Nanny or Holiday Clubs

[EdPops]

Hypothetical question but if money wasn't a factor, would you prefer your child to be looked after by a nanny during school holidays or send them to a local holiday club?

With the nanny there's more freedom of choice as to how you spend the days, but less chance of other children available to play with.

With holiday clubs they might be confined to the same space every day, but there's other children to mix with.

My children would probably prefer a nanny to allow them more opportunity to stay at home and go out to places they specifically want to visit. They have each other as playmates and don't really enjoy holiday clubs. I'm sure others prefer the busier, more social environment of a holiday club though. Also I would have other reservations about a nanny e.g. harder to find someone you trust and might be trickier if you were wfh.

Nanny.

Any decent nanny is going to make sure they have opportunities to meet with their friends over the summer/have access to other kids. It's ridiculous to think a nanny means that kids won't see their friends/other children.

Generally I would pick a nanny up to about age 10. But if money is no object, both! Sports camps, outward bound camps, drama weeks etc can be really good once they get to age 7 or so, but they often run something like 9-3 so can be tricky if parents are working full days. My absolute ideal would be curating a limited amount of whatever clubs they genuinely want to do, with a nanny for wraparound and quieter days at home.

In practice it all hinges on what the clubs are locally, how old your child is and what they are into that particular year. A younger child would benefit from stability and consistency, but many older ones would prefer maybe a week here of tennis, a week there of sailing and a third week of day trips and down time.

My kids would prefer a nanny so they could stay home and game all day.

I would prefer a nanny as it would mean not rushing out the door with kids.

But my decision would be based on how good were the clubs and would my kids enjoy it. Do you have a nanny in mind? Do you know that they are reliable and going to make the summer fun for the kids.

In a perfect situation I would book kids into a club one day a week and have a nanny four days a week.

My dc have loved a couple of specialist holiday clubs this summer e.g. putting on a musical theatre show in a week, ballet and tennis. I think those kind of clubs are better than a nanny, as they offer a rich experience and the chance to mix with different children and develop skills, sometimes in areas they've never tried before. But it's meant a fair bit of ferrying to different venues, and some clubs don't offer extended hours so not great for covering work hours.

We've done a few days of a general holiday club too, as it's based at DCs school so they can see their friends there. But the actual activities on offer are a bit bland and they would be bored spending 6 weeks there.

We're in an affluent area and the "money no object" solution that some families have (not us) is to have a nanny to take them to the specialist holiday camps. Sometimes they just do half day camps so they can have a bit of chill time after lunch.

Yup both of money were really no object, but if I had to pick....for me I'd choose a nanny as no packed lunches, no worrying about getting them to and from somewhere, ability to tailor activities to their interests and needs.
I suspect, however, that my kids might prefer camps up to 10/11 as they seem to enjoy the group bonding element of it. And the one near us has a bouncy castle so that a big plus for them.

Holiday club due to the social aspect.

However you need to be careful what activities the club had on offer.

Nanny

As they will take them out /see friends /have chill time at home

Clubs are often 9/3 and have to take a packed lunch so more hassle for you