To think nurseries are people's first choice?

[Writerwannabe83]

I have a 5 month old DS and today I sorted out his childcare for when I return to work. We have registered him with a childminder and for some reason I didn't even contemplate using a nursery.

However, it feels like in many MN threads (in differing topic sections) most children that are talked about are in nurseries as opposed to having a childminder.

Is nursery more 'the norm' now and am I depriving my DS of something by using a CM instead? There must be a reason why nurseries seem to be the preferred option for parents?

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I he put a request in to work about going back on reduced hours (so I could spend time with DS as opposed to using childcare too frequently) but I got a letter from my Boss yesterday to say that my request was denied. I'm pretty gutted about it really.

The CM is one who has come recommended of a colleague and I went to meet her last week and she seems lovely. Her husband is also a registered childminder do they share all the workload. The house was lovely and full of children/babies of all ages. Her and her husband showed me all the educational toys they gave and told me what activities they do to encourage development in young infants and I felt genuinely at ease in their company. The children who were there at the time all seemed really happy which is a good sign I imagine.

The charge is £30 a day which includes all daytime snacks and two meals. I don't have anything to compare it too but I'm happy enough with that.

They are only a 5 minute drive from where I work too so that's a huge bonus!! I can go and visit him during my lunch break

Yes, most CM I see just meet up and chat, the kids run riot.

There are plus and minuses to both but I don't think there is a clear benefit to using a nursery over a good.CM.

Personal choice....

I would never have looked at a childminder....would seem odd to me to drop off my dc at someone's house.

I guess there are plus points for each.

Good luck with your rtw....

Time flies.

They sound nice :)

Something to consider though...

How far away from your home is your work? If you were off sick or on maternity leave (next time ) or changed jobs, would that still be a convenient location? It's often best to have the CM near home, rather than near work (also to save the baby being in the car all the time too) but of course it's a very individual decision.

I have read a fair number of threads on here started by people who are dissatisfied with nurseries, but I can't recall any about childminders. I would prefer a good chidlminder over a nursery; don't like the idea of a group of children in a 'room' all day with minders who are frequently young and poorly trained.

I have always been swayed towards using a nursery...and this is despite knowing quite a few really good childminders in my local area. Personally I feel more reassured knowing exactly where my child is whilst I am at work, that they are in a very secure environment and that there are several people on hand should something go wrong.

I'd choose a nursery but it wouldn't have anything to do with what the majority of MN or anyone else was doing.

I'm a grown up & as such am perfectly capable of making a decision all by myself.

Nursery I use has a huge outdoor area and DS is always outdoors playing, gardening etc - certainly not cooped up in a room all morning. And staff are mostly in their late twenties/ early thirties so not ridiculously young. That's just my experience though.

I was influenced by another parent who said that a childminder could have an off day and that there wouldn't be another human to modify their behaviour. To me nursery seemed a safer environment as there are multiple people looking after my child.

My daughter thrived in a nursery environment, she learnt to socialise from an early age and, as an only, it really helped her to learn to share and definitely prepared her for school.

We chose a childminder who has in all honesty been bloody marvellous for 7 years. It has worked for all of us.
We only use her for a couple of days each week and we cover the rest so she fills the additional trusted adult role that grandparents often do but if we had needed ft care then my choices might have been different.

Thinking of my colleagues, I can think of:
-one uses a childminder

• one uses a childminder who has a nursery-type setup

- one uses a nanny -the rest use nursery (I can think of at least 7 of them), so that is definitely the most common.

But most of those who use nursery have at least one day covered by family.

When DC1 was a baby and I was first thinking about childcare, childminder was the first and most natural choice for me. While I was looking, DC1 became more independent and sociable, and so I started to consider nursery. I was about to go with a childminder and had arranged to take Dh to meet her when she rang up to cancel as her DC was ill. I had a sudden realisation that I wouldn't be able to go to work when I was ill, when DC was ill, when childminder was ill and when childminder's DC was ill, and I immediately switched to looking at nurseries.

I also don't think I trusted myself to find the one right person in whom to entrust the entire care of my child 4 days a week. Maybe I just never found the right childminder. With nurseries I actually got that good 'vibe' (and have been proven right with the 2 we used), but I thought that at least if one staff member wasn't great or was having an off day there were another 2 in that room to compensate.

Don't forget the nannies!
Call me naive but I imagine that if nannies were a more affordable option, they'd probably be the most popular

Don't really understand why so many mn people are such big fans of nurseries. Most of the evidence suggests a family type environment is best when it comes to child care. Gonna run from bun fight now ....

Nursery :

The one I chose was in the grounds of a hospital with a Childrens A&E . They never needed it, but it was there.

The fact there were several Key Workers meant if (for whatever reason) my DC were being little gits challenging, they could say "Can you look after child X and I'll do nappies/lunches "

The children with my DC were the same ages , a CM can have different ages

I really don't want my DC being taken out on the "School Run" or round the shops. They did enough boring stuff at home. With the Nursery, they were there for the day (unless they had a trip or were taken out as a treat to buy a magazine or something)

Mine are now teen/preteen. (so a long while ago)

raspberryripple - plenty of reasons given upthread.

I have been incredibly happy with the 2 nurseries that we have used (one part of a chain and very professional, one owner-managed with all the children baby to 8 in a large room), my children have been cherished, they have had so much fun, they have felt safe and secure and have learnt. I have had complete confidence in that care, something I never felt completely sure of from any of the childminders I went to see.

Which is why any research on what is (marginally?) best would not sway me - I would not chose a childminder I wasn't completely happy with because the home environment is supposed to be better for nurturing children.

Personally I tend to think a family type environment can be quite awkward and uncomfortable for a child when it's not their own family.

It's a bit like when I'm away - I'd rather stay in a hotel than a B & B as a B & B feels like I'm invading someone else's space a bit. Just personal view though :)

However the OP's childminders sound great. When you find the right childcare setting for your child then I think you know.

DD has just left her amazing nursery today . She has had a great start , lovely staff and a group of little friends. Whatever you choose it has to be right for your child and you.

We considered a childminder briefly but discounted it because we didn't want our childcare to be entirely reliant on one person (what happens if they're ill etc) and we wanted the broader experience and socialisation that a nursery can offer. Each to their own though.

I was an au pair and knew lots of awful ones who were not great with kids or let them watch loads of TV then told parents a pack of lies. Have seen the same with CM at toddler groups etc. nursery was open all year and never sick etc . Both mine went to nursery

Upthread, CMs and cars were mentioned. We chose ours because she didn't have a car, so lots of walking was the order of the day, with trains buses for outings.

I chose nursery because dd2 was 2 when I started working days again and I like the sociable aspect for her, if I had to leave her as a baby it would have been with a cm

My reason for preferring nursery was the location to my workplace, recommendations from others and accountability.

I think some people, like myself, like the idea of there being several people taking responsibility rather than just one.

Personally, I think childminders are much better for under-3s in theory, but only if you can find a fantastic one who you trust entirely. I can see why some parents prefer to use nurseries even for babies, as there is much more supervision of individual caregivers.

I think nurseries are fab for slightly older children, though personally I wouldn't have wanted dc to spend too many hours in that kind of setting.

I couldn't find a childminder I liked for dd when she was a baby. I spoke to loads but wouldn't have left dd with any of them. However, I know that there are some superb childminders out there, if you're lucky enough to find one.

Eventually, we decided to have a nanny (with own child), who happened to be the friend of a friend. I trusted her as much as I trusted myself, and we are still very close even though she hasn't worked for us for years. We supplemented with a bit of nursery when nanny's child went to school, just so that dd had a bit of company. That was an ideal arrangement for us.