Grandparents looking after ya kids

Does anyone have their parents look after their child on a regular basis??

I'm looking at my study options for next year and it's going to be more busy than this year so I'm going to need some daniel free time during the week.

I can't really see any way that we can realistically afford to send him to daycare. Even for the minimum of 2 half days or one full day we don't have enough $ for, so the only real option is asking if my mum wouldn't mind looking after him for a day a week.

My parents are very flexible because they have a home business and my mum does have quite a bit of spare time. I haven't approached her with this idea yet because I wanted to ask anyone on here something..

Do you pay them?? And if so how much? I don't mind paying my mum. I also thought I could take Daniel to her (shes 20 mins away) and I study there so she could still do things around her house. And she goes and does a lot of things for her parents as they are getting quite old and they would love to see Daniel more often too, every time he goes to visit my mum she takes him around there and they have a blast.

I know she would love it and she would love taking him around her to parents and to my cousins to see his little girl all the time.. I think she will say no to the money too, I like the idea of getting her a little present of some sort though!

I think I have a case of the guilts about asking her. I don't like having to ask them for things which is silly.

My Mum and Bens Mum have turns looking after the kids while I'm at polytech one afternoon a week. We don't pay them.

If you are entitled to the childcare subsidy I think that you can get your Mum to sign up with Porse or something and then she can get the childcare subsidy money. I'm not sure exactly how it works but my Mums friend was saying something about it.

I think it's a brilliant idea.
My MIL used to look after Hannah for an hour a day 3 times a week while I went to the gym. Now I go at different times, so she only looks after her once a week. But she also does a lot for us as I don't have a car - so she takes me to run errands and takes me out to the garden centre and other places for a nice walk around, just to get out of the house etc.
I don't pay her - she wouldn't accept money.
But I mow their lawn (it's huge and on a slope - too much for FIL with his two "bionic" hips).
I get to plug into my ipod for an hour while I do their lawns, they get to play with Hannah.
Win win!

My mum looked after my sisters kids and charged $10.00 per child per day (looked after them for three days a week). This gave mum some pocket money as she is retired. She was ok with this for a while but I think (my view anyway) that she got a bit pissed off after a while when my sister started buying lots of treat type stuff.....eg spare tv's, toys etc.

I do think it is different because you are studying but maybe ask your mum every so often how it is working for her, payment etc.

Of course, there I was paying to have two kids at creche, paying $470 per week and trying very hard not to released the green eyed monster (which I didn't!!)

That's great that your mum could be open to the idea of looking after him.

No family support here!
Sorry slighly off topic..... but just got me thinking
Does anyone else have no family support???

I started back at work (3 days per week) earlier this month. My parents offered to mind E, until the school holidays start (DH is a teacher). They live in the Sth Island, so have had to move in with us, which presents some challenges!

However, it's been worth it, with the money we're saving and Eva is loving spending time with her grandparents. They haven't wanted any payment.

A friend of mine does pay her mum to look after her little girl, mostly I think cause her mum is on a sickness benefit and to help her out.
She's in Akl though, where daycare is expensive, and it works out more convenient to be with nana.

When we have bubs, MIL is planning to be our "daycare centre" for however many days she can. She wouldn't hear of payment, it's her first grandchild and we're basically her only hope anytime in the future LOL we will get some things to her somehow though...just to say thank you. DF's parents are very very supportive that way. Mine, not so much, I can't see them babysitting ever I don't think.

My Mum comes and stays the night every Thursday night and looks after my Daughter for the whole day on Friday. So we get to have 'date night' on Thursday, and I work on Friday. I pay her $80. She hates taking the money, but I figure that it costs her in petrol (we live about 1/2 an hour away) and I want it to be a 'business' arrangement where we both feel that we have obligations. This works well for us.