How do nursery waitlists work and how much do they move

[Winter2028]

We have a full time place at a nursery near work (chose it as it is bilingual) but we decided that the commute might be more manageable if it was 3 days a week. Currently 18 weeks pregnant. We decided to sign up for 2 days at a local religious nursery (where we would have to swifch synagogue in order to get priority on the waitlist). Dh actually joined a new synagogue today to give ourselves a better chance. I belong to another synagogue but not their affiliated synagogue.

Previously when I viewed the nursery I was told there was no waitlist (though that was in November when foetus was barely 5 weeks old!) But there is a waitlist now though I am registering a year in advance. I range from position 2 to position 7. It's probably hormones but I can't help but feel like I failed my baby a bit cos now I think about it, I think this nursery really is what I want, it was just the first one I viewed so I didn't make a decision there and then...

We are in London.

At least I have a space as opposed to no space. And it's something that is important to me that my child grows up bilingual.

My dh doesn't speak Mandarin at all. But you don't need 5 days to do that hence why I am looking to do 3 days if I can find a local nursery..

My children speak 3 languages….you can teach them at home and when you speak to them.

In my home country it is the law that all children must learn their mother tongue I.e. mandarin in school as a formal subject for at least 10 years. But many people still don't speak it well esp children from English speaking homes like mine. Despite learning it at school for years. My parents are both Chinese and they technically also learnt mandarin at school too (my mum is quite good at it, my dad's non existent).

My parents sent me to a daycare with mainland Chinese teachers (they couldn't speak any English) after my sister was born which is the main reason why I can speak mandarin to a decent level. Of course I had great teachers at school too but that was my starting point

Ok, it’s your choice I was giving my opinion. I don’t feel travelling in the rush hour to spend days in nursery to learn a language is ideal at 6 months but that is my view. Good luck in finding a spot.

To add to what has already been mentioned it's not always first on the list first to get a place, for example for many private nurseries, a full time child on the waiting list would be prioritised for a space over a 2 days per week child as logistically that's easier for the nursery to manage and more profitable.

Tbh I did just find a nursery with spaces for our dates on those 2 days (montessori nursery ) 4 minutes walk from my home but dh dislikes the look of it. We will look at it but I am not holding my breath.