childminder found...i think

splashthecash

Hi all,

My wife and I have been looking for a childminder for our 5 month old daughter. Wife will be going back to work in 4 months and we didn't want to wait until the last minute. My mam knew this woman who looks after kids and we went to meet her yesterday. She is the first person we've met about the job but she seems great.

She looks after a 3 year old already who will be starting playschool in Sept and she seems like a very nice woman. She agreed to look after baby from 7:30 to approx 6:45 four days a week for €50 a day.

This is a bit more expensive than we researched but the day is longer than most others and she was very flexible in terms of late collecting (caught in traffic, getting out late from work, etc..). She doesn't drive and goes for walks everyday, she used to run a baby group aswell as look after her own families children etc so she definitely has the experience.

She suggested bringing the baby up to her once or twice a week to get her used to her which sounds fair enough.

I guess we are just a bit hesitent with leaving our baby with anyone, regardless of who it is as this is our first child and the thoughts of someone other than us spending so much time with her other than us is kinda crap, but what are you goin' to do?

Has anyone been in a similar situation or got any feedback?

Cheers

lazygal

They are crazy hours to have a child with a childminder, TBH. I know you both work but I work in the preschool sector and the child will be exhausted.
€50 a day for those hours? Cheap I think, would you work for that long for €50?

kelle

My former CM charges €40 per day for the same hours. I assume you're in Dublin, and if you were to have a second child the rate would be reduced.

Lazygal, the CM has another child that I assume she's getting paid the same money for! If I was to pay €100 a day for 2 children to be minded, I wouldn't have enough to pay for my petrol to drive to work! Leading to mothers packing in their jobs, therefore no jobs for childminders - there has to be a balance somewhere!

lazygal

I know, I just find the attitude of the poster towards costs a little off. This is a child we are talking about after all, and surely the child should come first. I work with children so I know about child care costs, but if parents want thier most precious possession cared for, surely cost is secondary to the quality of the care. And the fact there is another child in the picture is nothing to do with the cost of the care for the baby in question. Its incidental to the cost of minding a second child, as I know from experience.
But that is another issue, I still think the hours are crazy for a baby.

PS does it never occur to fathers that they might pack in their jobs?!

splashthecash

@ lazygal - i only referenced the cost to illustrate that that it seemed more expensive compared to the average. at no point did i make a big deal about it or that i would "shop around" for a better deal. if the woman is right for the child we will go with her, regardless of price. you are the one who took one line of my original post and commented entirely on the issue of money on your second post.

we work in dublin and have already moved house from carlow to kildare just so we will be able to have more time with baby. we are more than aware that the day is very long but one of us leaving our jobs is not an option at the moment (although it will happen at some stage).

jeez...

ecaf

Splash the cash, I'm going to be in this position next year and my BIL is in this position now, so I'm getting the information of him now.
I think it is good that she will take the baby for 1 day a week before your wife goes back. My BIL said this too and I was surprised at first, but then thought it will give your baby a chance to know the lady without just leaving it for the first week with a total stranger.
I know he will be paying slightly less than that, but I don't think they will be leaving the baby as long because they work near by so they don't have the commute to face after work.

One thing I would be asking her is what is her maximum number of children she takes on? I know this lady only takes on 3 so I'm hoping she or someone else near me will have room for mine early next year.
Other than that you can just ask for references from other people who have used her for their baby care?
I suppose the times you will meet before you send the baby will give you a chance to get to know her too?
I know someone who works in a child minding facility - she said she used to feel sorry for the babies being left all day like that, but now that she is working in it, she sees that the babies get on great, have good social interaction and then best of care. Now its the parents she feels sorry for, just because they are missing out. I know what you are saying though, in an ideal world we would all be stay at home mums, but I'm the same as you I just have to get back out and continue working for the moment.

Best of luck, hope it works out well for you. Maybe like myself you/your wife will be continuing to look for work closer to home so that you can reduce the commute and spend more time with the baby. Its not always easy in this climate to find work closer unfortunately.

Moonbeam

What are her qualifications? (she doesn't need them but still nice for you to know if she has them)
Is she hse notified?
Does she have first aid?
Is she insured?

These might be a few things that you want to find out before leaving a baby.

http://www.childminding.ie/ has some info too.