Angry with nursery for putting babies in with older kids at the end of the day

[Nuni]

Because some of the staff go home early, they don't have enough staff to keep the baby room open the last couple of hours before nursery closes.

I deliberately chose a nursery with a room for Under 2s, I'm paying the same price for the hours she's mixed in with older kids. She's still so small and vulnerable, I don't like her being in with 4-5 year olds

Why didn't they tell me this before?

Or do all nurseries do this?

Keyworker is fantastic but I feel really let down by the way the nursery is run... surely if they advertise a baby room it should stay open until closing time? I wanted a safe, baby-friendly area, where she feels secure, not being lumped in with older kids at the end of the day, in a room set up for a different age group, just so they can avoid paying more staff

[KateLivesInEngland]

I'm assuming this is your first baby?
Look, 5yr olds are not necessarily going to harm your child. I'm assuming there is sufficient staff ratio > children left at that time of day so they are still being monitored and supervised.
If this is really a sticking point you'll have to look at other arrangements but personally you're being very PFB about it.

[Sirzy]

I presume you would be happy to pay extra to cover the extra staff that would be needed each day?

It's pretty standard practise, as long as she is safe and cared for I wouldn't worry

[PixieGio]

I get why they do it. Mine does it. Our nursery closes at 6 but parents start collecting at around 4. The different groups get smaller, why not merge a couple? My son was bored shitless in the baby room and loved going in the toddler room. Way more stimulating in there.

[SirChenjin]

The nurseries I used did this. Providing that the staff child ratios are as they should be and they are well supervised then it's fine imo - it's what childminders do.

[megletthesecond]

They used to do it at the dc's nursery at the very end of the day, especially if there was only one or two babies or toddlers left. There were still sufficient staff to supervise. It really didn't bother me.

[DowntonDiva]

YANBU

They should have told you before. I'm assuming you're paying a premium for the baby room too?

[ProfYaffle]

Standard when my dc were in nursery too. It's quite nice for the age groups to mix.

[ImGoingToTeabagYourDrumKitDale]

I only have one child, my first born he's nearly 2 has been going to the same nursery since he was 16weeks old, occasionally they are all in the same room. I personally have no issue with it. It's normally in the morning at our nursery, when he was a baby he was cuddled till it was time to go up and now at a toddler just gets on with playing. He's a confident young child who enjoys to jump and run and unfortunately play fight (thanks to his father)

If you are really unhappy you will have to switch, but honestly it's not that bad.

[NeedMoreSleepOrSugar]

The nursery DD goes to does this at the start of the day and I've never seen any problem with it. The ratios are correct and all children are well looked after with age and stage appropriate toys and activities.

Now that DD is getting older I can certainly see the advantages of the arrangement, as the transition to the 'big room' won't be an issue as she's so familiar with it already

[cookielove]

We don't do it in my nursery, we close at 6 and we shut the room down around 5.50, 5.55 then head up the other end. Babies are never dumped in a room with older children, this may be a rarity but I am glad we are :)

[SirChenjin]

Dumped?? Hardly.

[cuntinghomicidalcardigan]

They did this at my dd's nursery and she loved watching the older kids play. As long as the ratios are right then I think it is standard. They had a 0-walking and a walking-2 room at her nursery, the 2-3 and 3-4. There wasn't any 5 year old's as they would be at school.

[LilacSpunkMonkey]

Not sure babies are 'dumped' in most nurseries tbh.

[2nds]

But your child will learn from the older kids and it would benefit the child. My 2 year old is directly behind my 3 year old in terms of milestones simply because she copies everything. If you go on to have a second child you probably won't care about this at all.

[Mouikey]

I never knew this was a thing... The nurseries around here charge more for babies because of the higher ratio and for the extra facilities. I'd be pretty cheesed off if they were then put in with older children as they didn't have enough staff to cover (which I would also be paying for!!). For 10 minutes its not a problem, but for a couple of hours is not right - IMO.

[PixelFloyd]

I thought this was pretty standard. Both nurseries my children have been to did this. And as a pp said - this is what childminders do. (Also - 5 year olds will be at school, not nursery, won't they?)

[SirChenjin]

Depends where the OP is Pixel

[KateLivesInEngland]

And wether they offer after school club.

[Writerwannabe83]

My nursery doesn't have segregated rooms at all, all the children go in the same room together regardless of ages. It's only a small nursery of about 18 children so maybe that's why?

The ages range from 6 months up to 8 (they provide before and after school care) and I enjoy seeing all the children playing together, it's lovely.

My son is 2 and has been going there for about two months now and the surge in his development, especially his speech is immense and I absolutely believe it's because he mixes with older children.

[Stillunexpected]

is it really for a couple of hours or just the last half-hour of the day? It's been quite a while since mine were in nursery but then they all used to join together for tea at about 4 wish and by the time tea was over and everyone had been washed or wiped and been to the toilet it was probably time for some parents to start picking up so I think all the children stayed in the same room but they had about four different activities laid out and adequate supervision. I don't see it as a huge problem if it's something like that but if it is about 2 hours a day then I think you are entitled to feel annoyed.

[OlennasWimple]

Standard IME. I liked the mixed room for a little bit of the day, and other parents were grateful not to have to go to multiple rooms to collect.

[Griphook]

I used to manage a nursery, I would say half hour at the end and beginning of the day was ok, not hours though, so how many hours? And where are they all together? In baby room or overs? As if they are in overs is the equipment appropriate?

[MrsJoeyMaynard]

The nursery DS2 goes to does this at the end of the day. They close at 6pm, but the parents start picking up well before then, so often if you pick up near 6pm, there's hardly any kids left, and they have them all in the same room once the number of children present drops low enough. They tend to send staff home early as the number of children present drops too.

They always maintain the higher staff ratios needed for the youngest children present though.

[DerelictMyBalls]

www.theonion.com/article/mother-still-searching-preschool-focuses-exclusive-50387

[StatisticallyChallenged]

The issue might not be ratios but trying to have at least 2 staff per room - so they might have a 1:3 ratio for littlies and only 2 babies between 5 and 6 but would need 2 staff to keep the baby room open. So being in one room doesn't mean you're getting a poor ratio.

Personally I never minded this as I think it's good for little ones to mix with older kids. DH is a CM and the babies benefit from not being isolated Imo