meals included or extra??

[sam411]

I have started advertising and my husband saw my flyer advert for the first time and nearly hit the roof for me including meals and snacks in the price. Just after opinions who does/doesn't add meals in the main price or those who charge extra. I just did it as I think it will be easier than saying ok £1 for an extra meal on one day and not another. Also I want to be competative as the local private day nursery price includes meals. Also I think if parents see that meals are included in the price they will like it more that paying extra. In saying that I don't want to underprice myself and not earn enough to cover it all. Thanks in advance!!

[kellib]

I don't charge any extra for meals, it's all included in my hourly rate.

[miffy]

I include lunch and tea in my daily rate for little ones but after schoolies pay extra for tea

Miffy xx

[VeggieSausage]

I charge £2 for lunch and snacks or tea and snacks and an extra £1 for 2 meals and snacks, everyone seems happy with this and I cook good home-cooked food

[toddlers896]

Hi
I include snacks, lunch and drinks in my hourly rate but if they want dinner i charge 1.50.
Ive got one afterschool who stays for dinner and initially i didnt charge anything but i was having problems with him not eating what i was putting down to him despite him saying he liked it so i have now changed my fees to say that meals are an extra 1.50. If it goes in the bin at least they have paid for it.
Hope this helps you x

[Bridey]

I have always charged extra for meals and have never had a problem. If parents don't want to pay it they can provide their own food but I think most like to take the advantage of the low cost/no hassle of me cooking.

[sam411]

Thanks for all the quick replies!! This forum is great for help! I think will keep it included but maybe charge extra for schoolies tea, will see how it goes. Any other input gratefully received!!

[rickysmiths]

I have always included all meals and snacks in my fee.

I can't be bothered to have the arguments over what happens if they are off sick or take an unexpected day off and I have bought the food and prepared it but they aren't here to eat it if you see what I mean.

I also can't be bothered to add the charge for meals into my accounts.

Much easier to include it

[Daftbat]

I have always included all meals and snacks in my fee.

I can't be bothered to have the arguments over what happens if they are off sick or take an unexpected day off and I have bought the food and prepared it but they aren't here to eat it if you see what I mean.

I also can't be bothered to add the charge for meals into my accounts.

Much easier to include it

Same here - life's complicated enough!

[sam411]

Ricksmiths and Daftbat that was my thought too, think I will show my hubby all these replies!!! Thank you.

[Demonjill]

Meals and snacks included in my fees

Much easier

If i did charge seperate i would charge the meal price whether they used it or not to keep things simple ie like you charge for the hours they have booked not the hours they use iyswim?
so if they off sick at last minute or picked up early they would still pay for the meal as it was booked, couldnt be bothered with working out what meal A had on Tuesday and they didnt get snack on Wednesday

But like i say for me easier if all included although at moment i dont finish past 5pm so i dont do hot dinners and i might try to stick to that

[Bridey]

I have always included all meals and snacks in my fee.

I can't be bothered to have the arguments over what happens if they are off sick or take an unexpected day off and I have bought the food and prepared it but they aren't here to eat it if you see what I mean.

I also can't be bothered to add the charge for meals into my accounts.

Much easier to include it

I charge the extra but add it into the weekly fee rate on my contract so the parents pay whether they use the food or not, unless they are 'on holiday' with appropriate written notice given.

Because of this I've always just lumped it all into 'income', does it need to be separated in my accounts?

[RedDragon]

All food is included here but I do charge a slightly higher rate per hour than I would if I didn't offer food .


My husband is the same regarding what I offer the children - he often says "They eat better than me" - but he is happy enough when the money comes in that I earn.

[dette]

i provide a free meal with every 4 hours childcare.i was annoyed once by a parent (when i was just starting out and not clued up )whos children needed collected at 4 30 from an after school club then had tea and went home at 5 30.as my meals were all included in the price she was only paying £6(used to give sibling discount too ..DER) for 2 children collected and fed !!!.now im not so stupid.the bill starts when school is over..regardless of after school clubs.... i charge to collect if im not going there anyway to collect my own and charge for tea.now the same childcare would cost £3.50 per hour each.so theres £14 plus £1 each collection and £2 each for tea.Thats £20..much better than £6
This way full timers get free meals and small blocks of less than 4hr pay extra but i keep the hourly rate the same for everyone.I find that parents like to hear what they get for free rather than its included in the price.works for me but each to their own

[rachael30a]

i guess it depends whether you have planned financially for it in your hourly rate, just be careful that you don't undercut yourself especially as food seems to be costing more and more.

I include snacks and drinks in my fee and ask they bring packed lunch, i charge extra for a evening meal. All my parents are happy with that.

Good luck

[loocyloo]

i include meals. i used to charge extra, but when i moved i found that everyone included meals, so thought i better had too! the majority of mine are LO, so eat with everyone.

[mum2two]

I don't provide any meals at all. Parents send a packed lunch for their children and we just provide morning & afternoon snacks.

My hourly rate is now more than it was when I first started 5 years ago, and back then I was providing breakfast, lunch & tea.

xx

[LauraS]

I intend to include all food, snacks and drinks, but they are of couse accounted for within my hourly rate. Like Rickysmiths, I don't want the hassle of arguments about meal charges. I don't want to find myself cooking for some children and not others, or have some children bringing food for their meals which is inappropriate (like the child at my daughters school who brings a sausage roll and a mars bar for lunch each day ). I certainly don't want to have to lug various different lunchboxes about if we are out and about at lunchtime, or have to have one child eat from their lunchbox whist the rest of us eat in a cafe.

At least with my own food, I know where it has been and that it is in date. Also, I like cooking , I'm a good cook, we eat well and I won't save myself any time or hassle by not cooking for a child, as I would already be cooking anyway.

I also want the flexibility to be able to feed the children as I see fit and to fit in with our daily life - so for example, if we have a day where we go out somewhere for the day, it would be helpful to be able to be able to offer a quick dinner that evening rather than something more elaborate. Or perhaps have a cooked lunch and a light tea. I don't feel I could do that if the meals are specifically paid for.

From a business point of view, it also makes sense to me. For one, the cost of meals cannot be claimed for tax credits purposes. So if a parent needs to claim tax credits and there are two childminders charging the same, one is say £150/week all included, the other charging £120 a week plus £30/week meals, the parent would find themselves £21 a week worse off with the childminder who seperates the cost.

Sorry, I ramble . I've thought about this a lot, can you tell

[sam411]

Thank you for all the replies, it really helps to get other people's opinions on things and has given me lots to think about. Especially helpful when people have been doing childminding a while and can clearly point out facts to me that I hadn't thought of. Thanks again to everyone, much appreciated. Hmmm think I might have to go and ask some more questions in other areas now lol.