Am I too expensive?

[mississmoomoo]

I am a bit upset as my mindees are leaving in 2 weeks and they have only been coming 2 weeks. I work from 8 till 6pm and they need to have someone to do 7.30 everyday and to be honest, its enough to have them from 8 til 5.30.

I said I could think about it, but the mum then replied that they have put her (2yr old) down for a nursery which is £10 cheaper than me a day. I charge £40 per full day and £3.75 per hour and £160 per week for a full time 5 day week placement, I cant compete with the nursery and explained what I have to offer is a more personalised service, but they obviously want to save all of £10 for the week.

Am I too pricey?

[christinajanep]

I personally think only you can say of your too expensive.
Have you considered what other childminders in your area are charging ?:)

[viclou88]

I always think it depends on what the other childminders are charging in your area? I know in my area that childminders charge as little as £2.00 an hr!! And proberbly the most is £3.50. I charge £3.00 but are always..fingers crosses pretty full up. If i was to charge £3.75 i doubt i would get any children but like i say it depend what others are charging! I worked in a nursery before becoming a childminder and for a full day 8 -6 was only £32.00. To me £3.75 is alot but i think thats because i only charge £3.00. I think sometimes you have got to lower the price. but as you say cant understand why you would move a child for the sake of £10 a week! Especially when they get alot more one to one interaction with a childminder :) hope this helps

V xx:)

[kindredspirits]

i charge £150 for a full week and don't include meals - depends on your area but tbh i can't see why a parent would come to you for 2 weeks when the nursery is cheaper to begin with and then change their minds, very weird.

[mississmoomoo]

Between £3.50 and £3.75 per hour is the going rate.

[solly]

I always go on the going rate in my area. I don't do a per day or half day rate as i really can't be bothered by the hassle ever since i started 8 years ago i have just charged an horly rate.

My current rate is £4.00 per hour without food or £4.25 with an evening meal included. saying that my rate will be going up from January to £4.25 & £4.50.
£4.75 per hour & extra for food, she has not got any work at the moment.

My parents know about this and are more than happy to pay. I start at 7.30 as i have a couple of parents who start work at 8 and as i am up with my children its not a problem for me

Good luck in finding replacements for the 2 you are losing

[viclou88]

Well maybe you could try and lower to £3.50?

[mississmoomoo]

I always think it depends on what the other childminders are charging in your area? I know in my area that childminders charge as little as £2.00 an hr!! And proberbly the most is £3.50. I charge £3.00 but are always..fingers crosses pretty full up. If i was to charge £3.75 i doubt i would get any children but like i say it depend what others are charging! I worked in a nursery before becoming a childminder and for a full day 8 -6 was only £32.00. To me £3.75 is alot but i think thats because i only charge £3.00. I think sometimes you have got to lower the price. but as you say cant understand why you would move a child for the sake of £10 a week! Especially when they get alot more one to one interaction with a childminder :) hope this helps

V xx:)

Well thats it, for a week which includes meals I dont think its too much for £160, I may move my price down to £3.50 I think.

[Chimps Childminding]

Could it be that nursery was always the plan, and that the had to wait until a space became available, and now it has? and maybe they were just using you in the meantime?? it happens :angry:

[viclou88]

Well thats it, for a week which includes meals I dont think its too much for £160, I may move my price down to £3.50 I think.

Yeah you could always put it back up in the future. :) Could you not lower the price for the child that is going to nursery or are they dead set in moving? saying that they new the price when they picked you!! tut!! :) x

[mississmoomoo]

Could it be that nursery was always the plan, and that the had to wait until a space became available, and now it has? and maybe they were just using you in the meantime?? it happens :angry:

Possibly, who knows, but I am quite upset about it as the bonding has been for nothing.

[viclou88]

Is it for two children?

[karenandsmile]

i recon carolyn is right on the mark there you was used as a stop gap

if i was you i would ring up other childminders in your area and ask how much they are charging just say your looking for your own children and most will tell you over the phone its no secret in our town what everyone charges and the ones that are experenced and have qualification seem to get filled up first

[Spangles]

I agree, definitely look around and find out what other local childminders are charging. Some of their fees might be on the CIS site.

Maybe something has happened to their finances and they have been forced to make savings and this is one of them? They probably wouldn't tell you that as it's quite personal. Even if it's only £10 p/w, every little adds up when you're a bit short.

Before you lower your prices though check with others in your area.

Hope you get some new mindees soon.

x

[green puppy]

I charge a daily rate of £36.00 with food or an hourly rate of £4.25, so for a five day week 8-6 thats £180 a week. Yes a nursery may be cheaper for them but don't forget that as a childminder you are limited on the amount of under fives you can have, you have lots of expenses and you provide a much more individual and probably a more flexible service than a nursery. I believe an under five has more one to one time and obviously better continuity of care with a childminder. They also get experiences of local groups, park visits and outdoor time in general more than nursery children would. I'm sure you provide a valuable service and if these parents would rather save money then thats up to them. Don't sell yourself short, I feel childminders should be well paid instead of being moaned at about fees all the time. I hope things pick up for you.

[julie w]

I charge £15 a day, and parents struggle with that, but then I dont live in a very affluent area.

[Stanfield]

I charge £4 per hour, I only have space for 1 child ontop of my own, so I need to make it worth my while.
I have not got anyone yet, but have a lady coming to visit tomorrow and also a few enquirys I could not take on, and they know the price.
When you consider all our expenses, it doesnot always pay to go cheaper and you may be left out of pocket in the end. I would wait if you can at your current price to see if someone else comes along.
Just put it down to a bad experience.:(

[mississmoomoo]

Thanks for the advice girls. Its cheered me up as I sink into a bottle of wine;) . I think I was a bit shocked when she told me, I did mention that I have had an enquiry from someone whos LO is at the nursery she is on about putting her daughter into as he hasnt settled at all since starting so they are looking for alternative.

Needless to say I have been to the nursery when looking for childcare myself back in January and both me and my husband were totally put off by the way it was set up like a cattle market and all the carers looked no older than 18 and had faces liked a slapped bottom. It was far from a nice homely environment.

[Ripeberry]

I charge £15 a day, and parents struggle with that, but then I dont live in a very affluent area.

How on earth do you manage to make a living from that amount, what is your hourly rate? :eek: .
I charge £3.50 for less than 20hrs a week and £3.40 for 20hrs +

[nic76]

i charge £3.50 an hour with food. since i changed to this from £3.75 i have got 5 kids

[Chatterbox Childcare]

To be honest I don't think that your rate is the problem. It is that you haven't built a relationship with these parents due to the short time of them coming and you weren't an immediate "yes" when she asked for more than her current contract.

I think she would have been checking out the other options in case you said no and found the difference in price.

I bet if you call the nurseries they won't do the time and not for that price.

Personally I am not sorry if people don't come to me because of price (this has happened twice this week) and I have openly told parents that I am not the cheapest but I do offere a competative, professional service and that they should go the nurseries or after school clubs if they want cheap.

Value what you do if you can afford to.

[sophiestars]

It makes me so cross when parents expect to pay an absolute pittance for their childcare. I still can't believe that in some areas some minders charge £2 or £2.50 they must be running at a loss all the time!! I personally charge £4 an hour and think I work ****** hard for that considering all the extra paperwork that I have to do out of my 'paid' working hours. If I added up all the hours I actually work including paperwork I'm probably only earning about £3 per hour then take off the money I spend on toys, craft supplies etc it's more like £2.50. How many jobs are there where you have this much responsibility, paperwork, and being observed by an inspector every 3 years for £2.50 an hour? Not many!!!

I think all childminders need to have more value in themselves and charge what they deserve. There should be a minimum national rate of at least £3.50/£4, with an agreed rise every year. I know nurseries can absorb cheaper fees more easily but childminders offer a much more personal service. How many nurseries send home a detailed diary of everything the child has been doing that day, or let the children sleep and feed to their own routine? I don't think there are many nursery workers who are doing learning journals etc in the evenings and weekends either!!

[mississmoomoo]

It makes me so cross when parents expect to pay an absolute pittance for their childcare. I still can't believe that in some areas some minders charge £2 or £2.50 they must be running at a loss all the time!! I personally charge £4 an hour and think I work ****** hard for that considering all the extra paperwork that I have to do out of my 'paid' working hours. If I added up all the hours I actually work including paperwork I'm probably only earning about £3 per hour then take off the money I spend on toys, craft supplies etc it's more like £2.50. How many jobs are there where you have this much responsibility, paperwork, and being observed by an inspector every 3 years for £2.50 an hour? Not many!!!

I think all childminders need to have more value in themselves and charge what they deserve. There should be a minimum national rate of at least £3.50/£4, with an agreed rise every year. I know nurseries can absorb cheaper fees more easily but childminders offer a much more personal service. How many nurseries send home a detailed diary of everything the child has been doing that day, or let the children sleep and feed to their own routine? I don't think there are many nursery workers who are doing learning journals etc in the evenings and weekends either!!

Well said:clapping: .I totally agree about having a national rate it would be alot simpler and stop parents looking for a cheapey over quality.

[mississmoomoo]

To be honest I don't think that your rate is the problem. It is that you haven't built a relationship with these parents due to the short time of them coming and you weren't an immediate "yes" when she asked for more than her current contract.

I think she would have been checking out the other options in case you said no and found the difference in price.

I bet if you call the nurseries they won't do the time and not for that price.

Personally I am not sorry if people don't come to me because of price (this has happened twice this week) and I have openly told parents that I am not the cheapest but I do offere a competative, professional service and that they should go the nurseries or after school clubs if they want cheap.

Value what you do if you can afford to.

you are right about her looking around she was looking around before she found me and she knew when she visited that I start at 8am and she agreed to that, but I think she used me as a go between till she found somewhere that would take her kids at 7.30am which this nursery does.

I have lowered my price to 3.50 on my web etc now as I have no other mindees other than the 2 that are leaving in 2 weeks so I will have to see what happens over the next few weeks.

[Chatterbox Childcare]

you are right about her looking around she was looking around before she found me and she knew when she visited that I start at 8am and she agreed to that, but I think she used me as a go between till she found somewhere that would take her kids at 7.30am which this nursery does.

I have lowered my price to 3.50 on my web etc now as I have no other mindees other than the 2 that are leaving in 2 weeks so I will have to see what happens over the next few weeks.

Why aren't you willing to start earlier?

[margimum]

If you work from 8 until 6 at 3.75 an hour thats only £37.50 per day. usually the daily rate is a bit less than a ten hour day would be.

[Minstrel]

If you work from 8 until 6 at 3.75 an hour thats only £37.50 per day. usually the daily rate is a bit less than a ten hour day would be.

I wondered this too???

If i was a parent using you for a ten hour day i would want you to charge me the hourly rate (£37.50) and not your daily rate (£40).

[HomefromHome]

dont change your prices til you know what other minders are charging in your area.
my area is 3.25-3.50 BUT a lot of minders are charging 4.00 if its less than 20 hrs per week.
at the moment i offer 10 percent (where's the flippin percent button??!!??) off the weeks total for 40hrs or more in a week.
if you're supplying food too i dont think its too pricey but it does depend on your area and what others are charging - nurseries are always going to compete - and i agree with some of the others - i think you were a stop gap. bad, but they do it!

[Ripeberry]

Best way I've found to explain to parents about fees is to keep it at an hourly charge but it varies according to how much they want.
For more than 20hrs a week I charge £3.40 an hour and for less than 20hrs a week it is £3.50 an hour.
I can't be bothered with daily rates, I'd rather they pay me for what they owe. But I do round up the fees, so it's either a full hour's fee or a half.
But always rounded up in my favour :D

[Vickie]

Hi, I'm soon to be registered (just going through the process) and to be honest it amazes me that CM's all charge different rates! surely the government should look at this and have a fixed hourly price? When you consider that the local services want us to do all the training courses, and book work and policies and lots and lots of paperwork with each child, surely they should sort this out! In my area it seems to go from £2.50 to £3.50ph, but to be honest I want to charge a little more... I'm not being greedy, but surely if we all charge a little more in the same area, then parents would choose a childminder on what they can offer instead of what they charge!:panic:

Have we ever thought about holding a petition to get equal rights of pay? we don't even get minimum wage?? Come on government, help us out, you do all the thorough checks on us and send Ofsted inspectors to grill us for hours, surely we are worth a little more....:clapping:

[oldtimer]

Hi, I'm soon to be registered (just going through the process) and to be honest it amazes me that CM's all charge different rates! surely the government should look at this and have a fixed hourly price? When you consider that the local services want us to do all the training courses, and book work and policies and lots and lots of paperwork with each child, surely they should sort this out! In my area it seems to go from £2.50 to £3.50ph, but to be honest I want to charge a little more... I'm not being greedy, but surely if we all charge a little more in the same area, then parents would choose a childminder on what they can offer instead of what they charge!:panic:

Have we ever thought about holding a petition to get equal rights of pay? we don't even get minimum wage?? Come on government, help us out, you do all the thorough checks on us and send Ofsted inspectors to grill us for hours, surely we are worth a little more....:clapping:

We are self employed !!!!!!!!

We charge what we think is the market rate for our area

The last thing that I would want, is for government, either local or national getting involved in pricing my service.

[Chatterbox Childcare]

Hi, I'm soon to be registered (just going through the process) and to be honest it amazes me that CM's all charge different rates! surely the government should look at this and have a fixed hourly price? When you consider that the local services want us to do all the training courses, and book work and policies and lots and lots of paperwork with each child, surely they should sort this out! In my area it seems to go from £2.50 to £3.50ph, but to be honest I want to charge a little more... I'm not being greedy, but surely if we all charge a little more in the same area, then parents would choose a childminder on what they can offer instead of what they charge!:panic:

Have we ever thought about holding a petition to get equal rights of pay? we don't even get minimum wage?? Come on government, help us out, you do all the thorough checks on us and send Ofsted inspectors to grill us for hours, surely we are worth a little more....:clapping:

I have spoken to a lady today who is just starting and she thinks that she will work out her fee based on her expenses. So when she is polled and asked what that will be, maybe £2.50 an hour, would you be happy to work for this as our rate is about £4 per hour

No thank you - I like being self employed, I am a business and want to dictate my own terms and not the government sticking in its pokey nose.

As to minimum wage - if you have more than 2 children at a time I think you will be on more than the minimum wage. Some childminders in my area are on an average of £30.00 per hour in the school holidays, if not more.

[Fizzbomb]

I charge £5 per hour. No daily rate. I have no idea what other CM's in my area charge. I've never advertised and turn work down on a regular basis. If parents don't want to pay there are other options available to them.

[Mollymop]

You are not too expensive hunni.
If they are that bothered by the £10 per week, just let them go and get on with it, their choice and their sad loss.

[Allie]

I've just been forced to reduce my rate and to be honest it's completely broken the loyalty I felt to the family, but as they are my only ones until christmas I felt some money was better than none!

I only did it because I've worked for the family for 4 years but I wouldn't be pushed with a new family as if they start like that what will they be like in a few years?


Allie

[BubbleBobble]

That is a bit off having to reduce your rate after you've been minding their children for 4 years. Why did you have to do that?
I'm not registered yet but already I'm working out rates and I'm not going to set my rate too low as I'm sure parents will try to haggle you down! Not everyone buys on price though, some go for quality so here's hoping!!!

[Allie]

Parents who put the fee ahead of their child's happiness leave me feeeling so mad:angry: my tight family actually said how much their children love it with me but they could now get it cheaper (almost let them) but very quiet round here at the moment it's the first time in 18 years I have not had enough minding:panic:



Allie

[mississmoomoo]

I wondered this too???

If i was a parent using you for a ten hour day i would want you to charge me the hourly rate (£37.50) and not your daily rate (£40).

That included meals

[mississmoomoo]

Why aren't you willing to start earlier?

I have decided to work earlier, I thought it was enought to work 10 hours a day 5 days a week but I have decided to start at 7.30 and changed my fee for full timers to £3.00 per hour and for part timers £3.50 per hour excluding meals. so they have decided to stay with me.:D

[Hebs]

I'm not registered yet but already I'm working out rates and I'm not going to set my rate too low as I'm sure parents will try to haggle you down!!!!

sorry but no one haggles my prices, my fee is my fee simple as :D

[BubbleBobble]

Best way I think! Everyone knows where they stand then.