Back to work, creche costs?

dancin

Hi All,
My wife is considering going back to work after 7 years of being a stay at home mum. When we were expecting out first child we looked into creche costs as were considering going back to work. I'm sure that the figures are hopelessly out of date at this stage.

We have a 7 year old girl and a 4 year old boy. We'd be looking for a creche which would take them after school (1.15 and 2.15 respectively) until one of us could collect from work (probably about 6).

From my scant knowledge of creche's, I'd guess it would be about 1000 a month - assuming we could actually get somewhere...

We are in Swords, Co. Dublin.

If anyone could provide any facts and figures, that would be really appreciated.

Kashkai

We were quoted a price of €130 for after school care for our daughter (6 1/2) and €220 for fulltime creche care for our twins. At €570 a week for childminding, we gave decided that one of us will stay at home and mind the kids ourselves thereby eliminating the stress of getting them up and out in the morning and rushing home to collect them in the evening.

We are by no means well off and losing one salary is going to hurt but we'd have just been handing one of our salary's to the creche anyway.

dancin

Ye gads. Wife got a recommendation from one of the part time working mothers this morning on the school run, and rang the creche concerned.

Are you all sitting down?

192 a week for the younger (because his school finishes earlier so is classed as being there all day long), and 120 a week for the older - up to 192 when the school is on holidays.

So that's 312 a week during school or 374 during holidays.

Per month that's approx 1350 and 1620.

Wife is looking at a job paying approx 22K, which we think would add approx 1400 a month to our total take home.

So during school we'd make approx 50 a month, and during holidays would be down approx 220 a month!!!

Obviously this is not a runner, all the added hassle of working on top of actually making no money from it.

Is this abnormal, or just the cost of creche's nowdays?

Nevyn

That is pretty much the average and one of the reasons that trying to get back into work is so daunting.

Would a child minder be an option ?
Would working flexitime be an option or job sharing ?
That 50 euros a month would be gone by the time your wife gets to and from work and pays for her lunch.

Realsitically you have to be earning a lot more then 24K a year to make going back to work a remote possibility with crech charges like that and that is not easy esp when you have taken time out for 4 to 6 years to rear the children to school going age.

littlebug

It's shocking isn't it? That's the very reason I stopped working when I had my second child. There I was, MA educated , with a good job and I couldn't afford to work. I didn't work at all for a year and then I was lucky and started getting work from home from my old employer and was able to get a childminder just round the corner who just charges for the hours she actually minds them rather than charging for a full day. So I now work 3 hours in the morning from home and just pay the childminder for that.
I think a childminder would be your best option but the difficulty is finding someone who is able to able to pick them up from school.
If they are minding other pre-school children in the mornings this can be difficult especially if they have 2 separate trips to make.

BUT, even with a reasonably priced childminder you're still talking about over €200 per week for those hours.
Good luck!

SarahMc

I don't get it, why do parents go for creches as a preferred option?

IMO a childminder is your best option, not just for cost, which would be around €200 as littlebug said, but afterschoolers have been sitting at desks all day, they need to go to a home environment, do their homework at a kitchen table, play in the garden if they want to, do crafts if they want to, chill on the couch and do nothing if they want to, maybe bake, visit the library, beach or park. Some childminders will ferry the children to afterschool activities.

A lot has changed in 7 years, many childminders are now trained, registered and insured. The local Childcare Committee will give you a list of them.

iguana

Or, if your wife was considering going back to work because your family could do with the extra money rather than a personal desire to go back into the work place she could do childminding herself. My mum did it when my dad got too ill to work and myself and my brothers loved it.

kelle

dancin wrote:

Ye gads. Wife got a recommendation from one of the part time working mothers this morning on the school run, and rang the creche concerned.

Are you all sitting down?

192 a week for the younger (because his school finishes earlier so is classed as being there all day long), and 120 a week for the older - up to 192 when the school is on holidays.

So that's 312 a week during school or 374 during holidays.

Per month that's approx 1350 and 1620.

Wife is looking at a job paying approx 22K, which we think would add approx 1400 a month to our total take home.

So during school we'd make approx 50 a month, and during holidays would be down approx 220 a month!!!

Obviously this is not a runner, all the added hassle of working on top of actually making no money from it.

And if your children have a virus the creche won't take them, but you'll still have to pay!

Zynks

kelle wrote:

And if your children have a virus the creche won't take them, but you'll still have to pay!

Well, it is fair that the child is not taken when ill. We have experienced a few of those occasions and it makes a mess out of your day, and having to pay for the unused creche is the "icing in the cake". It is frustrating but not unfair if you think about it.

Crea

kelle wrote:

And if your children have a virus the creche won't take them, but you'll still have to pay!

The creche that my children were in would allow sick children so long as they had an antibiotic. This was a load of rubbish because with a cold all they need is TLC for a few days but because parents can't take that kind of time off work the children are brought to the doctor and given the antibiotic. No wonder there's so many super bugs around.
I chose a creche because of the safety aspect of having the staff supervised but my preference now would be a childminder.

run_Forrest_run

SarahMc wrote:

I don't get it, why do parents go for creches as a preferred option?

IMO a childminder is your best option, not just for cost, which would be around €200 as littlebug said, but afterschoolers have been sitting at desks all day, they need to go to a home environment, do their homework at a kitchen table, play in the garden if they want to, do crafts if they want to, chill on the couch and do nothing if they want to, maybe bake, visit the library, beach or park. Some childminders will ferry the children to afterschool activities.

true but what do U do if the child minder is sick/cannot work due to some unforeseen event? Also childminders can just quit at the drop of a hat and that leaves the parents in a spot of bother..I agree with you about after schoolers needing a change of scene etc..but the lack of good child minders mean the creche provides the only reliable option...I would prefer a childminder but that is the way I see it (in my area anyway).