Am I asking too much from nursery??

We don’t use apps. We do a written diary in our baby room about nappies, food and the day they’ve had. After this it is verbal handover unless there is anything in particular that the parent needs to be told. Ie if child is usually a good eater and hasn’t today this will be handed over as unusual for that particular child. Nap times are recorded and told to the parent if they ask.

Being with the children and teaching and interacting with them is the priority. Parents need to trust that staff will tell them of anything unusual happens in the child’s day.

I don’t think yabu. If they have an app then an expectation is set that they’ll use it. I’m a childminder and send home a written diary each day, with food, naps, nappy changes (just rough times of dirty nappies or if only wet ones) and a few comments about what they’ve said or enjoyed that day, songs we’re learning or a book we’re reading. I write these and send photos -usually while the little ones nap and it takes 10-15 mins for 3-4 children, sometimes a bit more depending if I get into a back and forth conversation with parents.

It’s really important that parents feel part of their child’s day - as childcare professionals we are meant to be working in partnership with parents and research shows that this achieves the best outcomes.

It is really different to a grandparent caring for a child - I’d imagine they’re taking photos and talking to the parents all the time anyway… or how things were pre mobile phones/digital cameras, but in this modern day and age, why not update parents?

Great use of vituperative! But ignore those posters. Don't feed it with a response.

I’d rather they were with my child than logging dirty nappies tbh!

It will depend on the ratios if they have staff with time to do all that.

My little ones nursery upload at least 3 photos and a wee blurb about each photo, what was offered & eaten at meal time. Toddler & babyrooms also include naps/ nappy changed/ toileting/ accidents.

It's is worth asking when you go in if they have physical records of that info, it is unlikely they are updating all of the children's apps as they are eating, so there may be a paper version. In my setting, we are required to have paper records of all personal care (if later required for safeguarding investigations, e.g.), I imagine this is pretty standard.

It may be that there is one iPad between 5 staff which is also used for pictures of the children, so although information is recorded in setting, it doesn't always make it on the app.

Devil's advocate to all those saying you get used to the lack of info/don't stress/they're probably with the kids, etc., if this is a private setting you are paying for, and the nature of the updates is set out in their terms/contract, I would 100% be highlighting that you are not receiving the service you are paying for. Childcare is far too pricey to be getting poor service. If parents don't complain, management won't support staff with time/extra bodies to complete tasks.

It’s not the most important aspect of caring for your child, no. But a handover at that age is still important. It’s helpful for you to know about sleep at nursery so that you’ll know if you need to adapt anything at home. And perhaps more importantly, knowing whether and what they’ve eaten at nursery gives you an insight into your child’s wellbeing. As simple as knowing if they’ve had enough to eat that day, or being able to spot food intolerances/allergies. If nursery don’t communicate this to you, it’s not like your child can tell you at that age, and it’s important for you as their parent to have oversight of how basic needs, like sleep, feeding and nappies, are met. A good nursery will ensure staff have enough time in their day to log these things without compromising the care of the children.

Having said all that, I wouldn’t be basing my opinion of a nursery on the first few weeks in January, when you’re most likely to have illness rampaging round the kids and staff.

Writing this as a childcare provider.

I’m going to add this having read a few more posts: whether it’s an app or not is irrelevant. My own kids went to nursery before apps were a thing, but I did have a verbal handover when I went to pick up.

I asked the pp if they’d had IVF to ascertain their slant with saying it was irrelevant for the op to even mention it. You actually responded to me saying ‘it makes no difference. Having IVF doesn't mean you want a baby more, or need a better level of care for your baby.‘ 🤥

My youngest only left nursery 10 years ago, and we just got a note at the end of the day with sleep/nappies/food. I managed to feed them in the evening just fine! We got a few photos printed out occasionally and copies of any observations. We coped fine without constant drip feeding of digital comms.

Coming from someone who is a nursery nurse working in a baby room.. we try our hardest to update as often as possible with as much detail as possible. We understand you pay ALOT of money and want to ensure our time goes mainly into the care of your child

I don't have an issue with you saying you had IVF, it explains possible extra anxiety.

I have a issue with posters questioning others about whether they had IVF. Why does it matter to them?

I do think they should be telling you how much he ate for meals. At that age it's important to know.

DD is 7 and the nursery only introduced an app when she was in the preschool room. When she was that age we had a book/daily diary that was filled in with what she ate and how much, nappies and nap length.

They would sit and fill them in while the kids napped.

At that age that is a fairly basic level of information that I think parents should get.

OP - ignore the snipers. You've been a good egg and accepted you were BU. Now go and enjoy your baby!

I look after my grandchild one day a week. Should I have an app???

It wouldn’t really be a nightmare though - A&E would treat the allergic reaction, and OP would contact nursery the next working day to find out the menu so she is armed with that information when they meet with an allergist.

They don’t change the treatment to an emergency anaphylaxis situation dependant upon what caused the allergic reaction.

OP could also ask for the menu schedule and she’d have a running log.

I would much rather the staff be focusing on caring for my child and playing with them rather than worrying about having to write down every time they had a wee and uploading it onto an app.

No news is good news and if there’s an issue you’ll be told.

I find the whole communicating by apps so bizarre. I do not understand why any parent would want their nursery to use one! Parents will then expect a certain amount of updates which isn't fair on anyone. Our nursery makes a point not to do this: staff should not be on devices and should not feel pressure to upload multiple pictures and log each time their kid did something like share a toy

Agree up to a point. Apps are useful for recording children's progress. The preschool I worked at would take a couple of photos per week of each child, write a brief caption, tick off the Early Learning goals (I actually can't remember what they're called!) and share with the parent. Much less onerous than the old forms/written observations.

Pick up time isn't always a good time for chats - most places the nursery staff have to do all the cleaning and don't get paid after closing time so they're cleaning and handing the children over at the same time but they will let you know if there is any cause for concern.

I

Drop your child; pick them up and ask if they have had a happy day. End of.

However, (and bearing in mind he is my PFB after an arduous IVF journey)

Hmm, yeah, as opposed to other kids who can’t possibly be precious to their parents as they are not IVF. Maybe because if they got lost in a bush tomorrow their parents wouldn’t be upset at all as they could just pop out another 🤷‍♀️. Weird.

Interestingly I felt the opposite to the OP regarding the app. I felt that a brief chat at pick up was sufficient and it irritated me that they must spend all day updating an app and I would rather the focus be 100% on the children not a tablet. It was always very obvious to me the quality of care was good and the staff could always recall what he had eaten etc.

How do you think people managed before these apps were available? They are very recent and weren't even used when my grandchildren were in nursery. if the child becomes ill then you would ask.

I think the app is execessive tbh. I don’t actually need to know how many wet nappies they have. And i will cook whatever i’ve got in for dinner regardless of what they have for lunch.

The app updates were especially driving me nuts when.i had 2 kids in nursery.

Sounds like he is doing great though op!

Prepare yourself for school. My eldest started reception this year and we have absolutely no idea how he’s getting on apart from the one parents evening. We order his lunches but have no idea how much he eats.

I remember being the same when mine started nursery. And other mums seemed to get more information from their nurseries.
But someone said that if they are posting on apps etc that means they aren't caring for my child... And they already have a serious amount of paperwork.
I did get a handover each day which varied but it did tell me what I needed to know.

But your wanting more information doesn't change as they grow up.