nursery opening hours

[scottishgal09]

I need to go back to work so will soon be putting my 9 month old in nursery, only thing is that the earliest I can find any nursery open is 7 am to 7 pm. The 7 pm closing time is fine but I really find I need a opening time of 6 pm. I also work Saturday mornings so need something that is open 6 days. Start time should be at least 6:00 pm but I struggle to find this. Do these type of nursery’s exist? What are the opening and closing hours for your nursery’s? Why don’t nursery’s take into account that some parents need to work 6 days 🤨?

@scottishgal09 I have been reading this post for a while now and want to add my 2c worth. I am an Early Childhood Educator (not in the UK) I have seen children in care from opening 0700 to close 1800. And I have seen the impact that this has on the children. Quite simply, by day 3/4 they are a mess. We do our best for them but at the end of the day we are seeing them more than the parents are. It’s not about friendly staff and lots of toys. It’s not home. You child care needs are not conducive to a child care centre. Perhaps a nanny to pick them up. You need to have a real rethink about your position, the current plan is not feasible and definitely not fair. At the end of the day this is YOUR child to raise not the child care centres.
as an aside your child will get sick and will be sent home at times, do you have a contingency plan for that?

Check the first post again, love. And come back when you’ve got that precious maths correct.

Exactly.

It was me she responded to when she said she could pick up earlier. Of course, it was largely ignored because it doesn't fit the narrative that she's this awful, cold parent who doesn't want to spend any time with her baby.

You did not suggest she consider rational counter views. You said she needs a ‘reality check’ in that hospitality ‘aren’t worth it’, which is very offensive.

There is only one-hour difference between 7-7 and 6-5. I don't know what point you're trying to make. 11 hours a day isn't better than 12 hours a day.

I’m saying that when information is going to be repeatedly presented that it should be correct.

I don’t know how you can be sure that OP knows it will destroy her career. I’m not persuaded she does.

What I do know is that the solution she’s looking for almost certainly doesn’t exist so she needs to think of something else.

And what I do know is that her expectations of nursery and its relative value compared to childminders and time with parents is somewhat ‘off’. If her judgment is so far off with that, it could be rather far off with other things like how terrible it would be for her career to have better boundaries.

Like I said, I don’t know how you can be sure about that.

Because she knows her career more than random people on here do.

Most people have a preference when it comes to nurseries vs childminders, mine started nursery much younger than OP's baby and my preference was always nursery. Both nurseries and childminders have pros and cons, it's about personal preference really.

For the sake of accuracy, I have taken the following quotes from two of the OP’s posts:

”I need to start work early so 6 to 5 pm is more my thinking.”

“My daughter would be the around the same hours 6 am to 5 pm, M-F. Only difference is Sat morning as well.”

So that is M-F - 11 hours x 5 days = 55 hours
Sat - c5 hours
Total = 60 hours.

Apparently that's wrong according to our Lord and Savior @Didimum but they didn't bother to explain why.

Lord and saviour? Stop! Now I’m blushing.

I did explain up thread. Have a scroll if you can be bothered. Or not – I don’t care.

Ah ok, so you’re deliberately misinterpreting things then. What I said was:

”You need a reality check and I’m afraid you don’t seem to be taking it in:

Hospitality jobs are not as scarce and precious as you think they are - they’re not worth sacrificing almost all your potential time with your baby in their early years.”

The first bit is true, if a bit blunt, but OP wasn’t taking it in so subtlety is obviously not going to work.

Hospitality jobs not being as scarce and precious etc - probably should have been “as you seem to think they are” seeing as I’m not an actual mind reader but otherwise still
holds true.

And as for my opinion that it’s not worth sacrificing almost all the potential time with the baby… You don’t have to agree with it, it’s my opinion not yours. If you said the opposite, that your career is so valuable that it’s worth giving up almost all your time with your baby in their early years, I’d think a few things about you, but it doesn’t mean I can come along and tell you to jog on or that you’re being offensive.

I’m afraid I think you’re just rapidly kicking back to everyone who disagrees with your view without really thinking about it.

No. I’m kicking back at people answering a question OP didn’t ask with unsolicited advice, offensive remarks and moral superiority.

Aww shucks.

Nah, can't really be bothered to read through your billions of posts but thanks for the offer!

Billions, eh. Thought you said you were good at maths.

Again - it’s about whether her judgment has been skewed or if it’s based on beliefs that might not be true. OP sounds a bit wound up
and anxious about it all. If you know anything about CBT then you’ll know about challenging unhelpful thoughts and beliefs and reframing things. I don’t know why you’re trying to pick that apart and why you’d think it’s more helpful just to validate everything OP says, and to be honest it doesn’t really matter to me.

I’m not being offensive. OP posted on a public forum. You don’t know what I think unless I tell you. But you carry on. HTH.

I have read all of your posts @Didimum - and I don’t see one where you explain how 11 hours a day, Monday to Friday, plus Saturday mornings, doesn’t add up to around 60 hours of childcare a week (assuming 5 hours on Saturday).

I said it didn’t add up to 66 hours, which has been stated by various posters repeatedly. I also explained that OP never said she needed 7-7 hours 5 days a week.

I'd be a bit wound up too if I was OP due to many of the awful unnecessary comments on this thread.

Please read my post. I never said she (the parent) doesn’t love her child. Only that the nursery workers won’t, like she said they should.
I also never suggested that she doesn’t work nor that she doesn’t use childcare. I tried to suggest ways they can make it work by working opposing shifts.
I also did some quick math for her in case she decides to look into moving jobs and trying for a higher salary somewhere by possibly taking a step up or switching jobs (as I do not know what kind of management job she works in hospitality).

@Didimum read before you rage reply.

Exactly.

DC's nursery is open 7:30 to 6:30 but that doesn't mean he always goes for those hours. It's paid for because that's what full time means at that nursery, that's all.

The vast majority of the time he is picked up before 6:30. Right now, he is picked up early all of the time because I'm on maternity leave.

Which is exactly what OP is saying, that she can pick up early.

I pointed out teenagers as the OP stated that she wanted to send her child to a nursery (which she is struggling to find based on the hours she needs) as they have qualified staff which are better suited to caring for children than their own family.

I never once suggested that those teenagers were not loving and kind or would not be able to take good care of her child.

And I actually said in my comment that I am sure there are many wonderful nurseries out there.

However, it seems that based on the OPs needs, alternative childcare could be better suited.

OP seems to have an extremely negative view on childminders so I was suggesting she does some more research.

My own child attends a small crèche, and I work in a nursery within a school setting.

I am not judging anybody for using nurseries, nor am I suggesting that something terrible will happen.

Just pointing out that whilst some nurseries may only employ qualified and specialist staff, many do not and are not required to.
Again, I am not implying that this has a negative impact on the children.

To add, I am not saying that there are nurseries out there with NO qualified staff or nurseries that exclusively employ teenagers.

I am saying that not EVERY member of staff that spends time with your child may be qualified.
Your child may have a keyworker that has no qualifications but works alongside other qualified members of staff in the setting, for example.

BTW, my teenage niece is lovely and I would be more than happy to leave my daughter in her care, provided there were older and more experienced/qualified staff members around.

And OP has never said she needs 7-7 childcare. She said the nurseries she’s looked at open 7-7, and that the opening time was the problematic one. She has consistently maintained she can do earlier pick up of 5pm or 6pm.

She was also crystal clear she wants a 6am start. Its an 11-12 hour day in childcare no matter how you spin it. That 5 days a week plus a weekend morning, is a hell of a lot of childcare for a 9month old baby.