To think nursery workers should at least act like they're happy to be there?!

[KellyHall]

Firstly, sorry it's so long!

My dd (2.5) has been at the same nursery since she was 7 months old, when I had to return to work. She always says she's had fun but also never wants to go beforehand, it takes a lot of persuasion. She is not easily pleased, she gets it from me.

She had a lovely, smiley, soft spoken key worker when she was in the under 2 years room but obviously got bored with the limited resources as she got older.

When she moved to the 2-3 room, she enjoyed the new activities but nearly all of the staff are so grumpy compared to the baby room, she still keeps asking to see her original key worker. After a couple of months, a new key worker was assigned to her who is really lovely and sweet, everything you'd want.

Two weeks ago however, I noticed a new staff member when I collected dd who started straight at me without so much as a flicker of a smile. Then I got an email introducing this person as dd's new key worker, she wasn't even smiling in the emailed photo! Today I picked up dd again and it was my first interaction with dd's new key worker - no introduction, no smile, no explanation about why following an 'accident' my dd was wearing spare i.e. old and dirty, clothes instead of the clean ones in her bag.

It's a big and busy nursery so sometimes they're a bit lax here and there but this particular person seemingly has no redeeming qualities, what should I do?

They are overworked and underpaid.
Although they did train for the job, they should always aim to do the best of it.

In light of the last two dispatch investigated creches in Ireland the breaches were massive, DC were shouted at, pushed down for naps.
The first was 7 years ago the second more recently, it showed for all the efforts little changed.
A good nursery is worth its weight in gold I think if they've good management it will be better.

I think one of ours enjoys tormenting DS. It was on my mind last year but reading this it is clearer.
He goes in but even she is on the door he loses it completely.

I worked in a nursery as a teenager. I was a nursery assistant, rather than a nursery nurse, which meant I did the same job as my colleagues but for much less pay. Despite what a PP said, I had no qualifications and I wasn’t being trained for a career path.

I’d never work in a nursery again. Yes, working with children is lovely. But the pay is shocking, the hours are awful, it’s incredibly stressful keeping your eyes on so many children at once. Despite what some might think, it can get very tedious (especially when you take a group of kids to the toilet and as soon as they’re done, another group get sent in... and then another... and another). Then you have parents coming in to complain because you don’t smile enough.

I have huge respect to anybody who sticks it out. I work in a shop now and I much prefer it. Still minimum wage but far less stressful!

I work in a nursery which I lke and am happy to be their, but we all have off days, and stressed days. I have however been in nursery's where I have felt like walking out on the job. It depends very much on the individual one and if you are unhappy complain to the manager. And if you can move.

I worked at a nursery part time until my back problems made the job impossible. There are two major problems with the job. The first one is that once at toddler age most rooms are severely understaffed. Also it is a lot more tiring to work with the 2 year olds who are uncontrollable then a baby. It's called terrible twos for a reason. I was on my feet 8-6:30 pm most Wednesdays-Fridays getting a 30 minute lunch as I was part time. I was dead on my feet and only coped by taking pain tablets, caffein tablets, and just crying out of sheer exhaustion at night. I still tried to make the children a priority and put on a happy face. I would try to stop what ever task I was doing and not to make it look like I was rushing but that was actually held against me.

Now there is a second reason and I want to say this is not true for everyone that works at a nursery and I do hope they are the minority but some people I worked with I felt were not so much in the job because they love kids but because it was the preferred job out of the limited choices they might have had. Like I said it's not true for all but there has consistently been 1-2 in the nurseries where I have worked

What would happen if all nurseries got rid of all the useless, poor, or just 'meh' staff? Half of the nurseries in the country would shut down. The quality isn't there.

And would the people on this thread remember that men work in nurseries too.

@Mysterian the men I have noticed on average are far more engaged with the kids and a lot more playful.

This is such a shame. I’d hate it if this happened.

I agree they should be paid more but even though it may be e.g £5 an hour. They’re looking after 3 kids and then have the other associated costs so salaries are never going to be that high.

DD’s nursery are lovely and they all seem to genuinely love children. Some are older and Mums themselves so they understand how hard it is to leave a small child.

I’d at least go to visit other (maybe smaller) nurseries or maybe a childminders? I know plenty of people who have moved house and had to change nurseries. Kids are adaptable and more resilient than we think.

@demureandgraceful I think it takes a bit more dedication to the job to be a man in nurseries. Young women often end up in childcare almost by default. Employment bodies wanting to place one somewhere would send them to "hair or care", whereas they wouldn't for a young man. And then there's social pressure and discrimination to keep men out the sector.

(And yes, I would say that female engineers, etc, are also probably more dedicated to their profession for the same kind of reasons.)

And the key worker should smile and be welcoming. Even if you're having the crappiest day ever you should be able to fake it for a few moments when talking to a customer.

The nursery should have communicated about the change in key-worker beforehand.

I agree op. The staff at my dts preschool nursery are always cheerful and excited to see the kids and that's why I feel so happy leaving them there. It's not too much to ask imo. I've done minimum wage jobs myself and never seen it as an excuse to give poor or grumpy service.