If my baby cries at childcare, will someone pick her up?

[SylvesterTheCat]

I suspect not. The staff have enough on their plate, surely.
I'm putting my DD in childcare when she is 7months old (now 3 months). I can't begin to imagine what this will be like. Please tell me your experiences.
Very nervous first time mum here.

Of course they will!

My DD is at a small Nursery they had 6 babies at the most. She is nearly 3 and loves Nursery. They do her hair which she doesn’t let me do, they cuddle her when she is sick or upset.

Just pick a good Nursery that you get a good feel about.

Of course your baby will be picked up!

No they will just let her cry all day
What a ridiculous post. My DD has been in nursery since she was 16 weeks old. She is doted on by her key worker and the other staff. She loves going to nursery and seeing her friends (she’s 16 months old now). When we see the staff out and about she wants a cuddle with them .

Of course! That's what the staff in the baby room are for - baby care. They don't have anything to do that's more important than comforting a crying baby!

Of course they will! Choose a good nursery with a great settling in procedure and go with your gut feeling.
The ratio of staff to under 2s is 1:3 so they will be able to spend lots of time with her and help her become a lovely independent little girl

Of course they will. Many moons ago I worked in a baby unit, no children were ever left to cry. They all get comfort and distraction. I once had a baby who spent every day glued to my hip for about 2 weeks until she settled. We always had enough staff to make sure children were able to get the one to one they needed.

Oh wow. This is exactly what I want her to hear. Thank you.
Sorry for being ridiculous. I just imagined the staff being so inundated with babies that DD would just have to learn to cry it out. At the moment she doesn't sleep unless being rocked/fed/held.

They will absolutely pick her up unless you specify that you don't want her to be picked up. My first DD always needing cuddling to sleep and they even did that at nursery.

@peppersteaks no need to be mean. The OP may be new to childcare and it's normal to worry if you are a first time mum with no previous experience. OP yes they should. When you go around to look at places ask the staff and tell them you are worried. A good nursery should reassure you and tell you what they do when little ones are upset. All the best

Thank you ❤️❤️❤️

If she doesn’t sleep unless being rocked/held/fed then that’s what they will do to get to sleep. Have you considered a child minder? More of a homely setting?

Your DD will be a different baby by 7 months old, I know my DS is! He starts nursery in a few weeks, so I can empathise with your anxiety about it all. I'm sure they will be well looked after and will settle down into nursery life fairly quickly.

Haven't looked into child minding at home - assumed we couldn't afford it. Nice idea though- I will do some research. Thank you

They will pick her up, just not as quickly as you might.

Do get her sleep sorted first though - patting or stroking in a cot is fine but it's not fair on her to send her needing to be fed or held to sleep.

DGD was cuddled and rocked to
Sleep at nursery and her key worker literally looked after her all day and read her stories and cuddled her at first because she was so unsettled. A good nursery wouldn’t leave an upset baby or toddler unattended.

They will please don't worry. I've worked in baby units of nurseries.
Ensure you tell nursery about how she tends to sleep i.e. rocking etc. But don't be surprised if she settles differently at nursery than home!

SylvesterTheCat childminders aren’t Nannies, they have a few children in their own homes not yours, but they are much more of a home setting. It could be the same or cheaper depending on hours and the childminder, most charge around £4-7 a hour depending on where you are.

IsTheRain oh right. Just shows how much I know!
Thanks so much all. I've been fretting about this for a while so I feel much better now.

It’s not a ridiculous post at all. Completely natural to be anxious about your child starting nursery.

I completely agree with pp that in a good nursery they will absolutely cuddle and comfort your child, and love the poster that pointed out that the carers don’t have anything more important to do than care for your child - it’s so true!

My daughter started full time at 7 months and she was the darling of the nursery! The littlest babies are always very popular! Staff from other rooms came in to see her on their lunch breaks and everyone says hello to her. And this in a class of 15 in a nursery of 120, so it’s not necessarily limited to the size of the setting.

I remember on her first day it was very busy with a full class but one little girl was not feeling well so she was sleeping on a carer’s chest. Despite all that was going on and the number of children they had to care for, they assigned a member of the team just to care for this little one.

My son started at 8.5 months and was also very happy. At his nursery most of the carers wore headscarves or head coverings and when we would see ladies on the tube wearing headscarves he would put his arms out to them for a cuddle because to he equated the scarves with love.

Really, she will be fine. And so will you. Choose carefully, do ask the staff all the questions or worries on your mind. Post again if you need support. Sending you a hug!

Yes of course! 1:3 ratio. Sometimes they carry an upset child round all day they get a huge amount of attention in baby room. Wait until they get to preschool where the staff often can’t tell you what they’ve been up to in any specific detail lol

You will probably find your baby also cries less at nursery, far too much going on to be wingey and attention demanding.

Sylvester Mine went to a childminder where she was the only full time mindee. She was loved and cuddled by the whole family until she left to go to school at 4.

If you wanted to consider it, price wise it was comparable with nurseries and she got fresh, home cooked food and had all the normal family experiences - park; playgroups; swimming; accompanying the childminder's children to afterschool activities; going to the dentist with the CM...

I'm a teacher and, even in year 6, a child would never be left to just cry. Seriously, your baby will be loved.

Meant to add, the people who work in nurseries do so because they love babies and young children.

Of course they will pick her up and love her and cuddle her

Aww this is all so lovely to hear. Such beautiful stories (I'm kind of rather looking forward to it for DD now)

Child minding is normally cheaper than nursery.

My DD has been in nursery since 11 months (well she had 19 settling in sessions first) and is now 2.3. The few weeks ago she was upset and sat on her key workers knee all morning and her key worker sits with her and gives her ‘relaxing tickles’ until she goes to sleep.

My DD goes to a small nursery and all the staff know the children very well. One day after mum daughter key worker had gone home I was rang bynursery to stay my daughter behaviour had suddenly changed and they were worried she was unwell. Obviously we collected and her took her to dr who said she may poasibly have an ear infection. My DD ended up in hospital 24 hours later but my point is even different staff know her well enough to see small changes.