Nursery vs childminder

[ivfbabymomma1]

This has probably been done before so I apologise but Im so emotional after this weekend that I just want some level headed opinions.
Last Monday & Wednesday my DS (almost 2) had some testers days at a nursery. He caught a cold and developed symptoms on Friday. Totally normal I know. However queue 12 hrs later he was blue lighted to a&e with breathing problems and was diagnosed with severe croup. We have been in hospital all weekend as he wasn't responding to the steroids he was given. We are now out and he seems better but it's totally spooked me. I feel if it was an illness I could have managed at home it wouldn't have bothered me but I'll never get the image of my son hooked up to oxygen out my head.
I was talking to a friend and her son goes to a childminder and he loves it and is friends with my son anyway so I'm thinking of switching

Is this a ridiculous knee jerk reaction? I know he will get ill there too.

Please be gentle I've spent all weekend just in tears

Shameless bump sorry 🙈

Kids will get ill anywhere and it's good for their immune system. I feel nursery just gets through the illnesses quicker. With both of mine we had various illnesses over the first year and then they tailed off.

I know the feeling, we've done hospital stays due to viruses but I think they'd pick them up at the childminders too.

I looked at childminders before I looked at nurseries for my little one. I hated the childminders, granted it may of just been rubbish ones that I looked at but they learn so much more at nursery. My daughter has come on leaps and bounds. One childminders acted way to strict for my liking and the other I just did not get a good feeling about. Nurseries are teaching them properly and they’re getting much more social interaction. It’s more expensive but I’m so glad I opted for nursery.

Aww OP No I don’t think this is a knee jerk reaction. What happened sounds awful and I’m so sorry you all went through this. Hope the DS is getting better. Why don’t you book a tester with the childminders? Or at least have a chat with her and see if you like her.

My DS goes to one and he loves it. It’s home from home. I fell more at ease with him there than a nursery.

Also don’t be hard on yourself. You are allowed to feel as you do. It does sound like it was unfortunate that he got so poorly and like you said there is nothing to say he won’t get ill at a childminders. They are smaller though so less chance of an infection. Xx

It sounds like you had a very scary experience - I hope your DS is fully recovered soon. I can totally understand not wanting him to go back but it probably is a knee-jerk reaction. I'd try to judge what's best for your DS and family in the long run and give yourself a few weeks to let the horrible memories dampen a bit. But there are plenty of pros and cons of childminder Vs nursery so generally either is good. I prefer the idea of nursery - it feels more natural to me to have a group of adults and children together rather than one adult on their own. But people I know who use childminders all seem to like them.

My youngest was hospitalised with croup three years ago this weekend actually we were in Devon for the weekend and we ended up blue lighted to the local hospital for two days
It is really nasty and surprisingly quick at making them deteriorate so I understand the fear and that initial reaction.
Saying that it’s not nurseries fault and as you say a childminder would not necessarily have dealt with the situation any differently if this is the only reason why are you thinking of moving him I would wait a while as it does seem an overreaction
Hope he’s better soon

I’m sorry your child has been so poorly and I hope they are well on the mend! I think kids will pick things up wherever and it is a very natural way for their immune systems to develop and mature. Thanks to the last year of lockdowns and and an increase in cleaning/hand washing/antibacterial everything I suspect small ones are more vulnerable to these things at the moment as they haven’t been exposed to anything. It really depends if a childminder can meet your expectations/needs. We use nursery because the nature of both of our jobs means nursery is more secure childcare-not relying on one person, having to take set holiday around the CM etc. I would be happy to use a CM but realistically one person couldn’t meet our needs-if a CM is Ill no childcare etc. It’s highly likely that children will be exposed to these bugs in whichever setting I think it’s just perhaps more intense initially at nursery. My son once ended up in hospital for IV antibiotics after getting an infected finger while we were on holiday and he hadn’t been near nursery or other children for 2 weeks 🤦🏼‍♀️ Do what’s best for you and your family but with the knowledge this could have happened anywhere (even a play group/play date) and you did the right thing getting medical help when needed.

Thank you for all your lovely comments!!! It's set me off again 🥲🥲
It's such a hard decision, I never really doubted my decisions before I had my son and now I'm bloody hopeless!!!!! I'll call in sick for my son on his days this week as he's obviously ill and contagious and deal with it next week I think & definitely go and visit the childminder and just go from there.
Sod's law my first nursery illness was a hospital visit! I could have coped with a cold or sickness bug! I know they can literally catch things from anywhere your right.
It's just nice to know I'm not totally crazy I my initial reactions although as you can guess he is my PFB 🙈🙈

And he is doing much better thank you! He was bad this morning but then he has a long nap this afternoon and woke up a new person! He's still lost his voice but he's happy in himself and his breathing is back to being nice & calm. His little lost voice laugh is breaking my heart 🤣

I'd personally say nursery.

I was a sahm when my dc were small and I used to see lots of child minders at play groups and soft plays. Let's just say I wouldn't have wanted to leave my children with them!

That sounds really traumatic. I chose to send my DD to a childminder when I went back to work when she was a year old as I wanted the calmer homely environment then she started nursery at 2.5 as I felt it would be good to get more socialisation and that environment. I found that she caught the same amount of illnesses in both environments and both were equally good at managing it; when they first start any form of childcare they’re more likely to pick up various things

It is a knee jerk reaction, but quite understandable. Have a look at some childminders and then decide. There are good and bad nurseries and good and bad childminders. We all follow the same curriculum and prepare children for school.

It never hurts to look and as you've got a recommended one why not.
Both childminders and nurseries offer the same educational benefits....working on the skills needed to build independence, pre wrighting, early maths, socialisation etc. So it's all down to finding the right fit.
Children in any good care (including home) will come on leaps and bounds at this age.
Childminders use toddler groups as a chance for the child to seperate and explore becouse the rest of the day is more focused supported play. The children will have had access to messy play and crafts all week whilst many parents use groups for this purpose so will give more support. 3 year llds in nursery do not have an adult shadowing them all the time for childminders this is toddler group time, watch from a distance allow children to try to solve issues like sharing etc and only intervein if needed. This is all part of school readiness. Of course you don't see a nursery at work so it's easy to assume children are never left to play without an adult joining in.
Childminders may work with up to 3 other adults often having as high a qualification as nursery managers. Holidays are generally booked a good 10 months or more ahead so covering them and booking your own choice isn't so hard for most people.

I'm sorry you've been through that! It sounds really scary. You're right though, that he could have caught it anywhere and isn't specifically nursery related.

There are pros and cons to both types of care, but it really comes down to the individual nursery Vs the individual childminder. So visit a few childminders and see how they compare to the nursery you've chosen. Just bear in mind that what matters is the quality of care and interaction not the facilities.

@Sinner10 I think you must have seen some awful childminders then. Both nurseries and childminders have to follow the same education programme and are inspected the same by Ofsted. I know some truly fabulous childminders who are way better than nurseries and I also know of some truly awful nurseries that are failing children. As a parent it's all about doing your research.

As for the OP, unfortunately kids will get ill whether they are at nursery or with a childminder but I can understand how scary the situation would have been for you.

If you're still thinking about a childminder then I would say ask for genuine recommendations on local Facebook groups. Look at the ones that don't need to advertise because they go by word of mouth. Also go to some local toddler groups and observe how the minders are with their mindees.

I did this when I was looking. There were regular faces that would just sit chatting to their mates or ones that wouldn't watch them properly at soft play etc. I found one through word of mouth and I remember seeing her interacting with the kids at these groups. Everyone deserves a break and a cuppa and these groups are perfect for that while the kids are occupied but it's off to do it all session every week.

We initially picked a nursery that was Outstanding. I looked around loads and this one was the best by far and I really liked the key worker. Then, we pulled my child out after 3 days as what I witnessed on their CCTV I wouldn't leave a dog with those people! It was all for show. The minute they thought I wasn't watching, they were completely different with my child. That's why we chose a Childminder. We had no further issues. In fact, 10 years on, her (late teen) kids now babysit my children.

I'm now a Childminder. I am so mindful of what I did and didn't like when I observed the ones at these groups I try to do my very best by the families. I treat these children as my own and they become an extension of our family. The children love my kids and my DH. I never, ever have to advertise. My current and former parents recommend me.

I have worked in nurseries and would definitely go down the childminder route . Not mixing as much so less chance of catching colds etc. In a nursery a child has to fit in with the nursery sleep at a certain time eat certain things have a snack at a certain time .

Hope your little one is feeling better now go and visit childminder and go with your gut ,

I’m sure both options are fine. Always used childminders and kids still get ill. It’s part of having small kids and could be something they caught at the swimming pool or other stuff we did as a family.
With regard to other factors in the decision, there are real benefits to a great childminder. They can take your child from a baby right until they leave primary for wraparound care. On the comments about nursery offering better education I disagree. Our childminder is absolutely amazing at this and does it so much better than the local nursery which costs twice as much. My older children do crafts after school and enjoy the program of activities and trips in the school holidays.

Dc went to a childminder and still caught all sorts. We chose them over a nursery for several reasons, but I wouldn't say because of less illness is a realistic one. If you would be happy using one overall though then absolutely, for us it was the best choice. Hope he is feeling better soon, every cold DS gets develops into needing his inhaler and steroids and sometimes antibiotics, I empathise as we have had many trips to hospital and the doctor, it is scary.

I wouldn't withdraw solely based on health risk. They can pick up bugs anywhere. If you are relying on nursery to enable you to work, you also need to think if you can find a childminder in time.

There are good and bad of both types of providers. Personally, mine went to childminder until about three then nursery until school so they get a bit of both. I think a bit of nursery before school makes the transition to school easier.

Hello

I'm currently a Canterbury Christ Church University student trying to gather research for my final dissertation. I am reaching out to all childminders who employ assistants and childminding assistants to complete the following short surveys;

Childminders:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSckQZYVaCDidi3ri8zUjCknnuY8O2cr5jFrgI8VAjynU-07Kw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Assistants:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlcP3nn6Rjzft1ubNzyeDHNw4XF12p_EGk0PJ22LeCmBEJgg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Hi,

I have absolutely no idea if I am just replying to somebodies comment here, or if I am doing what i intend to do which is to start a new thread asking a question... Apologies if it is not the right place for this question but hopefully somebody will see it and be able to offer advice regardless. :)

I am due to give birth to my first baby at the end of August, very excited. I run my own business which is currently very time consuming and even though I will have a member of staff full time for when the baby arrives I am very worried that the business will suffer without me overseeing.

I work from home and am thinking of employing a nanny that comes over to my house 2 mornings a week to look after the little one whilst I catch up on work. I guess I am just wondering if this is realistic? I would plan to have a month off entirely and then the Nanny would start when the baby is a month old.

The baby would be in the same house and the Nanny is somebody I have known a while and trust.

Any advice welcome, thank you! x