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.

Do children care about things being design led? I would worry this nursery is pandering to parents’s taste rather than the needs of children. My dc loves anything made of brightly coloured plastic especially if it made a loud noise. They need that kind of stimulation. Children don’t know what’s designer and what’s not. Give them a choice between an artisan crafted wooden car and a big brightly coloured one with flashing lights they pick the latter.

I'm guessing most people being po-faced here:

a) don't live in London
b) identify with the kind of person OP is talking about

Winds me up too tbh. I remember when I grew up (in SE London, in an area that's now extremely gentrified), you just went to the local school. Didn't matter - working class, middle class, black, white, whatever.

Now you increasingly see primary schools in gentrified areas of London composed of just white children as the catchment area of the school is so expensive that it's generally only white middle class people able to afford to live there.

I don't know if I want to bring my DC up here any longer. I do not feel like it is truly diverse any more.

The OP is lighthearted I'm guessing but honestly it depresses me as places like this are symptomatic of what's happening to the city. Gap between rich and poor ever growing.

It’s a bit ‘much’ I think.

But my kids nursery has just had refurb an now looks like those spaces .... considerably less than £90 a day (£55 preschool, £60 under 4s)

My Dd does yoga at her very normal nursery in the North and they sometimes have smoothie too, we only pay £45 a day so what does that make us.. . .

Do you live in Walthamstow OP?

I get the wooden vs plastic toys thing in terms of the environment but honestly there are enough second hand plastic toys knocking about to see most children sorted for the next thirty years

Do you live in Walthamstow OP?

No, but I was born there :)

If it makes you feel any better this sounds very like the chain of nurseries my children went to. (They weren't £90/day mind) They weren't in the south-east. This is all just clever marketing to appeal to a certain demographic - which isn't confined to London and the south-east.

To be honest. I think this is happening everywhere. I had to hold back a smile when my brother told me about how lucky they were that my nephew’s nursery had an ‘in-house artist’ whilst showing me a piece of coloured paper which my nephew had stuck feathers on to.

Everyone wants their children to have the best (or what is advertised to them as the best) especially on the days when they have to be apart from each other. I think it is sweet.

It all sounds a bit contrived and try hard, so YNBU. But your description of the Victorian terrace with painted floor boards and linen bedding sounds lovely. If I ever live alone, that's my dream house and decor.

I can understand your annoyance tbh, although I moved here four years ago and I think Could pass for one of these sort of folk, it does all feel a bit much sometimes.

I've googled and think I've found it (London nursery with curated programmes).

According to Ofsted they're not outstanding (they're good) and there have been a number of complaints about poor procedure and even rough handling of the children.

No amount of smoothies and pilates are going to make up for having your kid walloped, really.

I'm with you, OP. Even before I googled.

Everyone wants their children to have the best (or what is advertised to them as the best) especially on the days when they have to be apart from each other. I think it is sweet.

Well I agree to an extent but to me the "best" was somewhere my ds would be safe, comforted, stimulated and well looked after.

Not saying that these places don't do that, I'm sure they do, but it's not really about the extras is it.

The most expensive one near me (which we looked at) is £80 a day. Rated ofsted outstanding, very nicely decorated etc. Went to see it and staff were chatting while children cried on the floor. Go figure.

But your description of the Victorian terrace with painted floor boards and linen bedding sounds lovely

DD’s school kindergarten was in a Victorian lodge. I must enquire as to the bedding used in the “nap room”

I enjoyed your description of the ombre lob lot.

I think Could pass for one of these sort of folk, it does all feel a bit much sometimes.

So could I for sure. I owned a babyzen. Think I even had a fjallraven at some point. Those things are nice, I'm not saying they aren't (the house too). They are just symptomatic of a demographic whereby everyone has the same stuff and looks the same.

I wouldn't pay £90 a day for nursery mind, I'm not daft.

Just googled it to and to be fair it looks lovely! If I lived closer to one I’d consider it.

Sounds great to me. Agree you seem bitter/envious.

It sounds very nice actually maybe a tad poncy but a nice place. My friend pays £20 an hour for 2 children nursery in central scotland nursery fees are ridiculous but they are businesses

I'm really not envious, though I appreciate it might have come off that way.

I'm very lucky. I just feel sad at how much the city has gentrified.

Yes it sounds very wanky.

My family and I have just moved from a hipster area of London after being stuck there for 5 years. My children and I are born and bred Londoners, and my DH has lived in various parts of London for years.

We couldn’t stand the constant air of competition and snobbery, not to mention the intrusive questions as to which brand x is/where you buy your organic produce from/what you do for a living and your salary/which smoothie did you make this morning. Everyone was trying to out do each other, it was incredibly tedious. My DH and I were sick of receiving questionable looks from these people, and imagine it’s because we’re not hipsters and have our own style, and we’re seen as some kind of blot on their sludge coloured landscape of colours.

We now live in a very down to earth suburb (thank goodness), in which the adults have proper meaningful conversations, and without the ‘hipster uniform,’ nor a man bun in sight and we couldn’t feel happier.

Anyone who chooses their nursery on the basis of instagram hype is asking for trouble.
I'd be far more interested in the quality of staff and staff turnover. do they employ experienced staff who really care about the kids and don't leave after a few months.

They are just symptomatic of a demographic whereby everyone has the same stuff and looks the same.

This is true of a lot of demographics to be fair!

I hope the nursery kitchen has a concrete floor and white brick tiles. Maybe some exposed pipe work.

Do they have their milk out of jam jars?