AMA
I'm a nursery nurse...
peppersprayfirstapologiselater · 07/07/2018 08:39
Figured lots of MNetters will have children in nurseries! Ask away!
ThatGirl82 · 07/07/2018 17:25
Do you ever see any of the babies as being ‘annoying’, even if they are just upset?
Chocolatecoffeeaddict · 07/07/2018 17:33
I was a nursery nurse. We all hated our jobs because we were under staffed, over stretched and under paid.
Staff always going off with stress. I would never go back to child care and would never put my own children into a day nursery after knowing what they are like behind closed doors, school nurseries are fine. I enjoyed my job to start off with but after having my first two children I kind of lost the will to look after other people's children.
Fettuccinecarbonara · 07/07/2018 17:37
Wow chocolate, that’s a lot of emotion in a post.
I too am a nursery nurse. I LOVE my job. I’ve worked in day care for 25 years, sometimes in a school nursery, other times in private. I’ve been in this private nursery for 14 years. All nurseries have their advantages and disadvantages, it depends on the team and the leadership.
I don’t think you can make such sweeping statements as ‘school nurseries are fine’ the one I worked in certainly wasn’t.
Sorry to derail OP!
My question is: what makes you gag?!
Itchytights · 07/07/2018 17:41
It’s a shit job and I say that as a qualified Nursery Nurse who worked my way up to Nursery Manager.
I now work on the other side of the fence and would never in a million years go back to Nursery Management or working in a Nursery.
Chocolatecoffeeaddict · 07/07/2018 17:55
Also, I got more money on income support than working full time in a nursery, so if the job's shit and the pay is also, there's nothing to gain.
LemonysSnicket · 07/07/2018 18:39
What's the point in starting an AMA if you don't reply in 10 hours?
peppersprayfirstapologiselater · 07/07/2018 18:57
@Coughy we definitely have children that we have closer relationships with than others. That's the magic of the key person approach! For me, I feel a lot closer to the children we've had since they've been in the baby room, purely because the relationship is stronger and you know them and their parents/wonder families better. There are also lots of children who join us at 2 or 3 who you build relationships up really quickly with. Depends on the child and practitioner really!
@lulu12345 I get 20 children to sleep in about 15 minutes! I'd say it comes down to consistency in routine. I get the children to go to the toilet if they're out of nappies, lie down on their sleep mats, give them their dummies/comforters and blankets if they need them and dim the lights. Some children are good as gold and go off to sleep no bother, while others need sitting with while I rub their backs or gently pat them. Rarely a child needs to be cuddled to sleep, maybe if they're settling or upset. The worst part is having to wake up the children who have sleep limits! I feel so mean😂
peppersprayfirstapologiselater · 07/07/2018 19:02
@laurzj82 I wouldn't say dislike no, some children are more demanding than others (I don't mean SEN children, obviously that's different) so that can be quite difficult when you have lots of children who all want your attention. Definitely don't 'dislike' any of our children though!
@ThatGirl82 absolutely not no! Babies cry, usually because they need something! Anybody who thinks they're annoying probably shouldn't be working in the early years!
peppersprayfirstapologiselater · 07/07/2018 19:10
@Chocolatecoffeeaddict gosh that's a huge generalisation! You sound like you had a bad experience at one setting. Mine certainly is not like this. Staff definitely get stressed, because it's stressful! But we all genuinely love and care for the children and want the best for them. Our manager is 100% dedicated to her business and her role, she has very high expectations and that mentality is passed down to us.
@Fettuccinecarbonara I agree 100%!! Hmm, in my 3.5 years in the job the only thing that's made me gag is poo😩 one was a really bad, poorly child's nappy. The other time was a child who'd had an accident and the poo was just smushed everywhere. His hands were in it and everything, I practically had to shower him down in the sink, poor thing😂
peppersprayfirstapologiselater · 07/07/2018 19:21
@Danceintherain2018 I work in a private day nursery, we take children from birth to 8 years and have about 75 children on roll. We are open 51 weeks of the year, in the school holidays when the government funded children have their holidays, we run a holiday club and get to see a lot of our past children and current children's siblings. It's a very friendly, homely place, the staff genuinely care about the children!
@WaitrosePigeon yes, terribly so! I have a first class honours degree in early years and childhood studies, 2 Level 3's and a Level 2. I get paid £7.50 per hour. It's really sad. Such a demanding job, for what I do I think it's insulting! The crazy thing is, I am actually good at my job and because of that I get a lot of extra jobs and more challenging children with complex needs and all sorts of complicated, ongoing, safeguarding issues. If I cared less and was more lazy, my life would be soooooo easy!
peppersprayfirstapologiselater · 07/07/2018 19:28
@Itchytights what do you do now, if you don't mind me asking?
@LemonysSnicket oh I do apologise! I checked the thread earlier and had nothing to answer. I work full time in a very demanding job, my weekends are precious. Did you even have anything to ask?😂
InTheRoseGarden · 07/07/2018 19:36
If you needed childcare for your own children what would you use? (As in: nanny, childminder, nursery etc.)
InTheRoseGarden · 07/07/2018 19:38
Oh and how can you identify good/bad nurseries. Are there any tell tale signs to look for?
lulu12345 · 07/07/2018 19:44
Thank you OP... I honestly think you guys have some sort of magic when it comes to getting children to sleep and eat! You sounds great, just the sort of nursery worker we'd all want our children to be with.
nannynick · 07/07/2018 19:46
Have you worked in more than one nursery (or did your training in one and then worked in another) - did you notice any significant differences between them, could you identify what made that difference?
When I did nursery temping around 14 years ago, I temped at some great nurseries and also at some not so great ones. Some were small (
peppersprayfirstapologiselater · 07/07/2018 19:54
I'm at a family bbq, feel really rude on my phone so I will reply abit later!
Dontdreamitsclover · 07/07/2018 21:12
Hope you enjoy your BBQ.
Nursery Practitioners are woefully underpaid. Why not take your 1st class honours and get QTS so you can teach nursery/reception in a school? Double your pay and triple your holidays!
KimberlyS2 · 07/07/2018 22:03
My daughter is moving from toddler room to preschool soon, can’t think what to get her Key worker as a thank you for everything you’ve done for her since she started. I didn’t want to get the usual chocolates/mugs etc
What gifts are the best to receive and mean the most?
glitterbiscuits · 07/07/2018 22:10
I sent my children to a childminder. I think they can be better than nurseries. What do you think?
Carecomplet · 08/07/2018 00:36
I would never go back to child care and would never put my own children into a day nursery after knowing what they are like behind closed doors @Chocolate - why? What are they like really?! 
genuine question and would appreciate an answer
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.