Childminder or Creche @ 12 months

[LivingDublin]

We are having our first child in April 2026. I will take 1 year maternity leave after which I will return to work full time.

I'm interested to hear from parents if they think 12 months is too young to go to a creche or if a child minder in their own home is more suitable until the child is a bit older, possibly nearer 2.5 years old?

Thanks.

It really depends on the childminder or the crèche/nursery. They aren’t all created equal. When our son was little, we too thought a childminder would be preferable, but at the time there were few options and the one we chose turned out to be unsuitable. We put him in a nursery and he thrived. Others I’m sure will have had different experiences. All you can do is thoroughly investigate all options and facilities.

There are huge variations within those childcare options.

Decide what’s important to you- do you want a family atmosphere, a forest school, lots of trips out etc.

Do your research and visit those you think might be a good fit. Ask family, friends, even people you meet at baby groups etc for recommendations or post on local community social media sites.

Also, don’t discount your baby’s personality. Although you haven’t met them yet they might be outgoing and thrive in a busy sociable setting or they might be more reserved and prefer a smaller setting.

My children went to a childminder from 10 and 8 months and have thrived. I loved the family atmosphere and my childminder has lots of outdoor space so that was a big positive for us.

We used a nursery. The main reasons were:

(1) better facilities, forest school, outside visits, etc

(2) more hands on deck - I had a very clingy high needs baby and she literally contact napped the first couple months at nursery, because there were 5 staff instead of just one, there was always someone free to give her a cuddle

(3) I didn’t like the idea of them just being out driving around going to groups and soft play all day or doing the school run. We live rurally and it would be a lot of time spent in the car. I liked that I knew exactly where they were.

Both ours were in nursery for collectively 7 years and I was very happy with the decision.

People have different opinions and feel strongly about this.
At 12m I'd start with a CM

Someone told me once
"A good CM beats a good nursery
A good nursery beats a bad CM"

I agree woth this and was lucky to find good CMs woth ft hours

Our have been ultra.reliable flexible with kids sickness im v happy with my.choice

We used a nursery. One of the main reason was that even if the main key worker was off, there was always staff.

Childminder take holiday when they want and if they have their own children, it means in school holidays. That means you have to ensure you also get time off and if you want to go away you are bound to expensive prices.

Do you have a support network you can use if a childminder is ill? Or has to take an emergency day off?

We had no family around so a 95% security that childcare is always available was needed. I think in the 3 years we had two closures because of snow.

Do they have school runs and how will this affect your baby's routine? Nurseries will also create a routine but I found ours a lot more flexible in the first 2 years. I also wasn't keen on having a baby dragged out each day twice a day.

It's such a personal thing. Having worked in nurseries I chose a childminder for my own children until they went to pre-school around 2.5.
We had only good experiences with childminders and the pre-school.

I think you need to look at a few places and then trust your instincts what’s right for your child. Mine started at nursery with 1 year and he’s very happy there.

I agree with this. I think there are advantages to a young child being with 1 (or 2) consistent adults rather than a larger number at nursery. However people often worry more about a childminder.

From your user name are you living in Dublin ? Then you need to consider commuting times too . Personally I think a local childminder is better than having to transport a child to crèche . But I would not like to leave a child under 2/3 in any circumstance. Many people do because of what others have mentioned. And now is the time to start looking and putting your name down as most creches have waiting lists .

The typos 🫣

My CM follows EYFS and is teaching my 3 yr old letters and numbers etc. They do the seasons, my dd loves birds so they did a 2 week deep dive into birdies and made binoculars etc.

They go to the zoo, playgroups, forest school, do messy play, sports days egg hunts and she also has membership for what I can only describe as a toddler theme park! ( there are rides/ activities/ playgrounds role play / soft play / stahe shows / farm animals / they grow vegetables you can pick)

I honestly had no idea a CM could provide such "comprehensive" learning

It totally depends on the individual crèche and childminder they aren’t all the same. I know a few childminders and half the afternoon is spent doing school collections so your child is sitting in the car for ages which I wouldn’t like . Equally a friend of mine is a registered childminder and she is amazing at her job. I sent mine to crèche and they thrived. Also realistically bear in mind unfortunately you might not really get much choice it might be you need to accept whatever childcare you can get. I know it’s a long way off but time flies so when looking at crèches do think about the ones who do drop off and afterschool collection from the primary schools that you might send your DC to.

At twelve months the most important thing will be a high quality, consistent caregiver with as much time to dedicate to your child as possible.

The best option is a nanny, but for many people prohibitively expensive.

The next best option would be a childminder who works below ratio. They are out there, but often difficult to find.

After this it will really depend on the specific nature of the nursery and the childminder. I would look at both. Focus on the staff, not the facilities. How long have they been doing their job? What's the staff turnover like at the nursery? How many children are there altogether? Do they seem passionate about their jobs? Do the children seem engaged and happy? How often do the nursery kids gey out? How much time do the childminder kids spend on school runs? How flexible can they be to accommodate your child's routine? Who do you trust most to be health and safety aware (particularly relevant if your child has anything like allergies or additional medial needs)?