Nursery

[FirstTimeMummyDS88]

I'm taking my DS who turned 1 last weekend to look at a Nursery this week with a view to starting 2 days a week 8am until 1pm. My son has a bit of a developmental delay due to being 7 weeks early and only 2lb 9ozs and me and my DP really feel that seeing other babies his own age moving around may encourage him, also I'm hoping to pick up more hours in work while he's in nursery

I was just hoping that some mums with babies a similar age could give me some questions to ask at the look around, I know what I'm like my mind will go blank and I will think of a million things I should have asked after we have left

You will want to know the cost, and what that includes / doesn't include. (Wipes, nappies, food.... nappies are usually provided by the parents. Food varies considerably.
Some Nurseries might charge an hourly rate, others a 'session' - if so, what times are those sessions.
When are they open / closed - ie do they take 2 weeks off over Christmas. What are the charges if they are closed?

Ask them what happens about sleeps / naps - where do they sleep, and when, and how much is the child fitting in to the Nursery routine and how much the nursery are able to adapt to the child's routine.

Ask if they are in the one room all the time - when you they get into the outside area, or even do they go out for walks to the park / shops / round the block? (Some parents think this is a plus, others would be worried about this).

Try and think about when he is a bit older - if they are providing food - ask to look at the menus for a month. If it is important to you, look at the sugar / salt content , how much veg, if they cope with allergies or other dietary needs.

Be practical (don't need to ask them this, but have a look, at the time of day you will be dropping off) - how practical is it for parking when you drop off / collect.... what is the traffic like there / then

Thanks so much, I'm a first time mum so this is the first time I've ever had to arrange childcare and I know I'll be annoyed with myself if I get home and think of loads of things I should of asked

Sorry to ask this on your trend but I can't post a thread (says please login first), can someone please start a thread for me called "Advice from full time working parent families".