It’s crack – £16 a ‘rock’ according to drugwise.co.uk – rock a day, pittance – less than £500 a month, I’m told it very moreish though, so maybe you might fancy one in the afternoon – so let’s settle on a low-level habit.

Full time childcare for my daughter on the other hand – £900.

Why is this important? Well, it’s not really, other than I may have to start sucking penises like a crack whore soon because it turns out the light at the end of the tunnel was a train coming.

Daughter, light of my life, the spring in my step, the twinkle in my eye turns 3 soon, not very soon, not soon as in a 2 year olds soon, which is so close to now an adult can barely tell the difference, but soon. This means School Nursery starts – back when I was a little nipper New Mums woke every morning counting down the days till this point – after 3 years of near house arrest they got their mornings or afternoons to themselves to well, do more housework probably – but them days are gone. Thanks to the Boomer generation and ‘average’ house prices of £250k and average salaries of £26k everyone has to work 25 hours a day now to keep a roof over their head which includes us, but we were hoping, nay expecting that as our local council would now offer us half days sort of introduction into School we might see a reduction in childcare costs.

Nope, not really – because it never really works out like that, does it? School Nursey starts at 09:30, how quaint, and ends at 12:00 – the private nursey that IS IN THE SAME BUILDING. charges £20 for ‘wrap around care’ that’s not childcare that’s walking them from one side of the small building to the other, which is however you cut it – expensive – £400 a month to us, assuming the trip takes 15 mins (it doesn’t) there’s 30 kids per class – assuming half of them are wrap-around that’s £300 a day to walk 15 kids about 20 metres – even if they need 4 members of staff to do that – it’s £75 for each of them, for 15 mins work – £300 an hour pro-rata, they’re on, because I looked for some of the vacancy ads, £7.50 an hour…

We pay our senior IT Technicians £20+ an hour, we bill them at £75 an hour. We’ve clearly gone into the wrong game.

P-Jay – Member
….I may have to start sucking penises

Name change to B-Jay?

I feel your pain… we had 3 of the blighters darlings (I realize this was our own fault), it was not worth my wife going back to work.

Name change to B-Jay?

And with reply, we might as well close the thread. Ain’t nothing beating that.

Stand down, Perchy.

My youngest recently turned 5, and my oldest is now 7 and my wife now has a job as a teaching assitant, so the days of needing childcare are thankfully well behind us. At one point part-time care for the pair of them was over £1k.

Somehow we managed, in the big scheme of things it wasn’t for long…

…but that taste will stay with you forever 😉

After reading your op I need to ask, are you on crack? 😆
Only kidding, is it worth you both carrying on working? Would you get more/some tax credits of one of you stopped work? Is part time working an option?
My wife became a child minder whilst looking after our own kids, no childcare costs plus she got paid to look after other people’s! Win win.

Welcome to ‘getting screwed by everyone for everything’. We’re currently with one at 2 and one at 5; the ragged broom is but half inserted but verily it still doth sting.

Financially I can’t wait until they both get to school. At which point they will want the newest of everything. With a cake.

Stand down, Perchy.

Wasn’t even attempting to top that.

Will be nominating it for the ” Funny shit I wish I’d said” awards.
Well played RB. 😆

I have 2 children. I feel your pain. Imagine your life without kids! financially much better off but without those beautiful lovely amazing things that you made and make you smile every single day. Whatever else you’ve done wrong in your life having kids is one thing you did right and will continue long after you’re dead. Having kids is in a small way securing your immortality. You have kids, they have kids, they have kids and so on and it’s because you chose not to wear a welly that night a few years ago. So pay the nursery fees and give them another kiss. 🙂 they’re worth every penny.

mitsumonkey – Member

After reading your op I need to ask, are you on crack?
Only kidding, is it worth you both carrying on working? Would you get more/some tax credits of one of you stopped work? Is part time working an option?
My wife became a child minder whilst looking after our own kids, no childcare costs plus she got paid to look after other people’s! Win win.

Am I on Crack? No, sadly not, it might have made the news easier to take – I’ve polished off 4 litres of Diet Pepsi since 9am though so I’m hearing colours and smelling sounds at the moment.

Is it worth you both carrying on working? A question I asked myself every day – in short yes, I didn’t include it in my tirade because I’d never let a fact get in the way of a good story/rant, but we get about £150 a month in tax relief from childcare, and I work from home Friday afternoons so we get a bit off each month – Mrs takes home about £1500 a month, we wouldn’t be eligible for tax credits even if I only worked.

We talked about her becoming a Child Minder, she wasn’t keen – I would actually prefer it to her I think, I love little kids but in this day and age I think many parents would be wary of a Male childminder, but I don’t think it would pay enough.

jekkyl – Member

I have 2 children. I feel your pain. Imagine your life without kids! financially much better off but without those beautiful lovely amazing things that you made and make you smile every single day. Whatever else you’ve done wrong in your life having kids is one thing you did right and will continue long after you’re dead. Having kids is in a small way securing your immortality. You have kids, they have kids, they have kids and so on and it’s because you chose not to wear a welly that night a few years ago. So pay the nursery fees and give them another kiss. they’re worth every penny.

Yeah I know, my SIL and her Wife don’t have kids, no plans to either and obviously there’s an extra barrier to them become parents – they were cooing and ahhing over our Xmas pictures of the kids, but I think they managed to get over it by booking another cruise around the Bahamas or going out whenever they dam please or whatever people do when they have spare time.

those beautiful lovely amazing things that you made and make you smile every single day.

Every single day huh? I wanna refund

I’d never let a fact get in the way of a good story/rant

ok 😆

without those beautiful lovely amazing things that you made and make you smile every single day

You’re new to this game aren’t you?

It’s no consolation, but this morning was the “how did you run up £100 of data charges” discussion with one of mine.

Childcare in the UK is a disgrace, and I still have £1600 locked away for another two years in a work scheme. I have a bike habit instead. Crack would be cheaper – so says Mrs TiRed.

*most days 😆

@jekkyl – oh yeah? My wife found my 8 year old daughter’s notebook at the weekend. In the back was written in bright green felt tip “List of people I hate – 1. Mum and Dad. F*ck them. They’re shitting idiots”. I wasn’t aware her use of profanity was so developed. She also used the correct form of “they’re” so I suppose I’m quite proud really, despite the shock. It’s more than can be said of half the shitting idiots on here anyway.

“how did you run up £100 of data charges”

maybe you should have had a lockout on phone??

I assume the reason we don’t all run businesses moving kids from one side of the building to the other is that whilst the rate is high for that bit of the day you are then left twiddling you thumbs for quite along time until the next bit of walking

But just to be clear you pay £400 a month for the moving and extra ontop for the rest of the days care

Bit I’m glad those days are behind me. My wife did do child minding when are 2 where little. We were glad of the money it brought in and I think we got one flash holiday out of it. But I wouldn’t say that it’s a parth to riches

I gave up my career 7 years ago to look after 2 kids one after the other. my child care is free but the downside is I have to work a shitty job with shitty hours and shitty pay. I’m up to my eyeballs in debt but I’ve been able to take care of my kids. in 12 months sophie will be going to nursery 30h a week for free and I can get back to a proper job. You make your choice about child care and it costs you one way or the other.

List of people I hate – 1. Mum and Dad. F*ck them. They’re shitting idiots”.

I would do a smily or something to lighten the mood but that actually makes me feel really quite sad. 😥

davosaurusrex, that’s ace, keep that and read it out at her wedding. 😀

I dunno if your maths adds up properly..

My mate’s a crackhead and he’s got through somewhere around £90k in the last 12 months..
Admittedly a percentage of that was stolen from him by his new mates but that goes with the territory so it’s swings and roundabouts really

Awe, and only Brexit to look forward to.

How sad.

Our childminder used to charge us for the time they were at Pre-School on the days she dropped them off and picked them up! It was to keep their place!
Another used to only charge us half during school holidays, while we looked after them!!
Once they get to school then its paying for before and after school care!

I’ve been part-time since April, definitely the way forward.

Feel your pain. My daughter left home a few years ago but has recently started Uni to train as a nurse. Our granddaughter has full time child care which we pay for since her and the son in-law can’t afford the cost on his wage alone.
Thought it was meant to be easier when your kids left home, all I can see is my retirement savings diminishing quickly…..

i have two kids – i say kids, but they are 18 and 20, both at uni. I’ve been poor enough during the childcare years that i took a part time job on top of the 40 hour week to cover costs. The good times made it all worthwhile, however…..

my childless Brother in law and his wife have just retired. at 50. with a pension that kicks in at 75% of their final salary.

all worth it. honest.

ampthill – Member

But just to be clear you pay £400 a month for the moving and extra ontop for the rest of the days care?

Yes, we ‘save’ £25 (rough maths) by her not being there for 2.5 hours, but it costs us £20 for ‘the walk’ so we’re not gaining much.

I have 2 children. I feel your pain. Imagine your life without kids! financially much better off but without those beautiful lovely amazing things that you made and make you smile every single day.

Then they become teenagers. You’ll pray for smile moments…

Closer to £1200/month full-time here for our 2-year-old. And another on the way…

Don’t think I’ll be buying any new bikes for a while.

We have eldest in school full time, and the little one in nursery for 3 hours every afternoon, yet still pay £700 p/m to fill the gaps.

What I find frustrating is that I sort of thought that once we got them both into full time school then a combination of us WFH, doing slightly odd shifts, swapping days with other parents etc there might be a way to escape…..but then what do you do for 13 weeks a year of holidays??

P-Jay, your nursery anywhere near Llanishen or Pontprennau?

I’m 6 months away from my last payment to nursery over a period of 8 years with our two. With the extra from the prior child care voucher scheme in the bank now back in my salary and taxed, then take away the extra costs of growing up – shoes, bikes, clothes, activities – it makes bugger all difference.

I’ve just earned my lowest salary in 6 years and its hit hard. Because while we are both working they still need to go to “kids clubs” during some of the holidays and that needs paying for as well.

Having said all that I’ve known two people that own nursery’s personally, and in neither case was it a baed of roses – the costs to run also bearing in mind the masses of admin required to look after to children are huge and the profit margin minimal. Its not a business to go into to make a quick buck thats for sure.

OP – don’t forget your free 15 hours that you’ll get when PJay jnr is 3.

molgrips – Member

P-Jay, your nursery anywhere near Llanishen or Pontprennau?

Llanishen

We take our kids there, maybe we could help out somehow? Email in profile.

I don’t really get why parents don’t get together and do what the childcare places do. ie pay some teenage/early 20s lassies minimum wage or thereabout to look after a gaggle of your noise and shit creators!

I also don’t really get why the childminders don’t get togther and do the same, seems to me to be an industry ripe for undercutting.

Edit: doesn’t rise to the Troll.

Its not a business to go into to make a quick buck thats for sure.

from personal experience, 100% this. compounded by the fact the ‘free’ goverment childcare is funded at less than cost by the goverment.

the only nurseries that will survive if they carry on like this will be the ones run by large chains who can afford to run on slim margins.

Ours are 3 and 6 and both in school – so they go to the same local childminder for “wrap around care” before and after school.

I drop them both off between 8 and 8:45 then the missus picks them up again at 5.
Bit cheaper than the days of all-day nursery, but not that much! Childcare vouchers help too.

We’ve both dropped to part-time, partially so we could spend more time with the kids while they are young, and partially because it seemed ridiculous to be working full-time just so we could afford the childcare to work full-time.