hours

[shazsull]

afternoon all after being as quiet as a mouse and almost giving up ( have just had an enquirie coming tomorrow ,can i ask about charges do you charge normal rate till 6 or 7 having child till 9 on a every other week basis im assuming normish hours on the other week i always get flustered on the phone!!also rates for weekend care double time and a half ,i dont want to appear greedy but we do do it for love but also money and i always seem the looser xxx

[k1rstie]

Interesting question.

Do you actually want to work till 9pm and during the weekends? For me personally, no amount of money would be enough. I am always happy to help out my great families when needed, such as 'the baby is coming' etc, but I would not take on new children with these hours.

You really need to think about your health and your family. On a day when you finish as 9, will you be having other children arrive at 8am? Or would you be starting at 11? A potentially 14 hour day is very long without any 'proper' breaks or lunch breaks. I would suspect your required hours would also include bank holidays too.

My husband works in retail for a supermarket. For them, evening hours, bank holidays, Saturday and Sunday hours plus daytime hours pay very similarly. Would your parent actually be able to afford to pay time and a half, double time or double time and a half?

What would happen if you were invited to a summer BBQ, a day at the races, or even a school play or parents evening?

[BallyH]

As already posted this seems a lot of work. But just to let you know that it is very easy to get flustered on the phone when discussing charges especially when a parent wants irregular hours. I never discuss charges over the phone. I tell them this. I ask what their requirements are and if I have a space etc, I'll suggest that they come for a chat and see what I have to offer. This gives me time to think about what I will charge, if their request was irregular hours or extra shifts etc.

[loocyloo]

when I started childminding, I used to have a 9 ( and then 10 ) yr old girl once or twice a week afterschool until 8pm. She was no trouble, and in fact, I used to tell her mum I felt like I should pay her, because the girl used to help with all the younger minded children, then, when they went home, would help bath DS ( 1 yr ), put him to bed, read him stories and would then come down and watch whatever was on tv! it worked for me then, because the days she came, I didn't go out ( or I went later ) and as I only had DS and he was a baby, he didn't have any afterschool activities! sometimes if we were going out, mindee came too! She was a really lovely girl, and was used to being with adults, as it had been just her & her mum since she was a baby. mum said girl thought of my DS as like a brother, as she didn't have, and wouldn't ever have a baby sibling.

yes, they were long days, because I started at 7.30am, but it worked. she stopped coming because mum changed her work hours, but she still would come after school one day most weeks, and would stay for bedtime every now and again! sadly, they moved away, because she would have been my ideal choice of babysitter as mine and she got older!

now, with my own children being 10 & 13, I am pushed to work beyond 6pm! I do occasionally work later, or on my day off/weekend, but that's only for families that are already with me, and I know will appreciate my giving up my time off!