SUCH a long day!

[littleguy1]

Hi there

I had a parent call me who wants me to have his child starting next week from 7.30am-6pm 4 days a week and although I am keen to take this child as it would be my first permanent contract (I have 2 temporary through the hols and did have a permanent booked to start this week but she cancelled), my partner has a few reservations as the hours are so long. He says what if he gets home early or has a day off. Does the 4 week settling in period apply to me as well as them?

[sarah707]

730 - 6 is an average working day for most childminders I think... and paernts of children looking for childcare.

The child becomes one of your own, goes on outings with you and your family and is cared for regardless of whether hubs is home or not - I think he needs to be on board with you on this one or it could cause problems.

Yes the 4 week settling period applies to both sides.

Good luck with it all :D

[AgentTink]

Yes the settling period is for both parties, however before i became a childminder i needed my little girl looking after for some long days whilst i worked. I told the childminder from the outset, and she agreed to looking after my little girl. Imagine my surprise when after 3 weeks of settling in beforehand, and then the 4 weeks of my little girl getting to know her, she then spoke to me and said she couldnt do the long hours, as they interferred with her home life.

I was so upset as i had to remove my little girl and start the whole process over again.

I personally wouldnt use the long hours as a reason to cancel after 4 weeks as this is unfair to the parents who have been honest with you from the outset. If you dont feel they would be workable please let them find another childminder who could easily accomodate them.

I know its great thinking about your first permanant contract, but remember that if it is not workable for you and your family that it is okay to say no.

[WibbleWobble]

i work 7:15am -6:15pm 5 days a week.

OH is a lorry driver so he works funny hours...if he gets home early (due to starting at rubbish o clock) then he has to put up with the crazy gang here. He mucks in and helps out...washing up, sweeping up. being climbed on by under threes, letting the schoolies play his electric guitar. (:eek: )

its a "love me love my job" sort of career. You ALL have to be on board. Not saying your OH has to be hands on like Phil but giving up your home and privacy is part of the job!

mandy xx

[angeldelight]

I have worked 6 till 6 in the past :eek:

I think most of us work long hours

Good luck hope it all works out for you

Angel xx

[jane5]

I work 7 - 6.30 and they seem long hours at first but you do get use to them.
I can only do this because my dh is very supportive and will come in from work, the lo's will be trashing the house and he will help tidy the house, make dinner and bath dd.
He also works every other weekend so has 2 days off in the week while lo's are here and I also work weekends. I can not remember the last day off we both had together:rolleyes:

If my dh expected to come home to a tidy house and dinner on the table I would not work such long hours.

[rickysmiths]

I have worked from 7am to 6pm 5 days a week for years now. It is really strange having children from 8.30 to 5.30 at the moment and only 4 days a week until the end of August.

[onceinabluemoon]

I work 6.30am to 6pm.

It is hard working those hours, very hard sometimes, especially when you get a LO in that screams all day long or is a bit under the weather and whinges the whole day through... I've been doing it for a year and am still not 'used to it'.

Please don't take this on if you're thinking about trialling the hours, or at least if you do that be honest with the parent from the outset so she can make an informed decision.

If your OH isn't on board, it isn't going to work for you. The whole "if he has a day off or gets home early" goes for any hours really so I think you need to sit down and really get down to the nitty gritty about if this is the right thing for your family.

[Tink]

I work 6-6 most days sometimes longer. You have to be prepared in this job as most parents these days do not have 9-5 jobs.
I have two parents, one is a midwife and the other is an air hostess so they have various hours and I charge acordingly.

[miffy]

I work from 8am until 5.30pm - when I first started childminding I only worked until 4.30pm but my own children were small then.

Whatever hours you decide to work you need your families support so if hubs is not happy with the hours it might be best to wait for something else to come up.

Miffy xx

[gegele]

i work 7-7 5days a week. parents are commutter and are late 80% of time thanks to great english railway system.

if your husband doesn't want to see children you may want to re consider being a childminder. what are you going to do when he has days off? when he's ill?

it's your business so you decide the hours you want to work, but be straight be parent from the start, no need to waste people's time and disturb lo by going somewhere a couple a weeks to be moved again.

you need to think about what you want and can do and stick to it.

good luck

[Mouse]

If my dh expected to come home to a tidy house and dinner on the table I would not work such long hours.

lol! If my husband expected to come home to a tidy house & a dinner on the table, I'd be sending him off to his mum's! He doesn't even get than when I'm not working :laughing:

[littleguy1]

Well, I said to him I need his support to be able to take the child on and he said I have his support. I'm all for it and VERY excited. Maybe I'm expecting a bit too much from him but sometimes I just want him to 'swing from the chandelier' with me! He's not mentioned the hours since we met the parents. I think he was just talking out loud with a reservation that popped into his head. At the end of the day, he wanted me to stay at home with our LO and I have now found a career where I can combine being at home and earn money. It's ideal for us as far as I can see. I am good with kids and provide a good service so if anything crops up that he doesn't like, he's going to have to lump it. We can't have it all :-)

[jane5]

lol! If my husband expected to come home to a tidy house & a dinner on the table, I'd be sending him off to his mum's! He doesn't even get than when I'm not working :laughing:

:laughing: :blush: Same here but now I have an excuse :blush:

[marleymoo]

I'm cutting my hours more and more every year but parents just won't leave me! but in fairness i do drop children off for them with grannies etc at no extra cost (they're all very close to where i live) so not only do i get to finish when i want to but i don't have parents turning up late either! hurrah - why didn't i do this years ago???