Angry with nursery for putting babies in with older kids at the end of the day

[Nuni]

Because some of the staff go home early, they don't have enough staff to keep the baby room open the last couple of hours before nursery closes.

I deliberately chose a nursery with a room for Under 2s, I'm paying the same price for the hours she's mixed in with older kids. She's still so small and vulnerable, I don't like her being in with 4-5 year olds

Why didn't they tell me this before?

Or do all nurseries do this?

Keyworker is fantastic but I feel really let down by the way the nursery is run... surely if they advertise a baby room it should stay open until closing time? I wanted a safe, baby-friendly area, where she feels secure, not being lumped in with older kids at the end of the day, in a room set up for a different age group, just so they can avoid paying more staff

My dD was in a big nursery so they did have segregated rooms, and at the end of the day they would start combining as the numbers dropped. The ratio of staff to children is the same, but it allows them to get the empty rooms nicely tidied and sorted ready for the next day. Any babies moved into the toddler room would still have been looked after like a baby, quite often being carried by a staff member or sitting on their lap. Especially as my dD is an only child and always will be, I have always liked her mixing with other aged children older and younger as I actually think that is a more natural set-up than a whole group of the same age. And in any small setting, like a village playgroup or a childminders (or a family!) the baby will be in the same room as older children - and usually fine! Provided you don't have other concerns about the care I wouldn't worry about the mixed ages (if the baby is coming home with wet/dirty nappies, or unwiped face then that would be more concerning.

Never heard of that before. I wouldn't be happy with that. The baby room should have a completely different set up and feel, the staff should be experienced with babies. The nursery should charge according to the the right amount of staff they need, and this definitely should have been discussed before any money changed hands. Part of choosing a nursery is trust and if they avoided telling you this then I'd wonder what else they hadn't mentioned. I would probably look for an alternative

Honestly, try not to worry too much about this (easier said than done!)

My LO was in the baby room from 6 months, and every now and then, all the children would be moved into one room towards the end of the day.

As long as the carer:child ratio is maintained, it should all be ok.

My LO quite liked exploring the new environment and it was the room they would eventually move up to at the age of 2 so it helped them become familiar in the end

PS they also loved watching & trying to follow the older ones, was fascinated by the activities/toys in the new room

I was always one of the mums who picked up later (between 5.30- 6pm due to busy work) so it was not usual that they would start moving children into the same room towards the end of the day

I really would't suggest you start dismissing the nursery entirely because of this. If your LO is happy & settled in the nursery, then surely this is the main thing?

My DD2 goes to a private nursery and they have separate room for babies, 14 months - 2 years, 2-3years and press school. Sometimes when the amount of babies or little ones in 14- 2 years is low they mix those two together and when 2-3 and preschool are smaller groups they mix those too. They don't mix babies with preschool. My DS starts in August and that will mean all 3 of my DC's have been there as it is a fab nursery and totally trust them. And i don't trust many with my DC's

When my DS was in nursery they used to do this. Didn't bother me but I get your point. They should have told you.

I guess the problem is that at the end of the day with all the paperwork, getting bags/lost bits and bob, talking to parents etc there has to be more staff around. Even if only 4 left at the end of the day, when one parent comes to pick up and needs a form signing/ medicine out the fridge etc or just a poo explosion from another baby then there HAS to be another member of staff on hand to help out. They have to over staff. Having an extra person 'floating' most of the day is fine when 10-12 children perhaps. But not practical when only 3-4 left.

Staffing is probably the most expensive element of a nursery. They could get more staff I'm sure - but it'd be passed back on to you in fees somehow. At DS's nursery we were charged per extra 15mins even when pre-booked! It worked out quite expensive. Nurserys are businesses after all!

My little one started at her nursery just before she turned 1. As in your case OP it was is in a designated baby room and at the very end of the day they did bring all the children together. In truth I have always found it very touching to see how the bigger children looked out for the little ones. Babies were never left attended and were as involved in the play as the rest. My daughter has always had an eye what the slightly older kids were doing so I think she thrived on it. You may have found it unsettling, but how does your daughter seem when you collect her? If terrified then yes there is a problem, but if not then honestly it can be a great boost to them. If you have no trust in the staff thats another matter - I love our nursery staff, they have had a sense of my daughters personality from very early on and always spotted if she was out of sorts or possibly coming down with something. We now have smaller kids coming up into her nursery class and now I get to see her and her friends being so welcoming, caring and encouraging of one another. Seeing them explain how to climb or tell a little one you're a bit small for that, try this instead is just lovely. Hope it pans out for you the way it did for us.

My nursery mixes ages for some sessions as policy because it's actually good for them - they learn fast off peers. But then again having worked with all ages of kids I don't see the 3 and 4 year olds as 'rough' or risky and have respect that the staff know how to handle a mixed age room, because you know they are trained professionals and all.
It has helped my DD's confidence around older kids and her language. Some of the older kids love helping her and I can see its teaching them too.
And as hygiene is important, if it enables the baby area to be deep cleaned all the better.

... and if you have more kids, you realise your house will be a mixed room too? Or is this the usual MN "one level of rather relaxed middle class mum for me, another almost impossible level/gentle patronisation for the staff the lower-middle and working class women who care for or teach".

Usually absolutely standard.

It was actually lovely when my kids were at nursery to play with the bigger kids and watching tv with the after school kids in " Mrs Jones sitting room" when it was down to the last few kids was sweet ( this is 10+ yrs ago. Mrs Jones lived on site ).

Relationships between kids from nursery over the age range is an enduring pleasure - to see eldest wrapped in a hug at 10yrs by and 18yr old when she went to the grammar school open day ( thry hadn't met since the big one stopped after school care at age 11!) and , this week, to have a 25yr old look at the old baby photos in my room and say " aww you are X and ys mum say hi from me" - so nice !

Actually this is making me cross. Nuni imagine a client/customer came into you doing your job at a 'behind the scenes'/end of the day way. Everything under control because you're a trained professional. They kick off because it doesn't look like a commercial and suggest 'at home' if they did the same it would be ok because they'd do better.
Those women (and indeed men, there are 2 at mine) are trained and experienced. They aren't dumping, they aren't leaving unsafe toys there to hurt your kid. They KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING. Probably, in terms of H&S (cleaning is not for looks, it's an ongoing health concern in a baby area and cannot be stacked up till later - and will be part of staff roles) more than many parents.

DDs nursery does this at the end of the day. There can be 30 under 2's at breakfast time, but by the time I pick her up at 5 there will only be 5, some babies, some nearly 2. Of course they put them together, with age appropriate toys. DD loves it. That's more like what it would be at home in a family with more than one kid... Only more adults present at nursery.

Massive lol at children being at nursery being "so heartbreaking".

My poor DD, all day long with friends and toys and fun and good food that's better than what I cook. Just thinking about all the arts and crafts and books and songs makes me tear up, because we all know only a mother can ever make these things enjoyable to a child, Lucifer himself may as well be watching them.

Oh and OP yes this is fairly standard. My DDs nursery opens for 10 hours but the workers do 8 hour shifts, quite normal. Meaning come 5pm some have gone home and to keep ratio levels safe they merge the age groups for a short while. TBH I never saw it as anything but good for babies to interact with older children. I'm not quite sure what you think the older kids are gonna do, or why you have a bad perception of them? Most I have ever known are very gentle with little ones. How do you think people with 2 kids only a few years apart cope? Do you think they keep them in seperate rooms?

It seems the nursery I used wasn't that standard then.
We had one baby room for under two and it was always staffed from start to finish.
They had one room for toddlers and one room for older children (up to 5yo) and these were the ones that were mixed together at the end of the day.

Two hours is a long time for a baby to be left on his own in a bouncy chair because the staff is busy.
An older sibling at home is different too because you have one, maybe two, older ones not 10 of them charging around. It's the sheer number that would be an issue for me.

Obviously it also depends on how good the nursery is at 'controlling' our little monsters.
It's not the same to have a baby who isn't crawling yet in a room full of 3~4y charging round if the toddlers/young children have been taught to be careful and if they are just left roaming as they please.
Unless, of course, they use the to to keep they quiet anyway (whch I ahve seen happening in some nurseries too)

I felt ripped off. You pay more per hour for the higher staff ratio, then get less supervision for the same money. I have seen up to 8 babies to 1 staff, and maintaining the ratio often means a hand or a foot in the room while the rest of the person is in another room.

OP I mean this very gently and kindly, honestly. But you are bring very World's First Baby about this. You really need to unclench. Because you're in danger of projecting your fears and anxieties onto your DD. I know it's hard. I know you want to wrap them in cotton wool. But really, she's safe, she's being looked after, and she's probably enjoying it.

Just reading your last post made me feel exhausted so goodness knows how you must feel.

Again, I'm saying it as kindly as possible but just try and breathe, stop your shoulders and let it go

*stop = drop

Actually there is a good point about the staff ratio. How do they manage the ratio and if they do, what would be the difference between having the same number of staff in the baby room compare to being with the toddlers/older children?

If they stay in the baby room even if they have only 1 or 2 babies left they would need 2 members of staff because good practise says you don't have a member of staff alone with children.

So if they have 2 babies, 5 2-3 year olds and 4 3-4 year olds left they would might need 7 staff whereas if they put them all into one room together they could probably have just 4 or 5 members of staff. (I don't know the exact ratios for each age group)

3 & 4 year olds are tiny themselves.

My son used to help with the hoovering at his nursery (severely autistic - it was the highlight of his day).

If you ever have a 4 year old & a baby/toddler - you'll find them being in the same room together really isn't an issue.

Evening all,
We've made some deletions, one was for just being uncool and in so doing breaking guidelines but the others were for trollhunting and also incidentally for Being Wrong about their target.
As per, if there are concerns about the legitimacy of the poster, please report them rather than hunt on the thread as it's hurtful and against the guidelines. Thanks. (We wondered about maintaining ratios as well btw).

(Oh, some of the posts were actually deleted for repeating a deleted post btw and caught in crossfire rather than actual badness).