whats the difference between a nanny and a CM?

I'm not sure the issue wrt nnaies is that they are better educated - I have no idea whether this is true or not. I would prefer an experienced 40 yr old mother who's raised 4 children of her own looking after DS than a 19 year old.

Rich people use CM's less often because nanies are more convenient - they usually live in and are prepared to do earlier starts, they will ususally do babysitting 2 nights a week too and you dont; have to trek off to someone elses house at the end of a long day in work to pick up your DC's. Also CM's often can't afford to live in areas where rich preople live (unless they've been there donkeys years) so there's much less choice.

I think more affluent people also like the sound of "my nanny" rather than "my childminder". My (rich) sister had soeone watch her kids for one morning a week (she was SAHM) and still insisted on calling this person her "nanny". I'd have called them a babysitter!

"i dont like the thought dd might not be watched all the time and only have say a third of someones attention iykwim" - one fo the things DS loves about the CM is the older children. He doesn't get that at home.

Anyway looking after 3 children at a CM isn't any different to having 3 children at home with a SAHM is it?

If someone hasn;t already said it - you can;t compare all CM's with all nannies. You need to look at individuals - some excellent CM's around and some excellent nannies.

Whilst it's true nannies are not subject to regulation they are usuall more expensive, have more education and better training (the CMs on this thread can shoot me now for saying that) so usually nanny the hoice of the richer more educated parents and CM for the poorer - that's how it's usually gone in the UK.

Also if you had 3 children under 4 as we did it can be cheaper to have one nanny in your house under your control rather than paying for 3 sets of CM fees.

But both can be good. Most nannies will want to work full time for you as they cannot live on half a wage so you might find a few days a week harder to arrange.

My CM usually has two others at the same time as my dd - they are similar ages, which I liked before we started and it has been great - it is like a another family for her. She will learn to share much more I think, and to be considerate of others feelings because she spends consistent time with them (rather than at a toddler group IYSWIM).

They nap in separate bedrooms - CM has two kids so enough rooms.

We provide breakfast, I pay extra for CM to provide lunch (and I have to say it's a lot more varied than I would manage to come up with myself). She writes a diary of what dd has been up to which is lovely to read, and also good for knowing how long slept, when dirty nappy etc.

CMs probably tend to be more mature? Nannies younger - I could be wrong here. But I liked a bit of experience with own kids, and my CM has taught in nurseries as well which I liked.

I love my CM!

I think we can offer a second home to children we care for, I wanted to become a childminder to create happy memories for children (as I have/ am doing with my own) who come to me in an environment that makes them feel comfortable and at home as long as they are happy (and their parents) then i'm happy. I also get to be with my own children and my own children get other children to play with all the time I love what I do, everyday is different but the same in a comfortable way iyswim?

I think it's important to find a childminder who has a similar parenting style to your own then it can work out long term as we care for all ages we can care for a child from tiny all the way to high school which i think is brilliant and hope to do that with my mindee's, I've only been doing it 2 years and haven't kept any mindee's longer than 1yr yet but my 8mth old mindee who has been with me 6 weeks and has settled wonderfully i'm hoping will be one of the children I get to keep for a long time, his mum has already said she is going to try and keep him with me until he starts school at least!

My house is a normal 3 bed semi with a garden large enough for 10ft trampoline, 2 swings, sea swa slide, playhouse etc, dd2's bedroom is the largest in the house so I use her's for childminding, there's room for 3 cots and her single bed but all setting's vary so the best thing to do is arrange to see a few and see how you feel after that tbh.

cm's get inspected by ofsted every 3 years, one to one is possible but i'd say it would be rare, you may find a childminder who has older children that are school most of the day and if you paid more might be willing to only care for your dd.

I'm a cm and personally wouldn't like to offer to only care for one child, I like the way they all mix and play together, I think it's important for children to learn social skills, I don't think its a bad thing for them to learn that they cannot always get one to one attention. Encouraging one to one may cause problems imo because the child might then not settle well in busy environments or if a sibling comes along they won't be used to sharing (attention as well as toys) I think encouraging children to mix from a young age is a positive step. I've also found younger children learn a lot from the older children and are more forward with their development and they love watching the older ones play there really is a lot to be said about a childminders setting compared to that of a nursery or nanny but of course the choice is there so we can chose what is best for our own children and in this case i'm biased!

A childminder would only be able to care for 1 child under 1 so the others in this case would be older/ more independant.

(if you're wondering how I have time to type this, my 2 are both asleep and i'm having lunch )

Inspection yearly, I think. Ask around for locals CM's : my CM just has DS for most of the day and also looks after an older child after school (and her own son, also school-age). There may well be a CM who only wants to take on one child due to circumstances. OTOH, I think the 'family' atmosphere of having a few kidsa round of differnt ages is a big benefit of using a CM.

Nanny normally does the children's washing, will cook their meals, tidy their toys and rooms etc. With a childminder you may have to provide meals, need to take nappies etc.

With a nanny you don't need to worry about getting your children out of the house in the morning but you do need to leave your house in a reasonable state and make sure that you haven't run out of the basics.

Also there is additional reposnsibility of being an employer if you have a nanny.

Nanny's look after the child in the child's home, they are pretty much unregulated, Childminders have children in their home and are registered with the local council and come under Ofsted. You pay more money to a Nanny because they only care for your children, whereas a childminder can have a few.

Nanny usually looks after your child in your own home and works for you alone (or with another fmaily if a share). CM looks after child in their home and may look after several - limited to 1 under 1, 3 under 3 I think?

With a CM you'll be paying an hourly rate, with a nanny you may be paying NI etc. on top of that (but have never employed a nanny so not entirely sure)

A nanny works in your home and a cm works in their own home. A cm has to be Ofsted registered and inspected.