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Original poster

Where have all the crèches gone?

16 replies

ViaRia01 · 20/12/2023 23:04

I may be wrong but i believe crèches used to be more common. I’m just curious to know if anyone knows (or has a theory about) why there are not as many around these days. e.g at the gym, leisure centre, shopping centre, high street….

Just curious really …

OP posts:

HairdryerMary · 20/12/2023 23:05

Insurance I think

UsingChangeofName · 20/12/2023 23:25

When are you thinking about ?

I've never heard of a creche on the High Street or at a shopping centre.
I've read about there being a creche at a Private gym.

I'm not sure there has been a demise, so much as never being aware they were ever there.

ColleenDonaghy · 20/12/2023 23:33

I haven't seen one in a long time. I suspect parents unwilling to leave their children with strangers, and stricter regs making them more difficult to the.

Theimpossiblegirl · 20/12/2023 23:37

Safeguarding.
I remember town centre crèches where you could drop off for a few hours to shop. They just wouldn't work now. There's too much paperwork etc. and they'd have to charge a fortune just to have qualified staff.

Evenstar · 20/12/2023 23:37

I used to help run the crèche for a post natal fitness class, it stopped during COVID and when it restarted they didn’t have a crèche anymore. I think there were several factors, people mostly preferred their very young babies (most mums were on maternity leave) not to mix with others due to anxiety about infection and the cost of staff wages for the ladies that ran the courses.

idontlikealdi · 20/12/2023 23:38

I used to love the ikea one when Dts were younger, used to get an hour of peace with a
Coffee and / or meatballs. This was 12 years ago though.

icallitasplodge · 20/12/2023 23:39

Crèches were everywhere, even ikea had them.

we never put ours in as it was too expensive and I didn’t trust them if I’m honest.

ImInACage · 20/12/2023 23:43

Oh wow, I'd forgotten about the shopping centre crèches. We had one in our town that was basically like a soft play. I loved it in there!

I would imagine that their demise was a result of increased safeguarding awareness, more stringent legislation and the need for qualified staff. The ones I went to as a child seemed to be staffed by teenagers.

clareykb · 20/12/2023 23:46

The IKEA ones are still open I think?

ImAMinion · 20/12/2023 23:49

I was a 90s kid and I remember being out in the shopping Center crèche / play place when my mum shopped - also remember being out in one at IKEA and I know my local leisure Center still had one until a couple of years ago…..

I think it’s multiple things. You can’t just fill in a form anymore saying child’s name and a contact phone number. The paperwork and insurance would be ridiculous these days. I mean think about the paperwork required for nurseries……insane. Permission to breathe basically. Trust isn’t there as much as it was anymore, for whatever reason. By the time most crèches have heard about a child’s needs for the sake of an hour or two it’s almost pointless. But like anything if you want qualified trained staff of a good quality you’ve got to pay them and I guess a crèche doesn’t promise a set income.

Reugny · 20/12/2023 23:49

clareykb · 20/12/2023 23:46

The IKEA ones are still open I think?

Not seen it open in the IKEA I go to since pre-Covid.

Fizbosshoes · 20/12/2023 23:59

My local council run leisure centre used to have a creche that you could use when in the swimming pool or gym. I used it for both my kids, it was mainly staffed by women age 50+ . I've no idea if it still exists

mondaytosunday · 21/12/2023 00:13

We passed three on the way home today. All outside churches. I've don't think I've seen them outside a non religious place.

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 21/12/2023 00:18

There used to be one at a local gym and IKEA. I never used either of them as I didn't trust the staff to look after my DD. I was always amazed that people willingly handed over their children to strangers.

Whereismycat · 21/12/2023 00:26

The IKEA in Greenwich still has a crèche. Open when I went recently but DD wouldn’t go in on her own.

hertim · 21/12/2023 00:36

Ikea have brought back some of their crèches, only in certain stores. The one in my old council gym is still going but I don't live near there any more. There used to be one in the council gym where I now live, but they stopped doing it during Covid then didn't bring it back. There are some private gyms with crèches but they are a bit far from me. There's a local weekly creche which is also bilingual but it's quite expensive and you have to commit for a term.

I don't feel that comfortable with a creche for younger dc tbh. I have a 19m old and I'm a sahm, and leaving her with adults she's never met before would upset her I think. She'll start preschool next year but with settling in sessions and 5 sessions a week with regular staff and lots of communication with home.

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