to think this nursery is the very embodiment of gentrification in London?

[roundaboutsroundabouts]

I won't name the group of nurseries as I don't know if that's allowed (is it?) but I've just seen them referenced on instagram by a scandi toy brand. They are all in vair gentrified hipster parts of London and the fees are fcking EXTORTIONATE - £90 a day for the under-threes. I know that isn't unusual in London (although in my much cheaper part of London I only pay £55 a day). It holds a "curated" "programme" of monthly "events" (including pilates). The children get a daily smoothie - tomorrow's is beetroot, banana, ginger, berry, lemon and hemp. It describes itself as "design-led" and it's all vair tasteful scandi wooden toys in neutral colours. Design led?! Why does a NURSERY need to be "design-led"?!

You just know that everyone who sends their child there is going to have an ombre "lob", wear clothes from Arket, carry a fjallraven kanken backpack, own a bugaboo or a babyzen yoyo, dress said children in varying sludge colours from Mini Rodini, and have linen bedding in their Victorian Terraced house with white painted floorboards and scandi style planters.

I am BVU I know. But it is so irritating. I grew up in London, the child of an immigrant, and I feel like it's just an endless line of artisan coffee shops and overpriced farmers' markets these days.

I seem to have touched some nerves.

You can think I'm jealous, bitter, angry, whatever. It's no skin off my nose. I certainly don't spend all my time on Instagram, I just meant that those who didn't recognise my description probably would do if they looked there.

I have explained (as have several others) what it is about this that bothers me. If you disagree, that is fine.

You're alright, OP. People on MN are just so rude and obnoxious.

I have a nursery like that near me. I think there are two of them so not really a chain, but you practically have to remortgage your house to get on the waiting list, and if a place doesn’t become available before you need it, you lose your deposit.
They charge £90 a day for under 3s also. They don’t have an outside area, and the baby room is the size of a small single bedroom.
But they are owned by a wealthy family with a semi famous surname and it attracts the hipsters of east London 🤷🏻‍♀️ Whatever floats your boat. My dd is blossoming in her £53 per day nursery round the corner (that actually does have a garden)

No raw nerves. You get what you pay for. £2k a month nurseries in London provide superlative full time care for babies and toddlers enabling mothers and fathers to pursue lucrative satisfying careers to the benefit of their families. Each to their own.

I do agree gentrification/hipsterness is a bit dull if everywhere/one looks the same while congratulating themselves on their uniqueness.
But let them get on with it.

Chatham - could not agree more!! It's just so uninspired.

Also the nursery does seem very pretentious. It's the use of language which is aimed at massaging the egos of the parents and reconfirming that they are cool, chilled, intelligent and we'll informed on all manner of topics from food nutrition, ethical toys, environmental concerns and varies theories about child centred education. Yet the childcare and activities are probably pretty similar to elsewhere and their techniques certainly not new or unique.

If I was going to buy my children fancy clothes, I'd go to Bonpoint

Good news, CruCru - I saw a load of Bonpoint stuff in TK Maxx today. One little pair of shoes was reduced from £104 (!!) to £16.

You seem to know a lot about what gentrified mums carry/wear/do. Are you sure you aren't one?

I daresay I am in many ways ellen. If you've read my posts, you'll know I've talked about that a lot!

My pretentious led nightmare!

Even if I had littles ones still, and I had money to waste, I still wouldn't send there.

My kids were taught by me n their mother for the most part before school. Yes we both worked part time, so one of us was home (work out daily fees, parking, time to n from etc) and was far cheaper. Those informative years are so precious, and who better to spend time with?

We'd read to them, ask them questions from very early on .... Look a yellow bus, what is that? Simple things to start.

We didn't have lots of excess of toys, so they knew early on to respect stuff, and that if broken couldn't just be replaced.

Today, I wouldn't change a thing, they've both done well, nope none of them are world leaders, or merchant bankers or drs etc, but what they do, they worked hard for.

Bloody hell £90? We sent our son to a fabulous nursery school with French, Yoga, Baby Sign, days out and lots of other stuff. Gorgeous building, great staff and lovely fresh organic food for £34 a day. Glad I don’t live in London... blimey.

That’s a bargain! My son’s nursery is a lot more and isn’t a fancy chain. We are in Crouch End though. All the local schools do mindfulness and yoga etc and it’s great, calms the kids and helps them to be thoughtful and resilient. Smoothies are a good way to get fruit into fussy kids too. The design-led bit is a bit wanky though!

You get to live in either wanky London or stabby London - I’d choose wanky - stop moaning and drink your skinny chai latte

I live in stabby - it's great. None of that shit here. We have crack dealers in the park next door to me.

(I have to travel to find turmeric lattes)

mrsbadcrumble that is out of line, and not true either. There isn’t only two sides of the spectrum and there isn’t really any call to be so rude.

Wanky. Yanbu.

Maybe they invest in decent quality staff and not poorly or unqualified teenagers? It costs £10 an hour for someone to walk your dog!

You get to live in either wanky London or stabby London - I’d choose wanky - stop moaning and drink your skinny chai latte

Mate who says I don't live in stabby London? A fourteen year old boy was stabbed in Broad daylight the other day on my high street. That kind of highlights my point.

I like this thread as we pay under £60 per day for a similar nursery that is amazing. An independent, not part of a chain, has all organic food, no sugar, amazing activities and it’s own forest school and outdoor specialist. Complete with Scandi toys.

But it’s not in London

Last stabbing in my hood, a few days ago, was right outside the wankiest overpriced baby clothes and wooden toy shop in the area, and across the road from JoJoMaman Bebe. Wanky London and stabby London are not mutually exclusive.

Macblanc, it’s formative years, not informative! 😂 sorry to correct but slightly amusing.

Hmmm I agree it's marketed at a particular type of parent. But I love it. Then again, I work in Early Years and I'd love to open a setting like that. If I won the lottery I would, but I'd open it in a really deprived area and accept children on a referral only basis, from HVs or Social services. The children who probably don't eat food like that at home and miss out on things like forest school (although I'm a bit over that already, we've always done it but just called it 'Wednesday Afternoon'). I'd hire the best quality staff, well above ratio and pay wages they deserve because I'd be a millionaire and not at the mercy of the early years funding formula.

I can dream.

"Design led"? Yuck.

Not play-led or education-led.
It's for people who treat their children as accessories.

PPs getting annoyed at the lady for posing an opinion 😂 that’s the whole point of Mumsnet!
YANBU OP

Article in today’s Guardian about forest school bandwagon-jumping