child given notice.. :(

[Jessymax]

So the child who I was trying to find other days for due to me not working fri pms has given notice this morning.. its going to be quite a loss and enquiries have been very very quietly recently now im doubting if im doing the righ thing should I just ****** work a 53 hour week?! Feeling confused.
Also ive let them off giving 4 weeks notice because in theory its my fault they are leaving :/

[AgentTink]

So sorry to hear this. It is never a good feeling when a family gives notice plus in this case yours is now mixed with "what if's".

All I can say is that at the beginning of chidminding I was set on only working 4 days but a family pushed and pushed for me to do 5 days and in the end I agreed. The next few months were awful because i resented working the 5th day with only their child. I felt it then strained our working realtionship and I really felt i hated the job. After a few months I gave them notice of not being able to work 5 days a week and they decided to give notice completely. At the time it was a shock and really hard to take, but it was the best thing to ever happen to me, and since then I have managed to be firm from the outset in regards to what I do and dont work, and since I have had this approach I find it really easy to just say no I cant do that.

I suggest sitting down and working out what you want to do working hours wise going forward, and make sure all your advertising clearly states this. Then look at your current children and hours and look at what time you have free. Then maybe look into a small part time job for these free periods just to give some extra money for when these things happen.

[Jessymax]

thanks for that its nice hearing peoples similar experiences.. I don't have any free time but I do want to be running with 3 eyfs children to make it worthwhile financially and worth turning our home into a crèche before we have children ourselves its so up and down x

[Mouse]

It is a shame that they've given notice, but unfortunately that's the risk you take when you cut down your hours

It's hard not to take it personally, but if the family need cover for the Friday afternoon and you can't provide it, they are naturally going to look for someone who can. It just shows though, they were giving you a hard time about it, saying they couldn't possibly find alternative care for the afternoon, but now it looks as if they could sort something out. It's a shame they didn't work with you on finding a solution.

At least you can start afresh as you mean to go on. Hopefully you'll manage to fill the space and get you well deserved half day off

[Maza]

Sorry to hear this. It is always a risk that families will give notice if we try to alter their hours - it works both ways - we can't always meet their changing needs and so we sometimes just have to give notice.

Childminding takes a while to find out what you are comfortable with. Now you know a bit more about what you want and so you can work around it going forward.

Unfortunately it is impossible to do this job without it having some kind of impact on your home and you just have to accept that - no job is perfect. If you dwell on it then it will really get you down and you will resent the job. When you are working just four days though at least you will be able to pack it all away and get ready for the weekend. Stick with it, you have tons of experience, and hopefully things will start to pick up soon. Keep your chin up - you are just starting out so don't be too hard on yourself. x

[JCrakers]

It is a bad thing to go through but you wouldn't be happy working 53hrs if you don't really want to would you? I cut down my hours last year and I lost a lot of money per month as I had 6 children on a Friday (2 little ones and 4 after school) but I had to do it because if I'd carried on I probably would be ill from overworking now.

So, onwards and upwards It is unbelievable when you cut a day down, now i've got time to do the housework, shopping or just sitting on my bum watching TV I can also pick up my dd from school and we go into town for a coffee, something which i've not done since she started secondary school 3yrs ago.

There will be other parents looking for childcare

[Jessymax]

Im so glad there is this forum you are all great and really cheer me up so thank you big hugs xx

[BallyH]

Jessymax I work a 4 day week. I'm not going to say 'only' a 4 day week because I do 46 hours, more that my dh and he has a 'full time job'. I also run a home, boss around and tidy up after 3 teenage boys and occasionally see friends. I think I've got the balance right - for me. It has to be right for you. I tightened my belt financially when I made the choice but otherwise I think I would have given the job up if I worked 5 days as I just couldn't have coped with the lifestyle of working and family life.

[loocyloo]

Jessymax I work a 4 day week. I'm not going to say 'only' a 4 day week because I do 46 hours, more that my dh and he has a 'full time job'. I also run a home, boss around and tidy up after 3 teenage boys and occasionally see friends. I think I've got the balance right - for me. It has to be right for you. I tightened my belt financially when I made the choice but otherwise I think I would have given the job up if I worked 5 days as I just couldn't have coped with the lifestyle of working and family life.

I too work 4 days a week. - about a 40hour week.

my 'day off' morning is usually spent volunteering in primary school because I enjoy it and I get to see what DD is up to! the rest of the day I meet friends for lunch or coffee, go shopping, do chores, catch up on paperwork, occasionally ( VERY! ) do housework etc but I know I couldn't work 5 days a week anymore! when DS & DD were little, I used to mind 5 days a week because as I was doing stuff with my own, I thought I might as well have a couple of others around as well! now mine are older, I relish the days to myself ( and really miss them in the holidays when my own children are home! - although I do enjoy having days with just them! )

financially I would be better off if I worked 5 days, but for my sanity, I need that day to recharge and to help me enjoy the rest of the week!

[Maza]

Jessymax I work a 4 day week. I'm not going to say 'only' a 4 day week because I do 46 hours, more that my dh and he has a 'full time job'. I also run a home, boss around and tidy up after 3 teenage boys and occasionally see friends. I think I've got the balance right - for me. It has to be right for you. I tightened my belt financially when I made the choice but otherwise I think I would have given the job up if I worked 5 days as I just couldn't have coped with the lifestyle of working and family life.

Good point!!!!

[Jessymax]

exactly im still going to be working 48hours its nearly double a standard 'full time hours ' urgh I may end up wanting the whole day off and if I do feel like that I may wait until the other LO I have turns 1 (in may) then it means I could have quite a shift around if I wanted whole day off. I just want to be full the days I am open to make it worth my while financially because that is a big perk when running full to at times a v difficult job xx