Rachel Avery
Childcare diaries: 10 real moms reveal their exact childcare costs and weigh in on the price debate.
As childcare costs continue to rise and many parents has the back-to-work dilemma on their hands, the UK faces a major problem. To reveal the true cost of child care, 10 moms share their personal stories with HELLO! and weigh in on the big price debate …
MORE: 8 of the most related Instagram accounts for parenting
WATCH: Gemma Atkinson’s parenting decision elicits fan reaction
£ 75.50 per day – Fiona, Bristol
“We pay £ 75.50 a day. She goes three days a week and that includes all food, nappies, sunscreen, etc. It’s definitely on the high side of childcare costs. A lot of people I know pay less than this rate, but we chose a nursery in downtown Bristol, close to work, and it will definitely be higher.
“The fact that everything is included also makes it more reasonable … we do not have to pack a bag or something, just load her as she is, which saves time in the morning. I also think her speech is advanced for her age and her confidence and social skills have been great since she was in kindergarten.
“Family offered childcare when I returned to work, but because my daughter was born in lockdown, we wanted her to go to kindergarten to acquire the social skills and to be with other children. Cost was a secondary factor “It’s very expensive, but I’m looking forward to the £ 900 disposable income we’ll probably have when she goes to school.”
Childcare costs rise in UK
£ 1,450 per month – Yasmin, London
“We currently pay £ 72.50 a day, which is about £ 1,450 a month. We get a discount because she’s five days a week left, and we use the tax-free childcare scheme. It feels very expensive – it’s a big chunk. money to pay out per month and before I change jobs, I worked part time as it was unsustainable for me to work full time and pay the full time fees.
STORY: Postpartum psychosis: the crippling mental health disease as explained by Laura Dockrill
MORE: When moms think twice and how to stop it
“Childcare should be more affordable – my daughter loves kindergarten and is happy to be there every day, which is great. However, I often feel that the food she serves is nothing like what we were told she would get – it’s a lot of baked bean cake and sausage rolls and canned fruit.I know it’s not cheap to run a nursery and the staff are not paid much – and if you break it down I pay less than £ 10ph for her care which not really that expensive, but I feel that nurseries should also have state support Child care is such a fundamental part of early years’ development.
“And more needs to be done to make it accessible before the age of three. It also almost always falls on women to retire from work to afford children and their care, and it is unfair that it can result in years out of the workplace and major career setbacks. I feel like if the onus was on men, it would be completely different.“
Working moms need to balance income with childcare fees
£ 73 per day – Kathryn, Bristol
“We spend on average between £ 800- £ 1,000 a month on nursery fees, but it depends on how the month falls. It’s £ 73 a day. I think I’m in the minority who think it’s reasonable, as it’s three meals a month. day includes day and all diapers, diapers, cream, etc. I just send my daughter with clothes and they provide everything else. We are lucky that we are in a position where we can afford it so that I can go to work part time, if I were on my own, it would have made no sense for me to work at all after we paid for nursery fees.“
£ 1 100 per month – Siobhan, Weymouth
“When covid hit and my freelance slower speed, I had to give up work because I did not bring in enough to cover the fees – it was more than our connection at the time. I think it was about £ 1,100 a month for my twins (which to be honest could have been a lot worse since some London nurseries would cost so much for one child). Yet the cost was crippling.
“I do not think it’s reasonable – I think I’m right to say the UK has one of the highest rates of childcare in the world. To put the £ 1,100 figure in context – it was not for full – time care , it was for three short sessions a week – so trying to earn that fee in a three-day work week (plus actually making it worthwhile and on top of that earning more), was even pre-pandemic difficult. counting down the seconds until they got their free hours (this is the term after they become three). The cost of childcare was 100% the reason I gave up work.“
£ 75 per day – Mollie, Bristol
“We pay £ 75 a day and I think it’s a relative price for Bristol! It’s a babysitter, so she has costs to cover, and I think people who work in childcare should be paid a good salary, but it’s a huge financial cost for us to take on, on top of reducing my hours. We only went to childcare for three days a week with grandparents doing one day trying to manage its cost, but it’s still around £ 10k a year!“
£ 87 a day – Heidi, Bristol
“It’s £ 87 a day for us, though they’s amazing! Not reasonable, but I heard it was good, so wanted my son to go there, as I felt more settled, and they were amazing with him,” so we think it’s worth the money.I’m sure many are the same but I just felt safe knowing it was highly recommended, if it was cheaper I would probably send him for more days for some structure “But we’re lucky we have parents who help.”
MORE: Do you feel weakened? The four types of parental burnout that have been revealed and what to do
£ 55 per day – Carys, Hertfordshire
“We pay £ 55 per day which includes three meals and snacks and it is 08: 00-17: 00. I find it reasonable because I know it’s one of the cheaper nurseries in our area. The cost affected how many days I went back to my baby to work (and with commuting I would have earned very little). I would love to put her in more, but it just does not make sense costly. Her grandparents do not live nearby, so no free childcare options. ”
£ 348 per month – Natalie, Bristol
“We pay £ 348 for one day a week and that’s not a reasonable price. However, he gets cooked meals cloths, etc and they do a lot of extra good with him like French singing classes and football lessons so it’s a good nursery. Typically, the waiting list for a good nursery is two years if it’s reasonably priced, so that’s why we finally went for this one – the waiting list was not that long because of the price!“
Some parents like the interaction benefits of childcare
£ 220 per month – Laura, Bristol
“We use a babysitter and a nursery and it’s about £ 220 a month which is small, but we also travel so our parents can help too. If he’s three, we get funding for 30 hours so we can do a little more can be relaxed.
“It’s good prices considering the learning he received. However, it’s such an extra expense, but helped as Covid meant we were very into it.”
MORE: Is your child a picky eater? Top 20 foods to recommend to children under 5
£ 35.50 per day – Leanne, Bristol
“We currently spend £ 35.50 a day on a private babysitter, but it’s only 5.5 hours, so not really what some people would say is a full day.
“Babysitters tend to be, I think, a little cheaper than nurseries. That’s not why we went with her, but that was a plus in hindsight. We only send him one day a week,” he said. for that is all we can afford. “
£ 630 per month – Rochelle, Bristol
“We spend £ 63 a day and we do two days a week so the bill is £ 630 this month. I just think it’s ‘reasonable’ as I know other places that are £ 20 more a day for the same hours, mainly because it more central Bristol.Without the comparison though I think it’s still crazy money!
“It’s more than half my salary just for her two days of nursery bills. We’m lucky my partner’s mother has her now a days, otherwise it would not be worth it to work. I reckon I will just have about £ 200 a month to show up to work three, 10-hour days a week!
That said, she can have her two days a week and we get half the nursery cost, but I feel it’s so beneficial for her to go two days rather than just one that we are willing to pay it, I think.
“My brother also lives in Finland and pays what I pay in one week for my daughter to only be in the nursery for two days to cover my nephew’s nursery five days a week for the whole month!”
Like this story? Sign up for the HELLO! Family Hub newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
English
French
Spanish