Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Child in nursery today and tomorrow 8am til 6pm

377 replies

Motheroffive999 · 23/12/2025 14:23

Who's children are still in nursery today and tomorrow.

My daughter in law is working 8 til 6 pm today and tomorrow in the local nursery for babies from 6 weeks to 4 year old pre schoolers.

They have maybe 10 children in each room still, this close to Christmas.

Most have older siblings and they drop off saying they are not working but want a nice chilled day at home.

I know some parents have to work but most are at home.

These are years that they won't get back with their children , I know that they need to do last minute prep etc but leaving children at nursery until 6pm on Christmas Eve is such a shame for the children and the staff.
Am I being unreasonable?

OP posts:
amber763 · 23/12/2025 14:25

People have to work.

TesChique · 23/12/2025 14:25

Yes.

Parents are paying for a service that they need.

If its that big of a deal then your family need new jobs dont they

CandidRaven · 23/12/2025 14:26

They've probably already paid for the days so may aswell use them

DahlsChickenz · 23/12/2025 14:26

Most have older siblings and they drop off saying they are not working but want a nice chilled day at home

I know some parents have to work but most are at home.

I would bet decent money that this is bollocks you've made up to encourage people to bitch about these parents you don't even know.

scotsmumofteens · 23/12/2025 14:28

I had to work in office and use nursery Christmas Eve - we did get away early around 2 to 3 but it was never guaranteed. I hated it but had no option unfortunately. Hopefully your daughter gets away earlier xx

LavenderSweetPea · 23/12/2025 14:28

Personally my nursery closed today at 4 (I picked up after lunch to have a bit of time) BUT I can see it both ways. Yes it's nice to keep your kids out of nursery and have extra time but on the other hand:

  1. today and tomorrow are regular working days, if you don't have the annual leave or work a job you can't take this time off then it is what it is
  2. nursery is expensive and you've paid for it, lots of us never get any time for ourselves so if you can take the day off either to prep in peace or heaven forbid have a few hours to relax before Christmas chaos I can see that's valuable
  3. the kids 2 and under don't have a clue Christmas is coming, for them it's just another day so they aren't upset at being in nursery
RidingMyBike · 23/12/2025 14:29

I still remember with bliss the nursery days when it was open on Christmas Eve and you could drop them off and have a quieter day at home doing the last minute prep and winding down from work before picking them up in time to get to a crib service.

For people without family support nursery is a lifeline, especially at a busy time of year. Plus small children are better in routine so why disrupt it if you don’t have to travel somewhere?

And at close to £90 per day, it would have been wasting money too if the place hadn’t been used. I always let the staff know we’d be picking up mid-afternoon.

Soonenough · 23/12/2025 14:29

Depending on what age the kids are Xmas Eve might mean nothing to them. Working mothers get enough grief without MIL joining in . Why doesn't your son spend time with his child ?

museumum · 23/12/2025 14:29

I remember the days of doing the last shop with dh followed by lunch together and wrapping the presents before picking up from nursery. It was bliss compared to having them all home from school and trying to wrap stuff in the shed!
They don’t remember those extra few hours at nursery and we spent the following fortnight together 24/7 so I don’t think they were damaged.

Hollowvoice · 23/12/2025 14:29

It wasn't at Christmas but I remember once sending a message to a friend thanking the god of childcare that I was able to send my eldest to nursery on particularly difficult day. Give people a break, for whatever reason they need the time.

SillyNavyTiger · 23/12/2025 14:29

If parents only put their kids in nursery because they are physically working, the nurseries would be nearly empty 😂

In a country where people celebrate on Christmas Eve, it's weird. In England when Christmas is not celebrated until Christmas Day, less weird.

Muddywelliescleansocks · 23/12/2025 14:31

My DC are older. I have work to do and when that finishes I have beds to make for guests, food to prepare, cards to write for neighbours and the most amount of wrapping of gifts. This past weekend I spent cleaning ready for my elderly parents to visit. I have a DH who is also doing a lot. No way we could manage all this with toddlers in tow. It’s a shame but it’s also modern life. I don’t think these people are all relaxing but even they were they’re paying for a service.

DaisyChain505 · 23/12/2025 14:32

Maybe it’s because this isn’t the 50s and families don’t have the luxury of having one parent who doesn’t have to work.

Mufflette · 23/12/2025 14:32

My DS is in nursery 9-5 today, not tomorrow as he doesn't go on Wednesday anyway. He's had a much better time having a Christmas dance party with his friends than he would with me cleaning the house and wrapping presents right where he wants to play, and now I've got everything done I will be properly present with him when we are together.

SoonAddsUp · 23/12/2025 14:32

Your daughter-in-law needs to get a job somewhere else, where she isn’t busy judging and bitching about the people who pay her wages.

MoreIcedLattePlease · 23/12/2025 14:32

Never has anything been less of your business. Stop giving fucks about people you don't know.

Hobnobswantshernameback · 23/12/2025 14:32

Bored OP?
Maybe you could ask Santa for a brand new spoon for Christmas

Mufflette · 23/12/2025 14:33

I did offer to pick him up early today but he told me he didn't want me to as he didn't want to miss out 😄

Youmightnotliketheanswer · 23/12/2025 14:33

When mine were in nursery they were often the last to be collected on Christmas eve. I was a single parent district nurse on more than one Christmas Eve I cared for a terminally ill patient who didn't see Christmas day. Not everyone can take two weeks off work. Yes I felt guilty to my dc and the lovely nursery staff however that job provided for my dc, meant I wasn't reliant on the state and payed the staff a wage.
Not at Christmas but on occasion such as inset days I used to put my youngest two in nursery so I could spend quality time with dc1 so sometimes parents use what they pay for to give their other children the time they need.

Helpwithdivorce · 23/12/2025 14:34

My kids are past nursery age but today and tomorrow are normal working days for me. I will be home from work at 5.15pm. So my children would have and have been in nursery until that time on xmas eve. Annual leave is not permitted to be taken over the xmas period either so it’s not like I could have booked the time off. People have work and workplaces operate normal hours. I’m off xmas day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. The rest is as usual

Nushi21 · 23/12/2025 14:35

Firstly if they’ve paid then yes make the most of it.
Secondly we all need extra time to get last minute things done!
Thirdly why is it anyone else’s problem unless they are paying the nursery fees?

Both my kids were at nursery that closed 6pm and the older child was at a nursery that closed at 7pm and they also gave supper in a cool bag to bring home and feed the child.
Of course I used that service and it was much appreciated.

Its easy for people with no young kids to make opinions but we parents know how it feels to be overwhelmed by young kids.

This might give some people a heart attack but I used the 6pm collection time to spend time with my eldest and go visiting places in London.

What do you mean by these years you won’t get back?? They are not in boarding school, they are just staying on at school for an extra 2 hours.

SillyNavyTiger · 23/12/2025 14:36

I don't care either way but

Secondly we all need extra time to get last minute things done!
is ridiculous. Let's not pretend you can't do things with your children around.

Legomania · 23/12/2025 14:36

My children are older now (but still in primary) but I still remember how little time I got to myself when they were younger, how precious that time felt and how hard it was to get anything done without resorting to hours of screen time.
These parents your daughter is running down are probably trying to sort a load of stuff out to make sure their family has a nice Christmas.

Focusispower · 23/12/2025 14:36

My DS was ill all last week as were the rest of the household and so didn’t go for almost a week and a half. He’s been in for short days yesterday and today so that we can do some Christmas prep. We are then all off together until 5th January so I don’t feel bad. We all needed a bit of downtime and he’s not an easy child to get stuff done with!

BartholemewTheCat · 23/12/2025 14:36

Yes you are being unreasonable. Most parents are not at home.

Edited as I note your DIL is working in the nursery, not relying on the care.