Childminder or nursery.

[WanderingTrolley1]

DS, 17 months, started with a childminder last week for 2 days p/w.

A place has become available at a local nursery for him to begin settling in period in 2 weeks.

I don't know which will be best for him. Currently, the CM only has 1 other child, but 2 others will start sept/oct.

How do I decide which to go for?

TIA for any responses.

We had a BBQ today. The kids loved it. Is a beanbag dangerous furniture? (Never done pheasant) oh and I have a degree in early years and I'm an early years teacher.

Nursery staff can be working whilst training. Is that changing?

Nurseries, childminders, nannies, its all different. What suits one family may not suit another.

Agree that verypunny's experience doesn't match mine. I agree that a good nursery can be great, but more staff doesn't always meant that there is always someone on hand for your child - there are still quite a few kids per staff member (is the limit around 4 at this age? Can't remember), and there will be times when they will also be busy. Also agree with pps that food in my experience has been better with childminders. That said, nurseries can be lovely places too, if you find a place with good staff and low turnover (much more important than lots of toys etc, in my opinion).

To me I would be a little worried that your cm would have 2 under 1 plus two other littlies though, I know mine will only take 1 under 1 and then tries to have some older kids to balance out their needs - not sure what the experienced cms on here think, maybe it is more manageable with practise?

The ratio is no more than 6 children under 8, no more than 3 if those can be preschoolers, and no more than 1 under one. The only way you can go over these ratios is by taking on a sibling, or a child changing/increasing days, or by having an assistant.
Childminders (like me!) give more tailored care, and go out and about doing all the things you'd do yourself. The it drawback is the lack of care if minder is on holiday or sick.

A lot really depends what you're after. Dd's nursery do lots (and I mean a lot!) of messy play, baking etc which I don't want to have to do at home. We go out a lot to parks, museums, farms etc at the weekend so I really wanted dd doing something different during the week.

I also preferred an environment where staff are under scrutiny from peers/managers. Oddly I prefer that dd's care isn't dependant on one particular individual. But then dd is very happy there, maybe I'd think differently if she wasn't.

Like others I've seen poor exampes of both nurseries and CMs so no option is fool proof.

Of course millionprammiles is right, there are always going to both poor and outstanding CMs and nurseries. It's worth going to view as many different places as possible.

It's a good idea for you to write a list of most important qualities you need out of your childcare, and that may give you some direction as to wether you need CM or Nursery.

I love the idea of a home environment for an under 2yr old, but that's personal choice.

Read Ofsted reports of settings in your area, you can do a postcode search on Ofsted website. Don't base your search just on inspections though, but these offer a good starting point!

I worked in a nursery with an on-site kitchen, it was great for warming up the value ready meals that they brought in .

Hmm in general I'd say CM (especially if they collect and drop off - amazing) but I'd be worried about the ratios come Sept/Oct.

So in September your CM will have a 2.5 year old, a 1.5 yr old (your DS), and 2 under 1? Is that even legal? She'd have to be superwoman to manage - and I suspect trips out would be few and far between.

Unless she will have an assistant?

minipie in answer to your question,is that legal? It depends...there are certain variations and exceptions to ratio rule, it's not clear cut. It's hard to judge this case without all the facts, for example, does she have these children together all day everyday? Are any of them siblings? Were any of them with the childminder before?
It's quite possible what the CM is doing is perfectly above board, she may not even have an assistant. I'm not sure if I would ever elect to have that many children, but some CMs cope exceptionally well! She will have to risk asses and prove to Ofsted she is capable of looking after this many children, so it wouldn't be worth the CM doing unless she was prepared!

Hmm ok so could be legal, but it sounds at the boundaries of what is possible/desirable. If all 4 were easygoing children then maybe but it only takes one stroppy non napping whirlwind like mine and the others get little attention surely.

Precisely, which is why I wouldn't do it...however some can, and do!!

I would definitely reccomend any parent who finds themselves in a similar position, to do a couple of visits, but explain why to CM so that they don't feel messed around!