I have slowly been getting to know some local childminders. Only got registered in December and properly started minding in March.

I had a rough idea that in my area childminders were charging £30 to £35 a day. I spent many hours trawling through childcare.co.uk and the council childminders local website (the one we all get on for free) looking for local rates in my area. This is where I got above figure from. I coul see childminders hours varied slightly ranging from 7.30am starts to 8 am starts and 5pm finishes to 6pm finishes. Therefore I thought going in at £32.50 a day term time 8 til 5.30pm no retainer was a good price. Wasn't undercutting and I was desperate for term time (I have 4 children of my own at primary school and nursery).

I went to a toddler group today (that mostly consists of childminders). I am in SCotland so we don't have toddler groups for childminders only, which is good as we are more than welcome to go to any toddler groups we fancy.

All the childminders there were lovely to me and very welcoming (once I got there I realised I knew a couple from a couple of training classes I have attended). All were lovely except one. She wasn't very pleasant to a couple of the children there ( I didn't know who were her mindee's etc.)

She told me she is a term time childminder too. That all the childminders in my area charge £35 a day and if term time like her charge 50 per cent during the holidays. She was screwing her face up when I told her my charges etc. Making faces as if I was undermining all of them and obviously under cutting them all. I know for a fact that not all childminder in my area charge 50 per cent retainer. Two other childminders charge a higher rate than mine, £35 a day but no retainer.

i could tell she was annoyed and was having this conversation with me right next to all the other childminders and a couple of parents. I found myself getting annoyed at her and telling her that when I started out I could only go by the info I had sourced. As far as I was aware there was no price fixing in my area She had a reputation behind her which was allowing her to still get business charging a retainer I didn't. As she has been minding 15 years.

I suppose I just wanted to moan. I do want to increase my price once I have had my mindee's for a year. I have put down on the contract that it will be reviewed in a year. I do want to charge £35 a day (at the moment I am £32.50 a day. I am not fussed about a retainer. I don't want to work holidays and my children don't want me too.

Would a new childminder's charges annoy you if they were less than yours?