Childminder/nursery/nanny...help!

Lydiamallettkeyworth
Absolutely no need to poke your nose into the OPs business. She asked about childcare, NOT opinions on full or part time work
You have just no business branding any mother irresponsible for their hours of work.
You also had no business getting a sly dig in at the OPs spelling. Please "have a reflection at your own spelling and also how horrible your comments on this thread have been

It really depends, all have pluses and minuses, and depends as well on availability in your area. I worked full time, and DS was with a childminder until he was 2, just for 3 days though, we were fortunate enough to have help from family for the other 2 days, she only worked 3 otherwise we would have probably done 4 or 5. I chose her as DS loved being outside and exploring, anywhere with trees, flowers and mud he was delighted. Although nurseries do go outside, she had NT membership, and they went out everyday even if just to the park and for a woodland walk. Holidays weren't a huge issue for me as I just took them when she did (she gave at least 6 weeks notice) as work was flexible, and she wasn't off sick at all; but worth considering if you would be able to deal with that. When he turned 2 we decided to move to nursery because we needed longer days, and it was the right time I think. Remember though that whatever you do you can change your mind, there will be a notice period and not saying to mess people around, but if you find what you think will work best and it doesn't, you can try something else. I haven't used a nanny, if you can afford it though then worth looking into.

Wow @Lydiamallettkeyworth

Lay on the guilt. Many parents work full time and are happy secure confident children

@Rosecottage888 depends on budget

Cm and nursery about the same. Nanny more costly but no need to wake dress and take child to childcare .. nanny will also do childs washing and cooking and freeze some meals and obv look after an ill child

That’s the huge big difference v nanny v cm and nursery

Lydia have you just made that up?

We have a childminder for my DD who is 8 months, she loves it and i love it!

@Lydiamallettkeyworth...
Did your research include real people with real issues like the stress of putting food on tables obtained from food banks, the depressed dealing with possibly homelessness, depression caused by lack of self worth, Esteem etc....or thoes who spend most of their day not lovingly playing and relating to their child but cleaning watching TV or on their phones....a sweeping statement that seems to assume all parenting is equal. Rather than it being quality of care over quantity.

Just ignore @Lydiamallettkeyworth
She's just Another smug self righteous STAHP who feels the need to lord it over the rest of us. My DD has been in full time childcare since small - she's far more confidant, articulate and further along in her reading and writing than the kids I know who are with STAHPs

Personally we prioritised paying the mortgage and not being homeless over giving up our jobs so I don't see how that is being selfish

@Lydiamallettkeyworth your own spelling and grammar isn’t shit hot either. Maybe reread your own posts.

Interesting that you apparently have a job and also children. How did you manage that?

Lydiamallettkeyworth a horrible, callous, judgemental character assassination of working parents. “We put our child first”- eugh! It’s a nursery not a work house! Some people have no choice, and some people have a choice and still go back to work, if you want to think you are superior for your decisions, that your child is better rounded then do but keep it to yourself rather than chucking a load of (primarily mother) guilt on others!

[quote Rosecottage888]@Lydiamallettkeyworth how do you know I haven't considered part time? Please don't make assumptions. My OP didn't ask for opinions on whether I should return to work FT or not, it was asking for opinions on the best childcare available.[/quote]
You may have done, sorry. It's just your first post was badly spelled and articulated; it just didn't come across that you'd even thought about all the options properly. Good luck thoughts

She is being very irresponsible. The child subconsciously recognises her absence, in lots of different ways. She clearly hasn't even considered part time as an option before looking at these options is downright selfish. But each to their own. I just feel passionate about this :)

I don't think there's a blanket 'best' option - it's so individual. We chose a nursery because the only childminders available to us would have required him to go on a LOT of playgroup and school runs spending hours a day in the buggy for other kids to be taken and picked up here and there. But that's not at all childminders at all.
Also our nursery had loads of outdoor space, lots of time in nature, creative play on a larger scale than we could do at home. Again, that's not all nurseries and some we visited felt cramped and claustrophobic to me.

But why is it “a bit irresponsible”? There have been absolutely tonnes of academic studies that have considered this precise question. Can you point to anything to support your view @Lydiamallettkeyworth or are you just making it up as you go along?

Of course we all make our own choices, but that doesn’t give you the right to claim the OP may be damaging her child in later life by putting them in childcare now.

Yes either or is fine! I just think it's clear part time hasn't been thought about. Really it should because kids are so perceptive and pick up on this. :)

[quote Rosecottage888]@Lydiamallettkeyworth would you like to pay my bills so I can go back part time?

[/quote]
I just think it's a bit irresponsible. But of course your choice :) it's the things we do when they're younger that play out majorly when they're older. I and my husband @Keyworth85 have always prioritised our daughter before work. It's just a matter of priorities. Have a reflection. X

Nursery for me. Couldn't cope with idea of child minder holidays and sickness.

I don't think you should go back to work full time, I think it really impacts their development. Perhaps try and go back part time and look for a nanny. :)

When looking at terms and pay the best way to compair is to work out the annual cost. That removes any worry about paying holidays etc becouse everyone is easy to compair....generally 8 days bank holiday over a year is less than a cup of coffee a week. So if the hourly rate is lower than someone who dosent charge over a year you are often paying less.
Excisting parents can tell you about reliability and watching the relationships between adults and children can give you a good idea of what its like to be a child in thd setting.
So that leaves other factors...all registered settings in England follow the EYFS and are inspected by the same inspectors to the same criteria so you can get an Ofsted inspector at a nursery one week going into a childminder the next. It would be very difficult for a childminder to leave a child in front of a TV all day and get a good or outstanding grade especially with the inspections that came in this year. Mine was a 1 to 1 inspection lasting 5 hours continuous grilling of why are you doing that activity, what is each child learning, where is their development what will you do to extend it.? ...Just like a nursery. We are suitability checked in the same way have to explain our training and how it impacts our practice. Explain how we support special needs etc. The inspector seeks the parents opinions and will talk to them in private. We also have to show how we prepare children for school

Childminders can work alone, with up to 4 assistants or with other registered childminders. They often work like small nurseries and can operate with more adults as childcare on domestic premises.
Becouse they go out and about and have neighbours its much more likely that the way they work and the relationship with the children is observed by independent members of the public and not kept behind closed doors where 16 year olds are often lacking the confidence to query the practice and attitudes of their superiors.
Better to go by what feels the best fit and the happiest environment than a label of childminder or nursery....visit a selection talk to parents observe interactions. There are good, bad and outstanding in both

I preferred the nursery option when looking for my son. I wasn't keen on him going on school runs. Much preferred to know he was where I left him for the day. I also preferred the idea of him being with similar aged children rather than a mixture as he was quite shy and startled easily. Nurseries are also more reliable as they will have other staff available if one goes off sick and always more than one set of eyes around to watch him. It was more expensive than a childminder but worth it and has worked really well for us.

My DS started with a childminder full time at 8 months. I also had FT external care from babyhood (parents both FT) and had a series of nannies, many of whom are my friends on facebook. I think for babies a single caregiver is important. My DS views the childminder like he would a granny - she's a bit younger than my mum, but not implausibly so; there's only a few of them and sometimes some after school kids. She takes him to do normal things like go shopping and to the post office and for long walks, and it is really calm in her house. He plays with the other small children and they go to parks, and hang out with other childminders. It was the closest to a normal family life I could manage and he knows and is known in the local area, has never screamed at dropoff and is a happy and confident little boy despite us working all the time. I would hugely recommend a childminder!

OP I pay my CM in arrears and didn't pay a deposit. All food and any activities are included. My CM's children are all adults. She gives us a minimum of 6 months notice of holidays.

Pre-Covid it was normal for both CMs and nurseries to take children to the supermarket. I learned when babysitting that often parents don't take their children to the supermarket as it is a hassle when trying to do a main shop this is why other carers take them.

I also don't have to mark my LO's clothes with her name. There as my friends' who use nurseries have had to do this.

Oh and another important thing is if the CM does school runs make sure they only do it for one school (or two schools right next to each other) preferably within walking distance to avoid your child spending extra time in the car.