childminders?

Question

if you were to send your child to a childminder how helpfull would it be if they worked on saturdays and school hols?

ive just become a registered childminder and wanted to do a bit of market research

Answer 1

I think there would be a lot of people who would think that this was a good service.

Not all people have Mon - Fri 9-5 jobs anymore and the amount of times i have heard mothers stressing about school holidays when they are working!

Answer 2

I can see how they would be helpful to people who work weekends but childminders need time off too. If im not working i never send my child to the childminders, i spend all the time i can with her. I can see how holidays would be a problem for some people but my childminder works on holidays if needed.

Answer 3

so therefore you would never be with your kids? Childminders DO work holidays anyway just not weekends. They also have lives, so you cant expect them to work 7 days a week.
UPDATE
ok, sorry if it sounded as though it was an insult, but some people really would give there kids away 7 days a week if they could. I used to be a chilminder.

Answer 4

If you're prepared to offer your time I'm sure many parents would take you up on that offer.

School holidays can be quite important (I work in a Pre-School which has a thriving Holiday Club) as most people still have to go to work when their children aren't at nursery or school. It's impossible for the average person to take those 13weeks of school holiday each year and not everyone has friends or family that can help them out.

As for the Saturdays - my husband works a job where one week he'll have Thursday and Friday off, the next he'll have the weekends off. Lots of people do shift work where their hours change from week to week too, or they'll have a day off in the week and work one of the days at the weekend instead.

Rather than commiting to it straight away you could ask around your parents and see what their views are. Maybe make yourself available to them on the odd Saturday if they have things to do and see how you feel working all week and the Saturday on top.

Good luck!

Answer 5

hey, don't forget about you!!!
weekend and school holiday childminders are usefull dnt get me wrong, but u seem to be forgetting about yourself here babes!! if u were working in a shop u'd expect 2 hav holiday time and 2 days off a week yea? just cuz ur now a childminder don't mean thats gotta change

(btw, u can charge double for working weekends, my cousins a registared childminder too n she charges double for weekends IF she works them)
don't forget, all toys that you buy are tax deductable, so keep all reciepts and give them to Mr Tax-Man and hold ur hand out 4 money!! lol

Answer 6

very helpful for holidays because unfortunatley i cant get a halfterm holiday my freind is a cm and she got a praising in the news paper from one parent as theschool was getting an extention over the summer so they wantedto shut a weekk early and many parents had no were to send th kids and had to take time off as alot of cm's dont work in thehols


allthough weekends are not needed because u need some u time and have you got kids because i dont think they would feel o happy having to share you every day good luck:) and rembember the firstfew mounths tend to be slow and v hard

Answer 7

First of all I am against the childminder, as keeping children with others from a early age is not good, but now a days mothers go for job so there are no other options. Keeping a child at childminder at week ends it completely wrong, as weekends are for, to stay back with family & enjoy. If your holidays & school holidays are on the same day then let the child be with you.

Answer 8

If my situation was that I had to work on Saturday and school holiddays then it would be fine. Also if my husband......was not around to care for the child. However, on saying this I DO think that mother / father (one) should be at home with pre school children, although I understand that financially this is not allways possible. But even then I would want to make my holidays fall in school holidays - work round it best I could.

Answer 9

I do, not too bothered about sats or hols as I like to be with my child whenever possible

Answer 10

Very helpful but some people will always take advantage