advice needed - costs of a nanny, can i afford one?

My DD is now also never (well, knock wood) sick as well.

I agree that when it's going well with the nanny or work is completely crazy it's a great option. But for example when our nanny got ill, one day we had childcare, the next we didn't, end of story.

It is obviously possible to find solutions when this stuff comes up, and we did, but I guess my point is that with a nursery you anticipate some inconvenience, whether it's sickness or whatever. But with a nanny what I didn't quite expect was that over time there would be as much inconvenience - only a different kind.

On your dcs picking up multiple bugs in a nursery, that is to be expected as you have a large number of children together. It used to piss me off hugely that my ds would get ill, be kept off, to go back only to be reinfected or get something else.

What I will say, having the experience of 2 dcs in ft nursery, is that this stage does not last forever. After 6 months to 1 year, it all calms down and your dcs' immunity is updated. Now, ds is hardly ever ill.

Dd has started school and she has been poorly only 3 times, each time for half a day. She would kick the bug overnight. Other children seem to be ill every other week over days.

So it is pain now or pain later.

The nursery I used was Newpark Childcare in Highbury. I had the same exerience as Oi - DD was sick more often than not and it was a complete nightmare as I don't have anyone to fall back upon. Getting a nanny was a huge relief and changed my life completely, but I realise it's an expensive option, even compared to a very expensive nursery.

First time
Hmmm...I don't know that Leapfrog. The one which was closer to me (near Smithfields) closed in the past year. That one was all underground (!!!) so avoided it. I think a friend used the Leapfrog you are talking about and liked it but ended up with a nanny due to her work schedule F/T, 7 am start, loads of travel.

From Moorgate you will be very close to Newpark.

Cake
Hmm... what about bringing your partner or a friend along with you to interview?

Hi cakefiend my names michelle an i am a registered childminder i understand what u are saying about strangers thats why your thinking of a nanny but children soon get used to there carer after a period of time and i offer in my service a settleing in period where you can bring your child for a couple of hours a day for as often as you like before the child is actually left with me so they will be fine when you come to leave them. I hope you dont mind me asking but where abouts are you from?

LD - a bit shocked you don't feed your nanny!

Harrietthespy, did you consider the leapfrog nursery, which is also in the same area (liverpool street / moorgate)? If so, what made you choose newpark? I'll visit the latter and see what its like. I visited leapfrog a few weeks ago and wasn't so pleased. The place looked great, but carers seemed less experienced. Also i felt hygeine was an issue as everyone was going in with shoes inside the baby rooms (not sure how common that is at other places).

My commute is only 30 minutes, while I can go to liverpool street too (which has 1 flight of steps only), its shorter for me to get to moorgate and there are plenty of stairs there which is worrying me. Also on the off chance that i do change my job, i'll have to uproot ds.

Anyway keeping all options open at the moments as i've got till March 09.

yes I agree Harriet. Every situation has its pros and cons. I think we've been lucky with our nannies but also, as time goes on, you become a bit more wily about these things!

Oi et al
I think we've been a bit unlucky with nannies to be honest. The sickness is undoubtedly a big problem with the nursery. But our nannies, while lovely (well 2 out of 3) as individuals ended up having a variety of issues which caused us a great deal of hassel and stress. Building everything in (performance issues (Nanny 1), abrupt departures, sick leave, personal issues, plus paying a cost premium with tax and NI) it's perhaps a marginal call but still it was easier going with Newpark with one child. I'm due to go back to work in Feb, and with two and DC1s schedule, I can't see how we are going to avoid a nanny. But I am not looking fwd to being an employer again.

Agree about reading the terms and conditions/contracts super carefully, but as a few threads on here have highlighted recently, this is true for whatever childcare situation you have.

I found the opposite. We used a nursery when we just had one and it was a total nightmare. My child picked up absolutely everything going including a prolonged bout of conjunctivitis when the nursery refused to have her back for 10 days. Was a total nightmare. After she went back from that, she got rotavirus and was off for 2 weeks. We were unlucky but it was awful for her and a nightmare for us (she was only 4 months too!).

I've never been so relieved as when we finally got a nanny. Just the peace of mind and ease of it.

Every childcare situation has its pros and cons - you need to weigh up what's important for you. It's not an easy decision and you may find you end up doing a bit of trial and error. If you plump for the nursery, just remember to read the terms and conditions for how much you have to pay and how much notice you need to give should you want to pull your child out and look for something else.

How far is your journey? Mine is 25 min once on the tube. I didn't find it a problem and someone always helped me up the stairs at Liverpool Street. People were really okay about it. The commute was fine overall.

DD got sick more frequently than when we later had the nanny, which I guess is to be expected - it's hard to know whether this was nursery care itself or the tube factor. But after three nannies, I would say that OVERALL are life was more hassel free during the period when we were just using Newpark.

harrietthespy - did you not find it difficult travelling with a small baby on the tube? i work v. close to the nursery you mention, so will check it out. However, everyone seems to be advising against a nursery near work due to the travel and other constraints.

my main reason for considering one close to work is the same - that i could get an extra 45 minutes at work, especially as newpark care seems to be open till 7pm instead of 6pm that the nursery close to home does.

Cake
Ours was Newpark Childcare in the Barbican. I used to take DD into town on the tube with me every day (I liked the nursery loads but also liked the fact she was near me...so whatever you do don't think you rae the pickiest mum ever...) They also have one in Highbury and another they opened relatively recently in Shephard's Bush (sp?). I think it will be a bit far for you in NW London, unless you work in town and don't mind travelling (I wasn't the only parent who did this.) For various reasons, it acutally worked out more convenient than the nurseries locally. I also liked the fact we got the extra forty five minutes either side of the day. (Although many parents would undoubtedly say I was crazy.) DD still loves "going into town."

Was GBP 1400 per month a ocuple of years ago. Fee structure changed at two.

wow - out of curiousity, which nursery is that?

Some nurseries can be quite expensive. My DD went to one for a short time, in North London, and for a full week, for children under 2 years, it's £1500 per month !!

yes firsttimer, as Athene says, a nanny only starts to make sense with 2 children or more.

i meant double that of daycare/nursery !

cakefiend, recommendations are good, but ultimately what you require from a nanny could be very different from what the recommender requires for hers.

For example, you might think a routine is important but she does not. You might prefer your baby to be cuddled whilst others might prefer stimulating toys and activities. Some parents are very protective about baby hurting himself and being 100% safe, others would rather a baby explore. Different babies are different as well.

I do think that whether you go for CM, nannyshare or nursery, you cannot get away from having to do the vetting yourself. Your gut feel for what your child will like is as good as any and usually right. And you will feel better after the settling in period. hth

Wow £117 per day. That is double the cost of childcare in london

Cake
I didn't realise you'd already seen that many CMs already.

Have you considered a nursery? I loved our one in Central London, but it was more expensive than a childminder. But cheaper than the nanny.

£3 or £3.50 an hour. Oh, I should be so lucky! I agree that I wouldn't want a childminder who is looking after loads of other kids. But, in 6 or 12 months, your daughter will probably love haveing lots of other kids to play with (so long as you feel the care is adequate of course).

Changing nannies can be a real PITA. So I don't know if a nanny share is going to be as trouble free as you think.

This might help-read down the page for salary calculators