Help me decide on childcare please

[cantpickyourfamily]

DD is 15months old and has always been clingly but I feel she is improving. I need childcare for one or one and a half days per week.

I spoke to some childminders at baby group and they will get back to me to let me know if they can take dd. I also spoke to a lady that works as a mothers help/ nanny who said she charges £8 per hour. Does this sound like a reasonable price?

I started thinking it would be nicer for dd to be at home while beening looked after but it is much more expensive than the childminder.

Also I feel it would be good for dd to be around other children for a whole day as we do not spend time with any children that are similar age to dd and she always wants to play with bigger children as she is used to her big cousins.

I feel nursery may be over whelming for dd, she is confident but used to 1 on 1 attention.

Any views welcome from parents or carers.

I am a childminder... and think that from the sounds of it she would be best off in a childminder's home

Depending on what area you are in a childminder would charge £3.00 to £4.50 approx.

It would do your child the world of good to go to another house to play with children. My own son who is 3 is suffering from separation anxiety as he has always been at home with me.

If you let us know approx where you are, there may be someone on here who can help.

Good luck.

Can I just ask, what exactly should I be asking the child minder and how will I be able to check if she will be the right person to leave dd with?

I feel I need to see how the day goes and how she works with the children.

I visited a few nurserys and they were happy for me to look around, but would feel pushy to say to someone, I need to come to your home and watch how you look after the children.

Also have you got any space at the oment and if so what area are you in?

coolj - I am in east dulwich, london. I have been told the price for a childminder here is around £6 per hour so I am assuming you are far away from me.

If you are near me I love the prices you charge so am bringing dd over now...

also my dd is very difficult to get to sleep and worry about that. I have to lie with her for ages or walk around with her to get her to nap, or take her in the pram or car.

Exp seems to be able to get her to nap much easier by rocking her. But she never goes to sleep alone.

Do you think with all the experance they have a childminder may be able to get her to fall asleep alone?

also my dd is very difficult to get to sleep and worry about that. I have to lie with her for ages or walk around with her to get her to nap, or take her in the pram or car.

Exp seems to be able to get her to nap much easier by rocking her. But she never goes to sleep alone.

Do you think with all the experance they have a childminder may be able to get her to fall asleep alone?

sounds like she needs very much 1:1 care

and a nanny is really the only option,as a childminder will most probably have other mindees

i think if you sent your daughter to a CM just one day a week AND expected her to sleep alone / change her routine,this is too much change all at once

at least a nanny arrangement would be in your own home / childs usual environment

why do people think children do not get much social interaction with a nanny ? lol

we can go to groups etc in the community too you know ;)

i meet up with other childcarers or parents with my charges

I think she would prob be better off at home with a nanny if shes used to a lot of 1 to 1 attention. But that doesnt mean she cant interact with other children as most nannies have nanny friends and get together with all the children. (i used to be a nanny before i had my children) This way she has the best of both worlds.

the thing is if I use a mothers help/nanny they charge £8 per hour so not sure if it would really be worth while for me to go to work.

Also feel that if dd spent the whole day with other children it would be enjoyable for her and help her be more independant as she would not be able to cling to the childminder all day.

Blimey maybe i should go back to nannying, i never got paid that much but i suppose it was 6 years ago!! If its only for 1 day she will prob be ok with a childminder im sure.

Blimey maybe i should go back to nannying, i never got paid that much but i suppose it was 6 years ago!! If its only for 1 day she will prob be ok with a childminder im sure.

DS is with a CM in north London who has 1 other toddler and 2 before and after school. She often has her dh and/or oldest daughter there for part of the time and ds gets as much attention as he would at home if not more, plus he meets older children, they go out to groups etc.

CM rates vary a lot, ours is at the cheaper end for the area but there are others asking similar amounts - £5 an hour but only £30/day.

On my experience although it's obviously not something that can be guaranteed, your dd might well do things differently with someone else. ds has much longer naps with CM than he does at home often, and he's learning an awful lot, whether from her or imitating other kids - she was newly registered last year but has 5 of her own.

elkiedee - £30 per day sounds very cheap to me, in East Dulwich the price is £45-£30 per day.

What hours is your ds with the childminder?

Usually starts between 8.15 and 9 am until 5.30 (depends on who's taking him) but she takes other mindees (same family) at 7.30 and we've taken ds round at that time twice by advance agreement so I could get to appointments. So in practice it's about 9 hours or slightly under, in theory she would be available for 10.5 hours for the same day rate.

Have you got the full printed list from Childcare Information Service for your area? Not all childminders want to list their details online and I found the printed list had a lot more information.