Balancing work and nursery costs with twins and a toddler

When Emily found out she was expecting twins while already on maternity leave with her first child, she faced the daunting reality of providing care for three children under three. "In 2022, I finished my maternity leave with the twins and had to face the big question: how were we going to pay for childcare?" Emily shared. Her oldest child was 22 months older than the twins, but due to her October birth, she didn’t qualify for funded childcare until she was older, adding to the financial strain. For Emily, the financial pressure of managing three children’s childcare was overwhelming, and she needed to find a way to make it work.

A new challenge

Before the twins arrived, Emily worked at a design and marketing agency about an hour from home. However, post-pandemic expectations meant returning to full-time office hours, which required long days of childcare. "Even with those long hours, I still needed to leave work an hour early to make pick-up, which meant reducing my hours and my pay," Emily explained.

After calculating the costs of childcare, Emily realised that sending the children to nursery for two days a week would cost more than her monthly salary. As a result, she made the difficult decision to leave her job and pursue self-employment. “I’d built a creative career that leant itself to self-employment, and with the cost-of-living crisis, we still needed extra income to keep the house warm and the family fed,” Emily said. When her maternity pay stopped, she started a flexible freelance business from home, working early mornings, late evenings, and around nap times. This decision gave her the flexibility she needed while still generating an income.

Balancing childcare options and financial support

As Emily’s freelance business began to grow, she secured a contract for 20 hours a week, providing enough stability to consider childcare options. "We were also lucky that my parents live 45 minutes away. They agreed to look after the twins one day a week," she shared. While her oldest attended a local nursery, Emily couldn't afford to send the twins there due to the high cost. Instead, she found a local childminder, who was more affordable and offered flexibility that suited her working hours. "Using the tax-free childcare scheme saved us hundreds of pounds each month. You can use it for childminders as well as nurseries, as long as they’re registered on the government system," Emily explained. Additionally, the childminder offered a sibling discount, which made it more manageable financially.

By using a combination of childcare options, including her parents' help and a registered childminder, Emily was able to create a manageable routine. "For six months, my days looked like this. I’d take our oldest to nursery, then drop the twins at the childminder. On the third day, my parents would have the twins, and I’d work from home with our oldest," she said. This gradual approach allowed Emily to manage her work-life balance without overwhelming her family’s finances.

Future plans

In January 2023, Emily’s family began receiving 30 funded hours for her oldest child, which helped significantly with the cost of childcare. "Self-employment still counts, and you get a year to set up your business before you need to hit the income threshold," Emily said. This funding allowed her to increase her oldest’s nursery days and transition the twins into nursery as well. "We decided to move the twins into nursery so they could spend time with children their age. The childminder was brilliant, but numbers were limited, and we worried the twins might become very clingy with each other," Emily explained. They found a nursery for the twins that offered flexible hours and a sibling discount, though they still had to do a double nursery run, which added to their busy schedule.

Looking ahead, Emily and her husband were able to use the 15 funded hours for their twins when they turned two in April 2024, further easing the financial burden. "We’re still paying almost our mortgage again in childcare costs, so any reduction makes a real difference," Emily shared. The combination of self-employment, strategic childcare choices, and government-funded support has allowed Emily to make her financial situation more manageable.