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Congratulations on your lovely news! To give you some context on other options, my childminder charges ?6.50 an hour ? assuming you are looking at a 10 hour day of care (8am-6pm) x 5 days = ?325 a week which is ?1300 a month. I believe a nanny share would be more than ?6.50 an hour. When my kids were babies/toddlers (they both went to nursery at that time) I remember that after childcare costs and travel I earned ?8 a month ? I worked part time and my Mum had them for one day a week but I still barely made a profit from working. I work in HR at a not-for-profit and regularly see young parents leave London due to childcare costs which is very sad and compounded by London property costs. Being close to family is something to really consider when you have young children, especially if your family want to help out with childcare. You don?t say how far away you live and whether you?d need to find new jobs, but I hear lots of good things about people who have left London for cities such as Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds. Alternatively you could look at more suburban parts of London where the housing is cheaper than East Dulwich. We ended up moving to Beckenham which we love and is only half an hour away from central London. As someone said above, costs are much more manageable when they are at school, so it doesn?t last forever. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

Hi there, can anyone recommend the best resort or indeed a nice villa/apartment/hotel for a family of four in Croatia? Ages of kids are 5 and 8 years. For those in the know, would October half term be a bit too hit and miss weather-wise? Any tips appreciated. Thank you.

Posting in the Family Room as I know there are lots of talented people reading this who may be looking for part-time work/flexible working. I work at a lovely digital marketing agency which is growing rapidly. Our Finance Director would love a Financial Controller to join him on his team, part-time. Offices based in Farringdon. Hours can be discussed. Please PM me if you are qualified accountant and are interested. Thanks :-)

I started a similar thread about my 6 year old son a few months ago, you might find the responses useful (bit confusing as I posted under a different name Lochie!): http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,1622836,1624494#msg-1624494 One trigger at the time seemed to be angry flair ups as a consequence of going back to school after Xmas hols! I think he had got used to doing things at his own pace at home over Xmas and then got very angry when he had to go back to school! We have found this book useful - counting to 10 before you lash out and thinking before you react: http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Feel-Angry-Your-Emotions/dp/0750214031/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459339839&sr=1-1&keywords=i+am+angry I very much feel like my son's emotions lie just under the surface, he can literally flair up so very quickly over something that seems very trivial (to us at least but not to him). Reducing ipad use has helped. Also general mindfulness practices that are shown in this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Peacefully-Meditation-Albert-Whitman-Prairie/dp/0807563811/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459339973&sr=1-1&keywords=peacefully+piggy+meditation Good luck. It can be very wearing, but for us it has improved a bit.

I'm currently looking for someone to help me as an HR/People Manager in a digital agency in Farringdon. Thought I'd post it here as I can make the role part time (3.5/4 days) for the right person and know there are some amazingly talented parents and carers out there who might benefit from working flexibly. If you are interested please PM me with what you are looking for and I'll give you some more details. Thanks!

Hi David - I absolutely think these websites welcome interest from men/Dads. I worked very closely with some of these organisations on promoting a flexible workforce in my last job, and I know that men are critical to their approach. It only strengthens the argument for agile working if it is not just a female issue but a male one too. Now more than ever before - with the government introducing shared parental leave this year - there is a more equitable dimension to the parent as "worker and carer" (whether they be female or male). There are several big city firms that are really promoting the flex working agenda to men as well as women. Workingmums website for example states: "While working mums are what we know about best, we hope that dads, carers and other flexible job seekers will also find the jobs and information on our website relevant and useful to them too. Workingmums.co.uk welcomes dads, carers and other flexible job seekers." Good luck!!

Poor you Anya - it can be very bruising and you can feel very defeated when you really want to work but there are these ridiculous barriers that dictate that you can't. I would say persevere as you will get there in the end. Build connections on LinkedIn, make approaches even if people aren't advertising for open vacancies - I've had some success by doing that. Be very clear within the first conversation that you have with someone that you need flexiblity but that you are extremely motivated to perform. Latest list of the top employers for families is here - might be worth you having a look and see if any fit within your industry, and approach them: http://www.topemployersforworkingfamilies.org.uk/index.php/special-awards/winners

Thanks again for the further tips. I know there are some amazing pro-flex websites/recruiters/employers around. And thanks for all the amazing offers of help to put my CV forward to your own employers! I've actually just been offered a great role that is a promotion and offers flexible working so I am really pleased and can now say that in this instance my perserverence paid off. If anyone else is in a similar situation, I can recommend Capability Jane, Timewise jobs, workingmums- all places I've managed to sucessfully apply for genuine flex jobs and get through to interview stage with some really great companies. I also had a call with http://www.availexe.com/ who have been in the press recently (I read about them in Goodhousekeeping!!) - really great business - linking up freelancers in HR, Marketing, IT, Finance - with smaller start-up businesses who want project work done from talented people, often from home. It is very hard for people who want to work flexibly so I wish anyone hoping to do the same the best of luck - hopefully in years to come we'll look back and wonder why employers made it so hard, and flex working will just be the norm...

Thanks for asking - I'm still looking! I've typically had one/two interviews a week since July. The feedback has generally been positive, the main issue seems to be that I should be applying for more senior roles. But the more senior roles are rarely part-time. Catch 22 situation. I don't mind taking on a less senior role if it means I can work part-time but unfortunately employers not convinced. SIGH!! The experience has been enlightening though and I still can't believe in this day and age that it isn't easier for women to work part-time/flexibly....!!!!

We went here on the weekend - beautiful and loads of stuff to do for kids (abstract art painting on the day we went and also interacting with a live yeti in the woods!). I'd never heard of it but as we have moved to Beckenham someone local recommended it to us and so luckily it was only half an hour drive away from us (probably one hour from ED). http://www.riverhillgardens.co.uk/ A friend also recommended this place and it does look good on the website (i.e. lots to do for kids) http://www.groombridgeplace.com/

Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences and advice, also those via PM. Since posting I've been applying for full time roles (mainly on LinkedIn) and have had much more interest and invitations to interview. I've been upfront in initial phone conversations that I can only work up to 4 days a week (not sure how I'll find the additional half a day of childcare I actually need to cover 4 days but I'll worry about that when I need to!). More than half of the employers I've spoken to have been amenable to 4 days and not ruled this out. Whether or not in reality this would mean being paid for 4 days and actually being required to work for 5 remains to be seen! Another option I'm pursuing is doing interim 1 year contracts, these seem to be the bulk of part time roles available as they seem to cover maternity leavers who are already working part time. I'd rather not take a role that is non-perm but I'm starting to look at it as an option now. The tips above on specialist part time jobs boards and recruiters have also been really really helpful. I'll update when I finally do get a job and also any handy tips/lessons learnt for others in a similar position! Thanks again :-)

Hoping I can pick brains for some advice and perhaps suggestions. I've just been made redundant after 10 years at the same place of work (I work in HR). My (now ex) employer have been extremely accommodating of my need to work flexibly (I have had 2 children since starting work there). But now, looking for flexible/part time work seems an uphill battle. I'm about to embark on some speculative applications this afternoon, but really I wanted to know: - Do you work for an employer which is genuinely open to flexible working - if so would you mind PM'ing me the name so I can take a look? - Have you been in this situation i.e. had to find flexible part time work? It seems most people who worked flexibly started off working full time and then reduced their hours. This is virtually impossible for me due to childcare. I can work up to 4 days a week with one day needed at home, but I can't work 5 days a week. I'd really appreciate some tips - I want and need to work and am shocked in reality at how scarce part time jobs seem to be (working in HR I already knew this but being on receiving end of it all has come as a bit of a shock!) Thanks in advance

There was some useful advice in the problem page of the Guardian Family section on Sat. Deals more with someone having to explain how a grandparent has a terminal illness but also goes on to give advice on how to help a child understand death: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/feb/07/should-young-son-see-grandad-terminal-illness Midivydale you may find it useful. The penny literally just dropped for my 4.5 year old over lunch just now. We knew the issue was coming as he has for the last year been charging around the house/park/pretty much anywhere, playing sword fighting/pirates etc with his friends, and using the word 'kill' (yes charming I know!). We recently told him why he mustn't say 'kill' to anyone and what it means, and that has triggered off more questions about not being alive and what death is. My son is v close to my Dad (77) and he pertinently asked if Grandad will die over lunch and I was honest but said people live on in memories and when we look at photos and share stories about them. When he was much younger I used to refer to heaven but now he is older and more inquisitive I have avoided the word heaven - he can decide whether to believe when he is older I guess. It is a really really hard topic to broach and I think responding in a way that is honest but not scaremongering is the most important thing (I've no idea how to get the balance right)

Thanks - have defo decided on Nicola. Found her website, looks good. Onwards and upwards!

...if so would you be interested in a part time job (3 days per week) working for a great company in SW1 or potentially to do some work from home? I'm a regular poster in the family room and am using a different name as am posting in a work capacity. I've worked for the same company for 7 years and they have been really great and flexible with my need to juggle my work with childcare (I work in HR). I know there are probably quite a few PR/Comms experts who are working parents in the ED area who may freelance or just want part time work - hence the reason for this post. We are looking for a PR Manager 3 days a week, with experience in digital. We'd also consider a freelancer for 2 days a week. If you are interested please PM me... Thanks (not sure if admin will remove this post but am posting genuinely as I think its a great job for someone who wants part time work - hence Family Room!)