To ask which nursery you would choose?

[TheSmallestOneWasMadeline]

DD is on the waiting list for 2 nurseries and places have just come up for both, I really can't decide!

Nursery A) 10 minute walk from our house, lovely setting, strict hours (8:30 - 16:30) with late fees. If money were no object would be my choice.

Nursery B) On site nursery at my work. £20 per day cheaper so would save us between £100-£200 a month which is significant for us at the moment. It's a 30 min drive from my house so I'd go into the office on her 2 nursery days and wfh the rest of the week which is ok. But would mean no flexibility with office days. It's a nice enough nursery but not AS nice IYSWIM. Also worry about her not making any friends that she will go to school with as it's in a different area. Can drop off and pick up any time between 7 and 6 though so lots of flexibility here too.

I would love to hear opinions. Thanks!

How difficult is it for you to get back for 4.30 pick up? That would be a pain for me so I'd go option B.

4.30?? That’s crazy

I’d go with the nursery at your work!

I would go with B. They don't really make firm friends at nursery so don't worry about that. I think the cost saving and flexible would be deciding factors.

Is DD only going in 2 days? If going in more you could split it between the two.

We were in your situation a few years back, we ended up going with the office nursery for various reasons...then covid hit 🤣🤣🤣. DS now goes to an entirely different nursery close to home.

Both have their benefits but I would carefully weigh up those cut off times to see whether or not it would work for your family as we turned it down as we were concerned about getting stuck in traffic.

Even though DS is closer to home, because of where we are he isn't currently going to a nursery with his to be school friends

We had this dilema and went with option B. I like that if DS gets poorly (all the bloody time) I can get to him in a couple of minutes and it has more flexible hours.
Yes, it would be nice if he was closer to home to make friends that he is likely to be at school with, but kids adapt quickly.

How old is she? 4.30 closing is weird, I assume it's more of a pre school?

B

I wouldn't be able to make it back from work in time for 16:30, that's a crazy time to close for a nursery?!

Don't worry about friends. Children at my sons nursery go off to about 6 different schools. Little ones make friends so easy once they start reception.

Make your life easy for now and what works best without stress.

Work nursery. Then move her to the school nursery at 3 - at DD school I'd say over 90% of the reception children went to the nursery.

So DD is home with you when you’re WFH? I’d go for the one at work when you’re in the office but not for days you’re WFH. I’d probably do a mix of both nurseries ideally, work nursery on work days and local nursery for WFH days.

I would use the workplace nursery. Being able to be there in seconds minutes should the nursery contact me would be a big plus. Also, the 30 minute drive - I used to love my time in the car with DS, just us two, chatting away about the cars we passed and the people on the pavement. Happy days!

Nursery B until 30 funded hours kicks in then move to nursery A, then she'll make pre school friends ready for school.

With the rising costs of living I would go with option B. In my experience they don't really make friends in the nursery anyway so I wouldn't worry about that aspect.

I'd go for B

• You could always sign her up for preschool nearer your chosen school when she gets the free hours, if you wanted her to make friends before she starts school
• The cost difference is significant enough that it would make a difference to you
• Your DD won't care that this nursery is not quite as nice as the other
• The flexibility will make it less stressful

My DS went to an on-site nursery where my DH used to work. Far more flexible and it being subsidised was a massive bonus. He had no friends going into YR but you wouldn’t have known it - he just got on with everyone.

Is your dc likely to fall asleep in the car on the way home from the work nursery? After a tiring day at nursery, if they are prone to falling asleep in the car, that could seriously mess up bedtime routines and mean a much later bedtime than normal. Some parents might not mind that, but something to think about.

I wouldn’t worry about going to nursery with future school friends. None of my dc went to primary school with nursery friends and still made friends quickly in reception.

when you say you would work from home the days dd isn’t in nursery, what will dd be doing then? Would the longer days at the further away nursery mean you get to do more work meaning you have to wfh less on the other days?
do you have a partner to share drop offs/collections with. I’ve know some families where one parents drops off and goes in to work later while the other gets to the office really early and then finishes earlier to do collection while the other gets in late and works later. Works really well for them.

I'd pick the one that you think is best suited to your child, the one that is logistically less challenging for you and the one that you think would best prepare them for school too. We picked a larger and busier nursery because we felt it would help our child learn to wait their turn, interact as part of a bigger group and prepare them well for a larger class at school, and it paid off as they loved it whilst there, but also transitioned to school seamlessly.