Dear Mums,
I have two questions:
- What experiences do people have with different types of childcare?
- Can someone recommend a good childminder in Didsbury or the vicinity?
Let me briefly outline my background. We have a 14-months-old boy. His current childcare consists of a combination of a nanny (3 days per week) plus a nursery (1.5 days per week). We are not wholly happy with this arrangement. Our nanny increasingly spends her days socialising with her friends, so that our child is in a new environment almost every day. It is not clear to us why we are paying exorbitant nanny rates when she provides so little spatial continuity and personal attention for our child. At the same time, the nursery, while providing lots of excellent stimulation, has so many different staff that our son seems increasingly panicked by the prospect of meeting lots of strangers every time he goes. A childminder (i.e. someone who looks after a small group of children in their own home) strikes us as a good compromise, and hopefully a longer-term solution, allowing our toddler to socialise with other children, but also to have the security of seeing one person he knows every day. We have not yet made a definitive decision about where to go from here, and are still trying to sort things out with our nanny. But it would be good to know whether there are local alternatives out there! I would also be very interested in hearing about other people's experiences with different types of childcare!