Childminder V Nursery

I am a cm and dont do school any school runs.
My mindees sleep when they need to with their individual blankets, cuddled up, and we all eat together.
I am very flexible, some children going at 5 and others going at 7.I have had 1 day off sick and that was because I literally couldnt move my shoulder.
I feel they are part of my own large family and my own older dcs love them.
I think 4 is too young for school anyway so dont get me started on the baby room at nursery.....

Sorry, maybe that was misleading. Of course if nurseries shut down or go bankrupt they do give notice on people like that, but agree it's rarer than a CM doing it.

When you said 'given notice' what I thought was you'd been there for ages and they suddenly turned around and said, sorry you've got four weeks.

I'm glad you got your deposit back. Such a nightmare when a nursery/cm/nanny doesn't work out.Can't even think about it, due back in 2 wks and DD2 still isn't settled on the bottle. Help.

Harriet, it WAS the settling in period. I was flabbergasted really (but glad because the place was a hellhole and since they kicked me out, I got my deposit back). It was an extremely large, national chain, BTW in case anyone's wondering.

Mrsg

Why didn't they pick this up during the settling in period?! I have insisted on a longer time to settle in for DD2 as she is clingier than DD1. But it's true they could technically say no or make me pay, but I would be willing to do that.

Nomore
That's great you found someone like that - I'm sure I would have been happy to use that person too, and I'm sure they exist. It's just that in our area I haven't found anyone like that and if I managed to find the ONE person who was close enough for me to walk to and also get to the tube in reasonable time, could take two children including one school pick up, could do the hours I want and five days a week, and had space when I needed etc. it would be like gold dust. I would feel really vulnerable and exposed in the event it didn't work out and while I know you CAN be given notice at a nursery I do feel that it's still a relatively uncommon thing.

Given notice from nursery because DS was desperately unsettled and they said they didn't think it was the right environment for him.

nurseries shut frequently too! Our local one has closed 3 times since xmas! Over xmas it closes for a week and isn't open xmas eve when lots of mums actually do have to work, and its had 2 incidents of D&V that have shut the place down. Also in adverse weather conditions the nursery is more likely to shut on account of lack of staff being able to get in - with CM if you can get to her she will be working.

I don't agree that nurseries are fool proof re reliability and also they have much much stricter policies re illness - most CMs will take your child with a cold or maybe chicken pox if other parents agree - nurseries will keep you away til all signs are gone....

DS1 had a CM and she had him for me when he had chicken pox - a nursery never would have done. I had a totally inflexible job and I could never have got a nursery to fit in with my early starts and inability to leave work at the drop of a hat

well 2 off my kids went to nursery and enjoyed it but i had a few problems with them not following my dd2 routine of sleep so by the end of the month he was 35 hours down on nap time he was shattered grummpy an uncontrolable just be cause of the staff change over and they didnt pass on info or couldnt be assed to get him to sleep all it took was a cuddle a book and a blanket an 10 mins and he was out and the amount of accident they had and things going missing well im a cm now and i love my job and i know im good at it i would use a nursery again but only from about 15 months and think young babys r best with a cm ..

I switched dd (at 3) from nursery to CM. DD is much happier with CM as she is a shy child and needs continuity of care with one carer which wasn't happening at nursery. She'd be happy in one room, then not the next and so on.

Cm's children are in their 20s and independent so no conflict of interest there (that would bother me). She does the school run with dd and they also get out a lot in other ways. I like her doing the school run with CM - it's exercise, fresh air and also she is now very familiar with the school she will go to in Sep. She's a great walker now. It's a lot cheaper too.

The only drawback is that it is NOT as flexible as nursery. I had to take 2 weeks holiday to cover CM last summer and drop off and pick-up times are not flexible like they were at nursery because of going out in the morning etc. Nursery could always do an extra day if I really needed it but CM has other dc and can't. She does do an early breakfast club though whigh may be useful later - it's earlier than nursery.

I'm very pleased with the move to CM apart from that as dd is much happier there and that means so much less guilt and anxiety for me!

I'd choose a nursery too everytime and would view as many as possible to get a feel for the best one.

Childminders, in the main, have their own children and its human instinct to favour your own child over others. You also have no control over pets, visitors, outings etc.

Childminders are s/e so set their own rules, many ask for paid holidays which means double childcare costs at points during the year. There's also the issue of the school runs and after school activities that their other mindees or their own children attend.

Cover for sickness and holidays can also be a problem.

Theres also the added risk of being dropped for a better offer or more money from elsewhere whereas its very rare that a nursery would ever give notice unless it was actually closing down.

Its personal choice though and whats suit one person may not suit another.

That's the thing - the right nursery!

I have used both and now would choose a nursery, every time.

But not any old nursery obviously.

Definitely a nusery IMO. Although every person is different in what they want for their child.

Even if I could afford a Nanny at £130 gross per day I would still pick a nursery.

I am a c/m and I don't do any school runs, the children eat when they need, to and sleep when they want to, according to each child's own routine.

I hate doing school runs, so try not to.

Mrsgboring
Interesting you got given notice by the nursery. On what grounds?

Oh yes meant to add that imo the school run is a positive benefit. Dd2 often gets to see her older sister (who goes to wraparound care) also dd2 loves the cm's ds who is in the same class as her older sister.

When I take dd out in the buggy myself she finds it boring, with the cm she is with another mindee in a double buggy and the dog. She loves it.

I have been given notice by a nursery - it does happen.

Having used both for 11 month old DS I would never ever use a nursery for that agegroup again.

I have recently moved my 17 month old from a nursery setting. There were some "issues" with the nursery, but predmominantly she found the busy nursery environment with lots of different staff extrememly unsettling.

This was a real shock to us as our dd1 had really thrived in the nursery environment (same nursery)

Anyway, we moved her to a local childminder and are so, so happy. I had threads of my own about it at the time and got loads of good advice from other mners. The care that she receives is absolutely fantastic, the cm has a brilliant relationship with her.

She goes on 2 school runs, between but these don't affect her sleep in any way.

I'm a cm and only go on school run twice a day, usually only have mindees for the later run, and I make sure it is fun for them - we have drinks snacks books and toys with us all the time, talk and sing songs, pick up interesting objects etc...I think its nice that they are getting regular fresh air, as well as all the other things we do with them at home and out and about !
With all the eyfs cms are now on an equal footing with nurseries, we have to proove we are follwing the new framework, plus the kids get loads of one to one attention.
Also it is nice for the kids if they are to go to the school later on, they are already very familiar and used to it.
Most cms I know are hardly ever sick, we are immune to germs !

We considered a childminder for DD2 who could also have done the school run for DD1. In the end we went for a nursery and an after school nanny (can't afford a full-time nanny at the moment).

Re the childminders we have met over the years when weighing up our options, they might be more flexible in the sense that they would you allow to do to one morning and one afternoon and a full day, for instance, whereas a nursery I agree might want you to commit to something more regular. But the start and finish times at the beg and end of day were hard for us. Later start time and wanted to finish half an hour earlier than the nursery. This was largely because of their family commitments. There are some with demanding school run schedules although we wouldn' thave necessarily ruled them out for that reason.

I have also met several who have quite firm views about childcare and are choosy about who they will have given the environment they want for their own children. This scared me as there are waiting lists in our area for nursery places near us and a limited number of cm's, and if it didn't work out and they gave me notice, I'd be stuffed. A nursery won't give you notice or try to change your days, which has also happened to friends who use childminders in our area. While I have really liked many cms personally and would have felt comfortable leaving my dds with them, I always had this nagging doubt about whether it was the most stable situation for my working needs.

The beauty of a CM is the kids get what they get at nursery from an OFSTED/educational point of view, with the combination of the home environment and usual goings on at home - which would include a school run with some CMs. Is no contest for me.

I am CM and do not have a school run, many don't. So don't rub out all CMs if you are totally anti your child popping out for half an hour twice a day

Re CMs being sick frequently... I have been off sick 4 days in 2 years, three of which I was in hospital for an asthma attack. The CMs I know hardly take any sick leave at all. We get no sick leave, so only take off sick if infectious and really need to!

My mum had a nursery school for over 20 years, I worked with her there for a few years.. was a super school!! I do think a CM is best for a lil one though. They do not get the attention at nursery they'd get at a CM, not in my experience of both childcare worlds.

It's crucial you go with your gut feel either way - CM or nursery. Your instinct is the best decider.

Don't agree with childminders being more flexible - I have never had to not go to work because a member of staff at the nursery has been off sick - however this happens frequently with my friends who have their DC with childminders. My DD is in nursery 3 days a week and on the odd occassion I have had to book her in for an extra session there's never been a problem - again something that I don't think happens regularly with my friends' childminders.

I also agree that I was put off childminders because the school run.

I think you need to go with your instincts. I interviewed about 6 childminders and didn't warm to any of them - and then went to look at a couple of nurseries and fell in love with them all!

Another vote for childminders here.

SO much more flexible for you as a working parent and I really think babies ideally need less noise and more one on one.

Mine both went from age 3 months to our lovely cm and they love her to bits, her daughter babysits, she buys them presents etc.

Great when they are sick too!

Why would there be four school runs?

I think school runs are part of normal life tbh, my youngest charge loves going to school to pick up his older siblings.