To be surprised lots of childcare options have such a long waiting list?

[preggyo]

I’ve been asking around, thinking I am ultra organised and prepared as we don’t need care to start until late summer of 2025 - a good 18 months away.

3 settings have replied with very sorry but full until September 2026! 2.5 years. Not a mistype. On a waiting list for one 15 minutes away with a space when my child will be 11 months, which is later than I wanted to go back to work. Don’t know how we will afford unpaid leave at the end of maternity.

How are people managing? My friends/mum have all said I shouldn’t be stressing about finding childcare while pregnant as I don’t know how I’ll feel when the baby is here. The reality of the matter is it seems the best time was yesterday to be on anyones waiting list especially if you want a childminder. This is not London btw, somewhere suburban with a reputation of being cheap.

I think it depends on where you are.
For nurseries in my area there was no waiting list and my child started a couple of weeks after I enquired. My friend lives the other side of the city and she had to wait until the start of the next term so around 2 months.

it baffles me that some have lists that long!

I'm not sure a lot has changed. 14 years ago when I tried to register DC1 we were 100th on the list. Eventually got a place and as soon as they saw I was pg with DC2 they told me if I wanted a place when baby would be 6-9 months should register immediately. Felt totally surreal filling out all the forms with Baby [Surname]!

When I looked around when DC1 was 3 months old, I was told I was super prepared looking for a space for six months time. Everyone I contacted was available. I was so smug haha! That was 6 years ago.

With DC2 someone told me it was a lot harder now so as we'd since moved and the previous nursery was too far away we did the tours when DC2 was 2 weeks old (last year). All childminders I contacted were fully booked and at each nursery, before and after us couples were arriving or leaving while still pregnant to be shown around. My colleague cannot get a space at all for six month's time (different town to me). We had a slight change to our hours so told nursery, they can't facilitate that extra half day until September next year now. Eeek.

Where I live, that just isn't the case and there are lots of places. I find it bizarre there's such a shortage of childcare in other places. We started looking in Jan for a May start and had choices.

The nursery my son goes to is now taking names for full time places mid-pregnancy it's that popular. We booked my son in when he was four months old (for a place when he turned one) and all they could offer us was two days a week and we didn't even get to pick the days! This is a rural nursery, the ones in the nearest towns you have to put names down while pregnant to get even a couple of days!

We booked those two days and went on the waiting list to add an additional day. It was a year after he started (so 18 months after we joined the waiting list!) that we got offered anything.

Depends. We had a few come back with similar waiting lists (she's still on one and she's 20 months 🤣🙄)

The one she's in could start her immediately. It's not in the most "desirable" area but it's a good nursery and the staff are wonderful.

Space opened up in the nursery my DC went to, after 5 months, but we had initially be told it would be 15 months.

People do put their names down as soon as they are pregnant, particularly with siblings if they are already using a setting.

As with a lot of things, I think it’s a bit of a lottery. We live SW London and are well served with nurseries - there are 6 private nurseries within a mile, plus another which is linked to one of the bigger employers in the town, plus . My friend has recently enquired at a few regarding space for her 6 months old and the waiting lists are 6 months maximum. However fees are £2,000+ a month across the board so he giveth with one hand…

Yep it’s like this here.

I booked our daughter in when I was 10 weeks pregnant. Which is absolute madness but it’s what you have to do here.

So booked her in summer 2023 to start October 2024 at 9 months.

I signed up about a month after DD was born and was told no guaranteed places until 15 months which would have been too late but they did end up finding us a place closer to the time for the desired 12 months. So it can be worth signing up at your preferred option anyway as a place might become available sooner due to some people being in multiple waiting lists or moving or deciding to go back to work later etc.

Was definitely the case with DD1 in Bristol 12 years ago. I massively lucked out with a last minute cancellation- it's also easier to get a full time place because those kids are easier money (you don't need to find another part time kid to fit around the first. It wasn't the case with my second, thankfully.

Just in case you haven't thought of it OP, you'll accrue holiday on Mat leave. That gave me another 5 weeks of full pay at the end of leave though it did mean working up to the day before I had her. Not an issue if you have an ok pregnancy and a desk job though

I had to sign up at 6mnths pregnant to get a place for when they will be 10 months.

Two nurseries could only do 11/12 months at 6 month pregnant.

SE London. Was warned by a friend.

It varies so much by area, here you only need 6-9 months max.

I worried about it from mumsnet and contacted nurseries when pregnant and they thought it was hilarious that I was starting so early.

But in some areas there’s a lot that have closed. DD’s nursery has a wait list for babies and under 2’s as they are limited on number but lots of space for 2+

Childcare is expensive OP. Less demand in lower income areas as families can't afford it. Makes more financial sense for a parent to quit work and claim benefits instead. Especially if lower earners.

Definitely depends on where you are. I applied for my LO when I knew her due date and I'm still on a waiting list! We are in an area with a very high concentration of excellent private schools and people travel far to place their kids here (NW London). State options are good too. So waiting lists are long and selective.

I hope you’ve started applying to your chosen schools too as when I was applying (in London) when my LO was 18m for when he’s 4.5, all wait lists were full

You can only do that September-January the year before they start at state schools. Unless you are talking private schools.

I think also part of the issue is people register too early and at multiple places, it's a bit like panic buying. So a place may have x people on the list who don't I tend to even go there

Spaces in baby rooms are few and far between. The staff to child ratio makes it expensive for operators to employ for. Some settings near me don't even offer baby rooms any more as it's not cost effective and hiring is so tricky. Spaces for 2 and then 3 year olds tend to be easier to secure.

DD2 was top of the waiting list for 8 months as a sibling! She's nearly 11 now, its not a new thing. We were told she would definitely get a place at 2yo, but couldn't guarantee younger.

Definitely location specific. I had two friends in SE London warn me to sign up during pregnancy as they both had significant problems finding childcare. However, it turned out that in my town I could easily find a choice of nurseries and childminders ready to start immediately.

Im 4 months pregnant. We have just confirmed our place for our baby starting in August 2025. our son attends there already but they have filled their baby room until September 2025. It was on my radar to enquire as it is a popular choice but I was shocked. In my area it is dependent on the nursery as my friend got a space for her daughter when she was 6 months old at a different nursery. I have heard that providers are expecting the shortage of places to get worse with the extra funding coming in though.

Our nursery knew I was pregnant with my youngest before we'd told anyone else, as I was desperate to get him into the same place as my eldest. Eldest was booked in when I was 4 months pregnant.

That said, waiting lists do move and spaces become available so don't stress too much.

It doesn't get easier as they get older either I'm afraid - the waiting lists for some school wraparound options are long too. Some reception parents to be who I met at my dc's school's open evening couldn't believe it when I told them that my dc were on the waiting list for ASC for 18 months - I put DS2's name down before I'd applied for his reception place. Apparently the breakfast club list is even longer! In our case it's partly because the school has expanded and is now two form entry, they can only take 40 dc which is only about 10% of the school's intake. Also we live in an expensive area and unsurprisingly it's hard to recruit low paid childcare staff.

The same where I live in Cambridgeshire.

Was kind of the case when DS1 was born back in 2016 but only needed say 6m notice to get a place. Whereas by the time I had DS2 in 2021 I'd been warned and had to sign up him up when I was still pregnant. One nursery even laughed on the phone when I enquired for a space for a baby in 1 years' time because accordingly to them their waiting list was over 2 years long. I was quite shocked!