Why choose childminder over nursery?

[Bumblebee39]

Just the title really. What are the benefits?
I was thinking it would be better for DS as would have same adult or adults every day and hours might be more flexible. Also might be able to work more closely with me on dummy weaning, nap times, feeding issues and poor speech development than a busy nursery.
DS is very sociable and a happy little boy but also loves his home comforts and is a bit laid back on the old milestones. (He's advanced physically but verbally needs to catch up)
Is there anything I've got wrong or missed?
Tia xx

I used both .
Benefits with CM are flexible with payments and hours . So I wouldn't be expected to pay all year around which was a bonus , plus if I went away I didn't pay to keep a place but saying that I wouldn't anyways. Able to pick up children from home or bring them home .
Cons - if car breaks down , staff fall ill than you can find yourself stuck . Not very clear invoices. Daily Actvities are not very varied no daily feedback on child , no parents evening no way to raise a complaint if had any issues.
Nurseries pros. Structured team such as a manager or senior staff etc days are more varied . More learning, daily feedback . A food menu more children to interact with.
Cons with nurseries
Usually expected to pay late fees if even 1 minute late , late fee for late payments, although never happened. If you fall into issues such as waiting for first pay they less sympathtic and expect you to pay up front fees etc. Also administration charges for signing up can cost upto £50 . Don't start earlier enough also usually don't offer pick up or drop offs .

mummyof2 you don’t describe a usual childminder arrangement.

To also add my CM didn't see my children as cash cows but as children that they cared for as they were their own . Nursery staff seem business focus and only ever done what was needed or expected of them to remain open .

Well, maybe my childminder was an exception she was very flexible . But I am aware that isn't the case for everyone . Or maybe I was to laid back and never demanded the ins and out and totally trusted them with my children so didn't feel the need to ask to much information .

'Not very clear invoices. Daily Actvities are not very varied no daily feedback on child , no parents evening no way to raise a complaint if had any issues.'l

I used to work in accounts, so my invoices are very clear. Activities are varied. A note every day for every child and WhatsApp photos and videos during the day. Parents evenings every term and feedback forms.

Just goes to show everyone is different.

I chose nursery because all the cm near me so big school runs so

1. I had to be there for a certain time otherwise not till after school run (nursery whenever)
2. Said school run x 2 day meant I was really only getting 930-230 of care, the rest was with many many other kids whilst shoved in a buggy on said run in all weathers
3. Holidays- when I wasn’t stuck to school hols there was no bloody way I was having 2 weeks forced leave in middle of summer for cm hols!
4. On that- summer holidays definitely saw a different mix of older kids which wasn’t for us

There is a much greater level of accountability with a childminder. They alone are responsible for keeping your child safe and happy. All communication is direct with this one person. You're much less likely to encounter problems with communication breakdowns/mix-ups. If you do, you know exactly who to blame!

In a nursery environment you're really buying into the 'brand' rather than any individual person. On any day any staff member could be on holiday/off sick/on a course and a different staff member will take their place. Maybe one from within the nursery or maybe agency staff. You have to trust the nursery management that this person is competent and had been fully briefed as to your child's needs.

As in any set up where there are multiple members of staff communication breakdowns do happen. The person you talk to isn't necessarily the person who will be caring for your child and messages don't always get passed on. Sometimes these can be minor issues like a vegetarian child being served meat at lunchtime or a Muslim child getting Pork. Other times they can be more serious in the case of a food allergy, for example. Very, very, very occasionally these can be extremely serious or fatal. There have been several cases where a child has slipped through the net because member of staff A thinks the child is with B and B thinks he is with A. In the very worst of these cases the child is outside drowning in a puddle or freezing to death (that was in Russia, not the UK) or being strangled because their coat is caught on the climbing frame. The point is there is no one adult who is specifically looking out for your child. That is one benefit of a childminder that hasn't been mentioned yet.

I chose childminder as wanted DD to be in a homely, family environment. There were 6 kids in total so plenty of social interaction and they attended toddler groups daily. The Childminder's genuinely loved her and DD enjoyed 3.5 years with them starting when she was just 9 months old.

Nursery's have changing staff which I wasn't keen on. And too many kits, also the setting is less relaxed, not ideal for really little ones who are still in the baby stage. But each to their own.

WingingWonder that's why it's good to see we're all different. I don't do school runs and I take holiday in term time. My DD is an adult, so no tie to school terms.

Each CM is different, so worth visiting to see what fits. For some people the best fit is a nursery. For some it's a CM.

Totally agree/ in principle I was seeking a cm not nursery but the local ones all max capacity after school

We chose a nursery over a childminder primarily at the time because we had no backup for CM sickness or holidays. However it was absolutely the right choice for DS and he’s a lovely happy boy who’s learning a huge amount there as well as having fun. Nurseries are not all the same, ours is 30 children total, the baby room is 6 babies and 2 adults, there are one FT and two PT staff so he got to know them really well and actually a better ratio of carers to babies than a CM. There are 3 rooms total and he’ll be in the big room from just over 2 to nearly 5 so definitely not being constantly shunted between rooms. Some activities are differentiated by age in that room some they do together. They do all sorts of home like things like baking and they serve themselves their meals.
The only thing I dislike about our nursery is that their location means they hardly ever go offsite, they have a lovely garden and some other nearby green space but they don’t for example go to the library, a shop, a park etc. So we tend to do a lot of activities at the weekend to compensate.
I like the nursery and the staff there so much that I am putting my 4 month old DD there for two KIT days at the end of the month, the staff are really excited to have her and I think she’ll spend the whole time being cuddled!

I used CM from 2006 until 2013 and never once were they off sick. Holidays were also never a problem. Maybe we were lucky. It actually came into its own mode when I had a child in school and one of preschool age as I could use the same childcare for both.

actually a better ratio of carers to babies than a CM.

Hmm not strictly true is it? 🤔

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat The ratio in the baby room is 1:3 because all the children are under 2, the ratio at a childminder for your baby may well be more than that because the other children are older. I don’t think many childminders taking babies only have a max of 3 children they care for. On the flip side of course in the big room at nursery the ratio could be as high as 1:15 I believe if they are all over 3 (in our nursery they aren’t so the ratio has to be lower). So it averages out, however I was specifically referring to the baby room, apologies if that wasn’t clear.

I’ve not used a CM for a few years but IIRC they could only have one baby under one and 3 under 5 altogether

DrWhy

It's too general a statement. Not all childminders work to capacity. It's something that needs to be determined on an individual basis. It's simply not true that a nursery will always offer a better ratio of carers to children.

I think you are far more likely to find a childminder working below capacity than a nursery.

Also, the ratio for children below school age is 1:3, so even a childminder at capacity who also does school runs is offering 6 hours a day at the same ratio as a nursery. Many don't do school runs and keep 1:3 throughout the day.

Nurseries assign key workers to each child to assist with tracking who is repsonsible for which kids when, and offer a consistent place (rather than say using other childminder's homes if off sick).

One huge perk of a childminder is they will usually continue to look after your children before/after school when that's what you need - certainly near me, there are almost no childminders who can offer after-school care as they are all booked up by age 2. On the other hand, if your child doesn't get into the expected school, or the parents of the preschoolers they have all day decide to move eldest to a different school, then you may still be unexpectedly lacking in care.

Drwhy you started that sentence with ‘Not all nurseries are the same’. By that token you must concede that not all childminders are the same.

I personally think that childminders’ 3 under 5 is far more manageable that 3 under ones. Childminders’ ratios are, in part, set up to ensure we can get out and about safely and easily, something that I don’t feel nursery ratios do. But again that’s parental choice. Some parents don’t want their child to leave the building that they drop them off at in the morning, they like to know where they are at all times.

Ive been in many nurseries baby rooms included where although the whole building is in ratio they count staff in the office doing paperwork and on non contact time.
Im a CM and choose to work with another fully registered and also outstanding cm but we often have 3 between us and usually 4 so that the ratio is 1 to 2 or 1 to 1.5 children then after school we only collect children who have already been through as babies so will have 2 to 3 older children. If babies are sleeping they don't have to go out but a school run is great for education - number hunts, colour recognition, familiarity with school, road safety the list is endless and older children are a fantastic role model. The Ofsted requirement is that children go out in all weathers if they have correct clothing what is the issue with being out in rain etc?????
Other advantages, we only close at Christmas as the other chidlminder can cover, the children get specialised support if they need it in language, physical needs, sleep etc. as we always have capacity to give 1 to 1 support no waiting for funding or pulling the 1 to 1 away for general class work. We do referrals for educational plans, speech, chams etc no visits to health visitors or GPs to get one and TAC meetings are arranged and held in setting.

We chose a cm , and the great things about it was:

Location (a neighbour)
Able to change days week to week as I worked pt
Watched her children grow up, they were a great advertisement (still are).
She was fantastic at teaching manners, colours, words etc (professional childcare worker before becoming a cm along with SAHM)
Like an extended family- got visits to cm's mother ( mine called her grandma too). Not to mention trips to coffee shops!
Bigger kids to play with
Exposure to playschool/primary school due to school runs - they already knew the teachers etc before starting
So reliable...never sick in 8 years. Took same 3 weeks holidays each year. Only closure was due to a bereavement (that was forseeable)
More affordable than nursery (way more)
Held place at no cost when I was on ML (I did offer to pay!)
Gradual exposure to bugs, never had the "sick for first 3 months of nursery issue". (They did catch chicken pox there and one nasty tummy bug, but then didn't really get sick when starting school as others did)

Disadvantages were
Finished earlier in the evening than nursery
Some wet days, a bit more tv than I liked (but probably typical for a home)