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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To thinkmits a bit crazy thst 9 month old babies are in nursery for 30 hours when a parent is ionly working 16 hours

108 replies

OrangeCatKitten · 04/12/2025 19:37

OK far enough the parents wants some free time, do I csn see why a bit of that can be good for all,
but if your only working two days why would you want to be apart from a little baby that long? Just because its free

I mean toddlers I can understand more wanting to get away from the unreasonable ways of toddlers, but I just find this so sad and worrying for the future

I can see this inthe future.....baby's collected by the government after birth, geld in huge warehouses, they call nursery, next door is another warehouse where all the sick and disabled go then next-door to thst another warehouse for the elderly

Just seems so sad

OP posts:
BartholemewTheCat · 04/12/2025 21:46

User214263 · 04/12/2025 20:13

Is there a warehouse for primary age children? Asking for a friend.

It's me, I'm the friend.

I picture it being a bit like Toys R Us used to be.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 04/12/2025 21:46

Lmnop22 · 04/12/2025 20:39

Since the hours are stretched over the year to account for them only being available during term time it’s like 20 hours per week. So if you work 16 hours and spend 1 hour getting to and from work per day that’s 18 hours.

That means these horrific mothers are using free hours to have a whole two hours of free time 😱

What would you think of me who put both my kids into full time nursery from 6 months to go back to work full time and occasionally booked annual leave and still put them in nursery (even as babies) so I could nap, tidy the house, do laundry, drink a coffee whilst it was still warm….

Someone who only works 16 hours a week has PLENTY of other time in the week, come on. It's the ones who work 40 hours and do nursery drop offs and picks ups as well who don't.

SouthLondonMum22 · 04/12/2025 21:46

Lmnop22 · 04/12/2025 20:39

Since the hours are stretched over the year to account for them only being available during term time it’s like 20 hours per week. So if you work 16 hours and spend 1 hour getting to and from work per day that’s 18 hours.

That means these horrific mothers are using free hours to have a whole two hours of free time 😱

What would you think of me who put both my kids into full time nursery from 6 months to go back to work full time and occasionally booked annual leave and still put them in nursery (even as babies) so I could nap, tidy the house, do laundry, drink a coffee whilst it was still warm….

What a monster! 😂

I'm right there with you, mine went into full time nursery from 3 months and I absolutely occasionally book annual leave and still put them in nursery too.

CombatBarbie · 04/12/2025 21:49

Barnbrack · 04/12/2025 19:44

That childcare is partly funded to allow women to have the means toe arn a living abd not be entirely at the whim of men? No, I don't.

I think she means the fact 4 week old babies are going In to childcare

Lavender14 · 04/12/2025 21:50

OrangeCatKitten · 04/12/2025 19:43

Don't you think it's sad though?

No I think mothers being unable to do what's right for them/ their family without being judged by other women is sad.

You do what's right for your family and you afford other women the freedom to decide what's best for theirs. This is also a very ablist post- some mothers will naturally need more time for rest etc because of illness or disability. Some are maybe doing all they can to get through with ppd or ppa. Some may just think it's good for their child to be in a routine and be socialised around others. It's quite simply nothing to do with you.

Barnbrack · 04/12/2025 21:50

CombatBarbie · 04/12/2025 21:49

I think she means the fact 4 week old babies are going In to childcare

Oh well, yeah, that seems horrific and dystopian

Lookingforwardtothatchill · 04/12/2025 21:51

CurlyhairedAssassin · 04/12/2025 21:46

Someone who only works 16 hours a week has PLENTY of other time in the week, come on. It's the ones who work 40 hours and do nursery drop offs and picks ups as well who don't.

Aside from the fact you obviously didn’t read the post which clearly said stretched the hours only equate to 2 days a week. I have to assume your children napped for 2 hours a day, slept 7-7 and were happy sat playing sedately in a playpen while you did all the necessary jobs to maintain a busy family home and if you ever had any help with that fromyour partner, mum, a cleaner etc then you’re hilarious

Edenmum2 · 04/12/2025 21:53

Pretty rich that you’re calling the world less understanding whilst openly judging another mum on mumsnet

Lookingforwardtothatchill · 04/12/2025 21:54

Edenmum2 · 04/12/2025 21:53

Pretty rich that you’re calling the world less understanding whilst openly judging another mum on mumsnet

💯

Tryingtokeepitreal · 04/12/2025 22:08

I agree with you OP

Mistyglade · 04/12/2025 22:22

What on gods green earth are you talking about, some sort of government led handmaids tale farm for babies?

angelikacpickles · 04/12/2025 22:30

OrangeCatKitten · 04/12/2025 19:47

Yes I get that you need more childcare to cover the getting them there and back, but this person is doing it for just free time, which I get you want some but that much?

Just feel like the world is getting rougher towards babies, young children, sick, elderly, it's also more racist and homophobic and just less understanding then ot was even 5/10 years ago, and yes I get that it's due to lack of funds and people struggling to survive but its really gone downhill imo

So you are talking about one person you know who is doing this but somehow that means that babies and elderly people are going to be rounded up into warehouses? Right.

Lamentingalways · 04/12/2025 22:35

Oh I loved those days where my school (workplace) was shut but nursery was still open 💃🏻 no guilt or shame on my part. I don’t think it’s sad to want some time to yourself for whatever that may be - self care, exercise, cleaning up.

Pieandchips999 · 04/12/2025 22:47

Honestly what are you getting from judging other people. What does children in childcare have to do with discrimination. Totally bizarre. It's actually pretty sexist to judge other women for how they are getting through life. You have zero idea of what's going on for them such as postnatal depression, a baby that doesn't sleep, the rest of the household crappy up the place all the time and not taking care of it so they are constantly cleaning up, disabilities, lack of support network or just life being a bit tricky sometimes. Or hey just because they want to. If it helps keep a parent going and the child happy why not. In a good nursery they can try all sorts of different activities that might not be practical to do all the time at home. And as they get older expand their social skills

Novostella · 04/12/2025 22:52

OrangeCatKitten · 04/12/2025 19:43

Don't you think it's sad though?

Nope. I went back to work when my DD1 was 12 weeks, I couldn’t afford to take any more maternity leave, that’s just how it was in 1995 I’m afraid. I had to work to keep a roof over our heads, I think it would have been a much worse life for us if I hadn’t gone back to work - I wouldn’t have been able to afford the mortgage!

IdaGlossop · 04/12/2025 23:03

OrangeCatKitten · 04/12/2025 19:47

Yes I get that you need more childcare to cover the getting them there and back, but this person is doing it for just free time, which I get you want some but that much?

Just feel like the world is getting rougher towards babies, young children, sick, elderly, it's also more racist and homophobic and just less understanding then ot was even 5/10 years ago, and yes I get that it's due to lack of funds and people struggling to survive but its really gone downhill imo

Going downhill? Features of British life during my childhood 1960s/70s: unmarried mothers were sent to special homes or the baby was taken from them at birth; notices on properties for rent saying 'No Irish, no blacks'; many women got married knowing nothing about sex; women could not get a mortgage; rape in marriage was not illegal (we had to wait for the 1990s for that); children were caned at school for major and minor misdemeanours; lots of grown-ups said 'Spare the rod and spoil the child' and took it as doctrine; in many working class households, children left school at 14 and went out to work to contribute to household expenditure; physical relationships between men were illegal until the late 60s; many men died soon after retirement, exhausted by manual labour and dangerous workplaces; trains and buses were foggy with cigarette smoke; the three-day week meant millions of households were lit only by candles and paraffin lamps; many households didn't have a car; many households had no fridge.

It's all relative, OP, and perspective does wonders when you're trying to work out whether your opinions are reasonable.

On the other hand, your warehousing-by -generation idea is a seed that may grow and make you the next Margaret Atwood.

crossedlines · 04/12/2025 23:03

What’s a thinkmits?

AffableApple · 04/12/2025 23:31

CurlyhairedAssassin · 04/12/2025 21:46

Someone who only works 16 hours a week has PLENTY of other time in the week, come on. It's the ones who work 40 hours and do nursery drop offs and picks ups as well who don't.

Laughs in toddler twin mum, who only finally started getting ANYTHING done when they turned three, and got their 15 hours

Pryceosh1987 · 04/12/2025 23:52

i think the cause is learning. A baby needs to learn more than anyone else at any other age.

mondaytosunday · 05/12/2025 00:05

Ooo I’ll rock your boat! I went back to work after five months so he went to nursery full time, but when expecting my second had to stop working for medical reasons and never went back. I was a SAHM but my son still went to nursery two full days a week. Then when baby 2 came along he went three days from 20 months and she went two days from a year. Kept me sane. And it wasn’t ever free we paid. I adore my kids but having him in nursery allowed me time with the new baby, he was a very active social toddler and thrived there. My DD did too.
@OrangeCatKittenit’s not sad. I have done everything for my kids. But I needed time for myself and fortunately could afford to put them in daycare. Your vision of the future is a ridiculous idea.

Fupoffyagrasshole · 05/12/2025 05:05

NewGoldFox · 04/12/2025 21:37

I think it is sad that a lot of parents both have to go to work to support the family. Cost of living is just so high now.

No it’s not sad - loads of people want to work and manager own money, be independent and not have to rely on another adult for everything.

Lookingforwardtothatchill · 05/12/2025 07:09

AffableApple · 04/12/2025 23:31

Laughs in toddler twin mum, who only finally started getting ANYTHING done when they turned three, and got their 15 hours

Edited

Honestly, don’t you just wish you could invite this person to shadow us for a week, ffs I’m on annual leave this week while my baby has very happily gone been at nursery for 2 and a half days and done all
manner of super fun activities and kids at school, I have at last got the bathrooms done, the floors mopped, the carpets vacumned, carpets washed of the slime and other concoctions our 10 year old has spilt over her carpet, not
to mention from when she had a vomiting bug the other week, our Christmas tree bought, some presents wrapped, my hair cut etc etc and I still didn’t get half the jobs done I hoped to. On a normal week when I’m working - I’d love to give her the challenge of keeping up with the housework, cooking and everything else for 3 children on my days off with the baby. Oh yes plus being up 3-10 times a night with the baby, me and hubby don’t even get chance to sit on the sofa until 10pm and then usually just want to get to sleep What planet is this person on??

crossedlines · 05/12/2025 07:59

NewGoldFox · 04/12/2025 21:37

I think it is sad that a lot of parents both have to go to work to support the family. Cost of living is just so high now.

my offspring are now adults. Dh and I always both worked for all sorts of reasons. Yes, to pay the bills, but also because work provided another form of mental stimulation, social connections etc. Plus of course, continuing to pay into our occupational pensions. And then of course there’s the teeny matter that I’d been to university (like dh), we were entering the world of work equally qualified and capable and I was just as effective and successful in my job as he was in his!

So, here we are now, in our late 50s. Our children have grown into happy, successful adults embarking on their own careers and relationships. We have a good relationship with all 3. Plus, dh and I have each achieved successful careers, we’re now at the point of planning retirement and I don’t have any of the worries of “will we have enough to live on in our older age?” Or “god forbid dh dies first because I’d be trying to survive on just the spouse fraction of his pension” And really importantly, no frustration at unfulfilled ambitions - I took my life as seriously as dh’s.

I’m struggling to see what’s sad, frankly!

SpanThatWorld · 05/12/2025 08:16

User214263 · 04/12/2025 20:13

Is there a warehouse for primary age children? Asking for a friend.

It's me, I'm the friend.

I have been incubating a plan for rmany years. I'm aiming it at secondary aged kids but it may suit.

When families go on holiday, they can leave their moody teen with me. I will purchase a big storage facility (Big Yellow Self Store style) and make a number of bedrooms which will each consist of a bed, a games console and a snack trolley.

Three times a day I will pass a pizza in under the door.

Happy families
Happy teens

Buggysleeper · 06/12/2025 00:51

How very dare a mother need a little time for herself ( mostly to do household chores) after working and parenting the rest of the time. And who the hell does she think she is taking some time out after having a job caring for others and then spending the rest of her life caring for small children. An extra few hours at nursery literally kept me sane when they were small. Isn’t it lovely how women support each other?