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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:
Animatic · 23/12/2025 15:57

SillyNavyTiger · 23/12/2025 15:56

that's normal life when you have a 1 year old? Why do people bother having children at all is a mystery.

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That's why people have childcare. No?

fruitypancake · 23/12/2025 15:57

Agree OP

SillyNavyTiger · 23/12/2025 15:58

Hogberta · 23/12/2025 15:54

Because they aren’t six weeks forever and you don’t have a baby to have a baby but to have a family.

I don’t think many people do this, it is very very rare. But equally I can’t understand the view that if you don’t want to spend every waking moment with the child that you should not have had him or her.

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dumping your 6 weeks old to nursery is not exactly the same, is it.

you don’t have a baby to have a baby but to have a family. or nice instagram photos but none of the real life aspect you mean?

I suppose that's why nannies exist, so you don't have to bother with the children for more than 1 hour a day if you don't want to 😂

aredrosegrewup · 23/12/2025 15:58

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?

Why don't you tell all the medical staff in hospitals that they're unreasonable for working on Christmas Eve OP? Should they take their children into work with them? Do you want their children to help them perform a heart transplant? What a ridiculous post!

Ritual9 · 23/12/2025 15:58

SillyNavyTiger · 23/12/2025 15:51

if you plan to send your 6 weeks old to nursery, why do you even have a child in the first place?

Genuine question, why bother at all?

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I didn’t send my child at 6 weeks old because I have savings but I did send them at 8 months, I’m using this as an example in response to your wondering why people need to return to work as we all get ‘weeks of maternity pay’.

MidnightPatrol · 23/12/2025 15:58

Christmas Eve is just a normal working day for most
people.

And even if they have older siblings - they might be able to find childcare for them for a day / stick them in front of the TV, but you can’t do that with a younger child / baby.

ZebraPyjamas · 23/12/2025 15:59

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 ?

She said her daughter in law is working IN the local nursery, doesn’t mention grandchildren of her own so not sure why you’re asking about OP’s son?

Tiddlywinkly · 23/12/2025 16:00

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.

Yep, all this.

SillyNavyTiger · 23/12/2025 16:00

Animatic · 23/12/2025 15:57

That's why people have childcare. No?

Show quote history

to do chores? No, most people don't have childcare for that precisely 😂

And then people have the cheek to blame useless dads who can't cope, they should read this thread, it's not specific to dads. Wanting to spend any time with your child the horror! 😂

Childcare for when you cannot have your toddler with you makes sense, but just because you can't be bothered to entertain or spend a day with your kids? very sad.

ZebraPyjamas · 23/12/2025 16:01

Tulipsriver · 23/12/2025 15:06

Why do you mention your DIL but not your DS?

I think people who choose to put them in until 6 on Xmas Eve so they can chill are selfish (but I've never come across this in real life... my son's nursery is shut tomorrow).

But if people have to work they have to work. There are always threads about how parents of young children shouldn't get priority over annual leave during Christmas, some people won't have a choice but to send them. It's a shame for the DC (and them!) but I'm sure nursery staff will make it a nice day.

She mentions her daughter in law because she is working IN the nursery, she’s not giving out about DIL leaving her own kids in nursery, don’t mention existence or otherwise of grandchildren

Nineandahalf · 23/12/2025 16:01

I put my littlest one in nursery this week for a day , because then I could do a 'grown up' day with my eldest.

Nursery costs me £90 a day, so not using it any of the time I'm paying for it just feels like pissing money away to be honest.

changecubed · 23/12/2025 16:01

Not feeding the surprisingly traditionalist posters here, so am now unwatching this thread!

WonderfulSmith · 23/12/2025 16:01

I notice this is a plop and run by the op. Light blue touch paper a retire to a safe distance.

SouthLondonMum22 · 23/12/2025 16:04

I'm not working tomorrow and DC will go to nursery as normal because I have things to do and I'm paying for it either way.

Could I keep them with me and do things with them under my feet? Absolutely but it would be harder for me and not as fun for them as nursery. I see it as a win win situation.

ThatMintMember · 23/12/2025 16:05

Personally i think there's nothing wrong with sending them to nursery today, my son has been at nursery today while I've been off work as it's nice to keep some of his routine before all the excitement (we had way too long out of routine last year and regretted it). I'm not sending him tomorrow and would rather leave him with family if I had to work Christmas eve but that's only because I used to work in a nursery and none of the staff wanted to be there on Christmas Eve which made the day pretty flat!

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 23/12/2025 16:06

You and your DIL have really got into the spirit of good will this year, haven't you? What wonderful, kind, non-judgmental people you must be. So understanding of other people's stresses and challenges. What a shame that the rest of the world can't be as perfect as you and your family.

cadburyegg · 23/12/2025 16:06

I’m a single parent, my kids are both at school now but they are going to their grandma’s house for a few hours tomorrow so I can wrap the last of their presents and clean the house a bit. I was ill with Covid last week so I’m really behind. I don’t blame parents at all for using the nursery days that they’ve paid for! Most nurseries are closed between Christmas and new year, that’s absolutely loads of “family time” to bake cookies etc etc.

Lurker85 · 23/12/2025 16:10

Maybe these parents also work in nurseries that are open until 6

TJk86 · 23/12/2025 16:11

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.

Extra 2 hours added onto an already long day. So you see your child for maybe an hour/day and that’s spent getting ready to leave or getting them ready for bed. That’s what people mean about not getting those years back.

Optimist2020 · 23/12/2025 16:11

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?

@Motheroffive999 Perhaps you could visit the nursery at collection time tomorrow and tell this to the paying parents? My child is at nursery and we are keeping him at home tomorrow . I’m not naïve to realise not everyone has this luxury. Some of my friends are single parents and have used Christmas eve to get house sorted etc.

Could you share how this affects you directly ?

YouLookLikeStevieNicks · 23/12/2025 16:12

Mine has been in nursery yesterday and today as I'm working, I didn't have the option of taking annual leave.

I am off tomorrow but I'm sending her to nursery 10-2. We have family coming round at 3 and I haven't done a thing yet because I've been working, and we spent the weekend doing nice Christmas activities.

I don't feel guilty about this in the slightest. My husband is working until 2 tomorrow, she will have more fun in nursery for 4 hours than shopping and cooking with me!

YouLookLikeStevieNicks · 23/12/2025 16:13

Also, I pay £100 per day whether she goes or not. So yes, I will fully utilise that for a few hours tomorrow to get stuff done

Hulubulu · 23/12/2025 16:16

Ritual9 · 23/12/2025 15:47

Maternity pay is £180 per week. I usually earn £3k per month which we need to pay the bills.

Ridiculously out of touch comment.

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Out of touch how? I said I didn’t even have maternity leave with my first because I was only 16 and didn’t live with my parents before you ask. Still wasn’t hard up enough to put them in nursery all day. In the uk we get months of maternity leave it’s not like the USA where I think it’s about 2 weeks?
Really no need to put a 6 week old in nursery, why even have children just to do that?

EchoesOfOurDreams · 23/12/2025 16:17

Mind your own business.

Endofyear · 23/12/2025 16:17

Oh go away with your bloody judgemental attitude! Parents have to work, shop, clean, wrap presents and do a million other things in the run up to Christmas. God forbid that they should use the childcare available to them!