To have only barely kept from going spare in the blooming nursery this evening?

[Ronaldinhio]

I picked my 8 mth old up early from nursery this evening to attend my other ill DD's 2nd birthday. (Unnecessary information but I like to set the scene)

Her key worker said in passing that it's her last day working with DD2 as on Monday she starts downstairs in the big child room. Complete surprise to me I say
Her too, she says as they only told her this afternoon.
Was anyone actually going to tell me, ask my opinion? I ask
Erm no she replies....
Speak with the nursery surpervisor tell her that I thought the keyworker ideal was for security and continuity of care and that I found this particularly important in the care of my baby.
She said that they need to move her keyworker downstairs as it's busier there and they've taken on someone new for the babyroom.

Surely there should be some communication, handover, discussion and importance placed upon maintaining the status quo especially amongst young children?
They said they will have a newsletter out in a few weeks that just made me worse

So am I being unreasonable?

I don't think it is even a problem of the care standards really - even in a good nursery with lovely staff all doing their best, a group care situation with three babies to every adult is never going to be a brilliant environment imo.

Pruners - that's the problem, staff should be paid more, parents want cheaper places. The money has to come from somewhere.

Message withdrawn

I am not particularly bothered about what OP or even nannyL says. Both my dcs attended ft nursery from 11 months, and they are having a good experience, as are their little friends AFAIK.

OP, good on you for taking on board the replies graciously. A little notice would be nice but I guess prior consultation is not practical nor the norm. .

As a parent who practised attachment parenting for my children as babies due to their difficult temperament, I must say that clingy as my dcs were and are, they just loved being in a nursery. There, they fretted less, played independently more and enjoyed cuddles from lots of lovely ladies.

I assume your dcs have a strong relationship with you and their father. If so, who gives them cuddles does not matter really - the more the merrier. And moving between rooms, heck, children just take it in their stride. As for carers changing, it never ceases to amaze me that no matter how loved a carer is, they don't seem to register if that carer is no longer there (eg if they moved up to another room).

I have the same experience with my dcs and their aupairs. I know parents who use nannies also report the same.

Honestly, no matter how many 'strangers' I fob my children off on, they really only seem to care about me and dh. So not to worry, hth.

If the quality of care is otherwise excellent - and I am satisfied after 5 year's of nursery use that it is, including comparing experiences with other parent users of that nursery - the fact that faces change is not really that important, nor is the concept of a key worker. I say this for children above 11 months, as that is where my experience with my dcs start.

This is because in terms of continuity of care, there is only one sun (dh and I) around which the planets (ie dd and ds) revolve. Nursery is for playing and fun. Home is comfort and stability.

YABU. I'm sure the new lady for the babyroom will be lovely too.

blueshoes - children vary greatly, and although your children may not be that bothered about change in carers, other children do thrive with consistency and a strong relationship with one caregiver. I've known children who have taken the departure or a nanny or even au pair very hard, and others who barely seem fazed by it.

tankie, I am perfectly open to the idea that some children prefer continuity. My experience is of course confined to my dcs.

The point is that my clingy dcs, despite being the ones least likely to take to nursery, to my surprise, seem to thrive on the hustle and bustle without being too bothered about whose lap they are sitting on. And this seems to be the norm amongst other children at my dcs' nursery as well. Plus what I read on various aupair and nanny threads as well as my own friends as to how upset children are by changes of carers.

I will add that my dcs see a fair amount of me and dh during the week so it is not as if they are bonding with a nanny or aupair as primary carer, instead of their parents.

In other words, for the OP's benefit, change of carers is not a problem unless is IS a problem IYKWIM.

blueshoes, I think I agree with you in the context of a nursery! All children are looked after by all staff members anyway, so if just one staff member is changing it's probably not going to bother the children too much. And with a nursery the continuity is provided by the place rather than the people.

Unless you have one-on-one care, you will not ever get complete continuity of care. Even if your child's keyworker is there, and in the same room (which as this thread has shown is often not the case) they are responsible for several babies, all who need them at different times. Your baby, hwver nice and kind the staff are, will not be responded to as fast or often as if it was being looked after by you, or a nanny / childminder - unless, I suppose, you or the childminder have triplets to care for!

Basically, it comes down to the fact that unless you are actually your child's main carer, you cannot control their environment and ensure they are cared for according to your wishes. This is one of the difficult decisions you make whne you decide to put your child in care.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7777689.stm

I disagree those who say nursery workers would be offended at nannyL and my comments about ratio fixing. ALL nursery workers I know (and I know many) would agree that it does happen and is wide spread but its not a reflection on them, its a reflection on the management and the way they choose to run the nursery.
Most of my friends that work in childcare all agree they would never allow their own child attend a nursery.

My advice on choosing a nursery would be to chose a small independent nursery they usually give far more consistent care and do not ratio fix because they have less staff available to them.

sushistar, if if the parents stays at home to be the child's main carer, the child still won't get one-on-one care if they have siblings at home, which is quite commonly the case.

even if

Both the nurseries we used gave a lot of notice when people were moving round. It worked very well and the kids were happy. But I think they weren't as profit driven as some of these nurseries sound. Our kids really enjoyed their time in the babyroom and it was a bit like an extended family.

see op has realised her unreasonability (is that even a word, lol)....
but, fwiw...I can understand why you felt that way...I think it is quite a normal reaction...