 600 cubic metres of earth!! They must be making huge amounts of money.
If you really do it Mick, you are likely to make a mint.

Anyone see that programme on TV last night, where the mother gets a trial to look after her own kids for 2 weeks? She had only ever had them for a couple of days before that, leaving it entirely to her husband. What chaos! I got the impression that she doesn't love her kids - probably doesn't even like them all that much. Why did she have them? Utterly useless bint. Why he stayed with her is beyond me.
Posted on: 11 September 2004 by Jonathan Gorse
Seagull,

You're right about what else I could have bought - how about a secondhand Aston Martin DB7 or ferrari 355 (about £50 000) plus a Naim 552 (if you factor in the lost earnings during the 18 months spent training you could have the DB7, the 355 and a 552 plus DBL's) I wonder sometimes if this is the most expensive career change in history!

Luckily I still feel that flying is more fun than any amount of material goods - even Naim!

Jonathan
Posted on: 12 September 2004 by Rico
quote:
hope it's not been too much a of a shock to the system!


Jonathan

I can only offer that it is fabulous - better than all the toys or upgrades one could have thought of "BP" (before parenthood). nuff said. Smile

Oh, nice pun though!

cheers

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio
Posted on: 12 September 2004 by Rico
I did a rough business plan in my head along the lines of Mick's post re opening a childcare busines some weeks back, on spotting what is clearly an opportunity.

I think from a management viewpoint one would require much patience to continually chase a moving target as relates to changing requirements re the law, and maintain consistent staffing in a field that (down here at least) is known for an average post-graduate career span of 3 years. I've put it on the back burner for now. Great minds, etc.

Oh, and i hadn't thought of Joe's derivativem - I guess one would need to factor in the cost of a lobbyist to ensure one's 'business' was not a target.

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio
Posted on: 13 September 2004 by Mike Hughes
http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/cgi-bin/forwardsql/search.cgi?template2=user_details2.htm&output_number=1&sort=news.submission_date+desc&news.ID=&start=1

It would appear that the cost of child care is not about to go down!!! Frown

Mike
Posted on: 23 September 2004 by Rasher
As an update - we are fuming today Mad

My wife has suddenly been inundated with work and she really needs someone to pick up my daughter from school and bring her home - that's all. She asked her friend, who is on welfare, has nothing much to do - offered her a tenner a time (it would take all of 20 minutes on foot). She said - "I would do it - but not if it's raining".
Here we are, paying through the nose just to try to keep working (for basically nothing after the kids are taken care of), and it's just too easy to do fucking nothing on the dole. Mad
Why do any of us bother to do anything!
Makes me MAD Mad
Posted on: 23 September 2004 by The mole man
Rasher:

Totally understand your anger at this 'wet lettuce' type response. You's have thought she would have jumped at the chance of some cash in hand earnings (naughty)!

Anyhow my wife is a very experienced nanny and I would like to volunteer her as potential staff should Mick Parry's scheme come to fruition.

Mole Man

P.S. I am also posting so that it's clear that I am not Mick posing as me! (This has been suggested on another pink forum).
Posted on: 23 September 2004 by JBoulder
quote:
£800 a month for 5 days a week


Gees... move to Finland. Every city or county has to (by law) provide childcare to every child and it costs a maximum of 200 € (£135) for 5 days a week. And no, it's not crappy care - my wife is a teacher at a kindegarden run by the city and she's not crappy at all...

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