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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

Nanny vs Childminder vs Nursery for 2 year old?

14 replies

SleepShake · 03/07/2015 16:02

Hi,

I'm in a fortunate position to have the option to place my child part time either with a nanny, childminder or a nursery.

Which should I go for? My daughter is 2 years old, and appears generally to like being in other children's company, as long as its a small group of children.

Childminder has 2 other members of staff, and 9 children in total, so a 3 to 1 ratio. Nursery is an outstanding one, but I think its one to 8/4 ratio.

What would you go for?

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HSMMaCM · 03/07/2015 17:52

My first choice would be a nanny, who was happy to take your child to toddler groups, out to see the world, etc.

My second choice would normally be a good cm, who takes the children out and about. Does the cm with staff have this capability, with 9 children? A minibus? Regular small group outings?

A good nursery can also be fantastic, but as you can tell from my arguments above, I prefer children to be in a normal home environment, where they get out and about to meet other children and see new things and have new experiences.

TipseyTorvey · 03/07/2015 18:49

My DC1 was in a very lovely nursery but in hindsight it was for too many hours, now we have two DC we have a nanny which is way better for the younger one. I think it does depend on the child and the nursery really. If they're really shy and anxious a nanny might be a good idea, but if they like bouncing around in a group then nursery might be better. Could you try nursery for a few weeks and see how it goes?

worriedmummy32 · 03/07/2015 18:55

in that situation I'd go for nursery. my DD is 20 months and we have a brilliant cm but is just her and Max 2 other little ones. I love flexibility of cm but if you had cm with assistants would be almost like a nursery anyway? could you go with a cm who has less kids?

Coastingit · 03/07/2015 20:13

Childminder. A good childminder is worth their weight in gold, provides the best of both worlds - nanny and nursery.

I chose childminder for my 2yo in a similar situation and he thrived - even though she never really took the kids out, she had a wonderful playroom and garden and he just loved playing with the other kids, and if he waned quiet time that was fine too. He is now at nursery at 3 and often gets overwhelmed with the noise and busyness of it all. But now I feel it's best for him to get used to that in advance of school.

Nanny best for babies I think, or if it makes financial sense if you have several kids, or you need the flexibility / additional stuff like housework and putting kids to bed etc.

Another point. Consider how flexible you need your childcare to be, too - nanny is most flexible and nursery the least so. We were lucky in that our childminder was super flexible and would keep our son for an extra hour if I was late back from work etc - I saw one childminder who charged £2 a minute for unplanned late pickups! And ours would do extra days here and there when needed, and also babysat for us.

Original poster

SleepShake · 03/07/2015 23:56

Thanks everyone, looks like you've all got a different opinion !

I'm not sure if my child is ready for nursery and places are so limited here with long waiting lists that you can't try before you take the space.

The nursery however seemed to have an interesting ethos in that they let you take as long as you like to settle your child into their nursery, up to 9 weeks. They don't want you to leave your child alone at the nursery until she is happy for you to leave. Whereas the childminder said on the 1st settling in session she would expect me to leave for 30 min!

With the nanny, I'm not sure especially in the winter whether there would be enough interaction with other children. I'm also not sure whether my daughter would be stimulated enough.

I'm not sure what to do ...

OP posts:

Tiggertum · 04/07/2015 06:19

I wouldn't worry about lack of stimulation if you get a good nanny ( unless you are very isolated) - as well as toddler groups, most nannies arrange lots of play dates with other children, trips to the park ( even in winter!), soft play etc. Plus lots of proper interactive play/crafts in the home. My DC has a way better social life than me with his nanny!

NannyNim · 04/07/2015 09:12

I'm a nanny in a very quiet village but even in winter the LO I look after has a full and active social life. We go to groups, I arrange play dates, we go to the local park.... He also really values the quieter days when it's just me and him.
You'd be surprised at how quickly nannies will find each other and new friends for your child!

Original poster

SleepShake · 05/07/2015 00:24

Thanks tigger and nanny! Maybe I haven't found the right nanny yet then. I do currently have a nanny who is leaving. She is great but doesn't do much activities at all with my LO. No messy play or arts and crafts with my LO.

OP posts:

Blondeshavemorefun · 05/07/2015 14:33

Then ask the nanny to do them

Organise a few activities - playgroups : tumbletots - music etc

A good nanny will generally socialise for their and the child's benifit

Why is your nanny leaving

But agree nanny cm nursery

Original poster

SleepShake · 05/07/2015 22:38

Blonde, thanks. She is moving house, hence moving. I think I need to be more assertive.

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cruikshank · 05/07/2015 22:50

There are lots of practical advantages to having a nanny, the main one being that if the child is ill they can still look after them. And they do get ill, and with a childminder or nursery that means you taking days off work. As others have said, a decent nanny will have lots of things for your child to do, get out and about etc. They socialise with other nannies, which means your child will socialise with other children so they get that aspect, but it's all done in a natural kind of 'now we are going out' way rather than 'here is a room full of children that you will spend all day in'. I suppose it depends on what your priorities are. For me, I didn't want my ds to just be in one place all day, because when he was with me our days weren't like that. So I went for a childminder (couldn't afford a nanny) who was the kind of childminder who, as well as being very well-equipped toys and garden wise, was the sort of person who was out and doing stuff with them.

cruikshank · 05/07/2015 23:13

Two other things to consider - holidays and the future. With a nanny, obviously it's up to you when you take a holiday, and with a nursery likewise - nurseries are open all year round. With a childminder, you often have to fit around them. I was lucky, in that the one I chose had a 'buddy' childminder, who my son also knew so I was happy for him to go there, and I wasn't charged at all if the first one didn't have him - I just paid the other for the hours I used her instead. So it can work, but not all childminders operate like that and it can be a royal pain the arse if you have to book holidays to coincide with those of your childminder. In terms of the future, I know it seems a long way off but at some point your lo will be starting school. If there's wrap-around care, that's great. We didn't have that with my son's school, and none of the other schools in the area offered it either. So of course he was able to just carry on going to the childminder, and it was seamless. A nanny would be a similar boon in this situation.

All things considered, if I had a free choice between all three options I really would go for a nanny.

Original poster

SleepShake · 06/07/2015 20:58

Thanks cruik, that's really useful!

OP posts:

CityDweller · 07/07/2015 14:12

What's your gut instinct? Generally, I have found this to be spot on w/ childcare.

We have a fantastic cm for DD, but DD is currently her only charge, so she can adjust her days according to DD's mood and needs. I love her and feel completely happy when DD is with her as I know they have lots of fun. DD has also absolutely flourished in the 18 months she's been with her. The only downsides are she takes a lot of holiday (her prerogative, of course, but it means that DH and I have to alternate covering her holidays and as a result have hardly enough holiday left that we can actually go away as a family) and if she or her kids are ill then she has to close.

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