How many hours at Nursery?

[Princessxpeach]

How many hours is considered average for a toddler at Nursery?

I always assumed half days were around 3 hours and a full day around 6-7, but i'm finding in our local area the half session is from 12-6pm

My DD is 23 months and due to start but I'll admit i'm fairly nervous for her going for so long. I know I can pick her up at anytime, but just curious as to what other mums think and do.

[Lilaclily]

Ours opened at 7.30 and closed at 6pm

Half days were 7.30 - 1pm or 1pm - 6pm I think

[PotteringAlong]

A full day 6 hours? That's not even 9-5 working hours. Mine go 7.30-5.30. They are almost always first to be dropped off bang on 7.30. I try and pick them up between 4.30 and 5.

[Princessxpeach]

PotteringAlong - I'm probably going back a good 30+ years when I was at nursery

I'm not working so for me I never know what the right balance is. I suppose it's alien to me for a child of my DD's age to spend so much time away from home. But I am aware it's normal for them to do so lol

[IamChipmunk]

Our nursery is open 7.30am -6pm as well.

Ds goes 7.45ish -5. He started at 7 months and I collected him around 4 then as he was still bf at that point.

[Redkite10a]

Our nursery is 7.30 to 1 or 1 to 6.30 for half days, but it is set up to cover working parents who may have a bit of a commute. If you go to the preschool attached to our local primary which takes kids from age 2, a morning session is 9 to 12 and afternoon 12 to 3 as it's only open school hours.

[SprogletsMum]

My dd gets the 2 year funding so she does 15 hours a week spread out as 3x5hour days. It works well as she gets 2 full days at home with just me then the 2 weekend days with us all.

[NerrSnerr]

My daughter is 2 and has been going to nursery from 8.15- 5.30 4 days a week since she was 1. She is tired by the end of the week but loves it. Needs must due to work.

[insancerre]

In my nursery a half day can be 7.30-12.30, 1.30-6 OR 8.30-11.30, 12-3 depending on what hours you need
The shorter sessions are sessional term time aimed at people using their free funding while the longer sessions are aimed at people needing daycare

[GloriousSlug]

I work in a nursery and we take babies from 3 months. A half day is 7.30am-1pm or 1pm-6pm.

We have lots of babies/toddlers that do full days, very few do half days. The average in my setting is probably 3 full days.

[rosewineisgreat]

My toddler goes 8-5 three days a week.

[PeggyMitchell123]

My son's nursery half day is 7-1 and 1-6. He has the 3 year old 15 hour funding and goes in Thursdays and Friday 7-1 every week including term holidays. I did think about putting him in 3 days term time only but thought he would struggle getting back into nursery after holidays.

We are considering putting him in a schoo

[PeggyMitchell123]

Posted too soon we were considering a school nursery which would be 3 hours every day but 2 sessions work well for him

[DorotheaHomeAlone]

I think you might be mixing up private nurseries and school nurseries/pre-school. The former cater for ft working parents so match those hours. The latter tend to be in line with school hours and holidays so only open around 8.30-3.30 and term time.

[Marmalade85]

Lol at 23 months

[insancerre]

Dorothea
Lots of nurseries do both of those options

[chatnanny]

My DGD goes 9-12.30 3 days a week.

[chatnanny]

She has me and the other DGP collecting those 3 days when her DP work full
time. The DM has the other two half days so she goes to me and the other DGP. She is nearly 3.

[chatnanny]

Sorry for duplication. Aged 2.

[Frazzled2207]

Mine went 8-6 from 10 months. Only two days a week tho.

[Hellmouth]

Ours is 7:30am -6:30pm

Half days are 07:30am -1pm or 1pm - 6:30pm

DS is 6 months old and will be doing 3 full days per week. My best friends DS was in full time from 6 months. Don't worry, nurseries are really well equipped to look after the young ones.

[Princessxpeach]

To the person who laughed because my DD is 23 months, and i'm nervous about it, She has suspected Autism and a range of health conditions. I didn't feel the need to expose every detail about her as I was only enquiring nursery hours for children of this age.

[Nix32]

Just a thought, but you don't have to send her to nursery if you're not comfortable with it. If you don't need her to go for childcare reasons, why worry? If you chat to her, play with her, take her places, attend the odd playgroup together, then she would be getting plenty of stimulation.

[dementedpixie]

My 2 only went when they got their free hours age 3. Is there a reason you want her to go at a younger age ? (Mine went 5 days for 2.5 hours each day)

[Princessxpeach]

DementedPixie I want her to go as she doesn't socialise much. Her behavioural issues are affecting her mental development. She's very physical and active but I think until she gets some form of diagnosis she should at least go to Nursery for socialising and just to see if it will give her that "peer pressure" to copy what others do etc

[GloriousSlug]

How about trying two days with the aim of possibly building up to three (or more if you want to). At my nursery we have parents who do not work and their children typically do 8-4 (but they'll have to pay for a full day still)

Have you spoken to the nursery about your concerns re. your daughter's health issues and her potentially having autism?

A decent nursery will be falling over themselves to support you and your daughter with settling in and if she is tracking below the expected age then they should be putting measures in place to support her - regardless of whether she has a diagnosis.