Full time daycare vs PT daycare with nanny

[workingmom2000]

Hello,

We were unable to get a place for DS a FT nursery place near our home. He will be 6 months then. We now have a place at a nursery near work, though i'm concerned about the travel on the tube, given rush hour etc. Therefore, I am toying with the idea of sending him to nursery for 3 days and a nanny for 2 days so he gets to stay in the home environment.

Has anyone done such a split and did it work out or is it too much for a 6 months old - familiarising with daycare staff AND a nanny? Also has anyone done a regular commute on the tube with a baby - what has been your experience of it?

Thanks in advance for your advice !

I did this commute for over 4 years and don't miss it at all.. rush hour is bad enough for an adult, never mind a child/baby... and people will not automatically give you a seat either I am afraid

He is a lil one.. is he not able to stay full-time with nanny at home? So you don't have to worry about the mad commute/tube's not working, and him settling in twice over? That's a lot for a lil guy to have to deal with I think. When he's older you could reassess then? Just a thought.

I wish you well in whatever you decide.

Why not a FT nanny?
I ask only because PT nanny, just for two days, can be tricky to find (because of its being difficult for a nanny to make enough to live on from that).

What about nanny-sharing?

I'll respond on the nursery/commute stuff if the above is all inapplicable (eg you've got a lovely 2-day nanny all set up already thanks)

Hi workingmum, I use a nursery near our home. I think the weight of opinion on mn is that for practical reasons it is better to use a nursery near home than work. Is your partner likely to help out on the nursery run and how close is his office to yours?

If you going to commute, can you shift your working hours so that you don't join the rush hour queue? ie start work just after the nursery opens ie 7:30/8?

The nursery that you did not get a ft place in is likely to have vacancies in September when the older children start school and the younger ones move up. Also, I assume you are in London (since you mention the tube) and people move in and out of the area all the time and places might come up earlier. In the current economic climate, some people might pull their children out as well.

In the meantime, until you get that ft place, will you consider a ft nanny? I think it will be far easier logistically and less adjustment for your ds. Both in terms of avoiding the double time crunch of having to do a drop-off and pick-up at set times and the commute for your ds. Plus you might have to work out a nanny share as nannies might not be willing to work for just 2 days a week - which comes with its complications.

Hi working mum - I would go for full time nanny if you can as baby is young and should be activities in your area ( presuming you are in UK) that nanhny can take him to for socialisitaion and baby can still stay in home enviro. Having said that I do know people who have used full time nurseries for young babies and have been happy but I think the sticking point for me would be the tube/train factor. i should think after a day's work you will find that very difficult to faactor in especailly once baby becomes bigger etc. I used to relax on tube journey home knowing I had baby to come home to/etnertain and having to do that en route would have been too much....

I agree that if you can't do ft nursery then another ft option (ie ft nanny) is probably your best bet for a baby this small - settling in to one new childcare scenario is bad enough, let alone doing two at once.

My commute is a driving one but even that was difficult enough in the early days - a tube commute twice a day with ds's nursery bag, your laptop bag and either a pushchair or a sling sounds like hell on earth, even if you managed to swing your hours to avoid travelling in rush hour.

Nanny nanny nanny. S/he can take ds to baby groups etc so he doesn;t miss out on seeing other children.
If cost is an issue and you live in an area with lots of other families there may be an option of a nannyshare (where a nanny looks after children from more than one family).
Or perhaps even a childminder?

Thanks for the advice. Yes cost is an issue that is why we only considered a nanny for 2 days. Childminders would have been our best bet, but for some reason our area has an acute shortage of childminders. I've been looking into nanny shares and posted on several websites, but no luck so far

I can probably miss the early morning rush hour but in the evenings its very difficult as i will usually leave work around 5.30. The good thing is the dh should be able to help out with the nursery runs, as we work a couple of tube stops away from each other.

Am hoping that with some miracle, the nursery near home opens up a spot !

yes, using childminders is tricky in London, although it would be a good ft option if you can find a good one.

On the nursery front, remember to keep calling the nursery as to whether a place has come up. Don't assume you are on the wait list and they will call you. Be polite but in their face.

You might find the odd pt space might come up, say on less popular days like Fridays or Mondays. You might want to consider whether to take it up when it comes up or hold our for a ft place - the nursery will be able to advise.

Some nurseries set aside more ft places because they prefer ft attendees eg in my nursery the rates for a ft time are less than for 4 days. If your nursery is like this, chances are a ft spot might be vacated sooner rather than later because they have more ft attendees around.

I am a CM in London, and, aware of the parents commute (some go into London, a couple go out), I am avail 7am to 7pm.

I also charge less for children that come more often, as many nurseries do.

workingmum2000 where are you based?

have you considered a nanny with own child also as more likely to work 2 days a week or would be a cheaper option for 5 days.

nanny rates in london tend to be £7-£11 an hr net depending on quals and exp and with own child looking at more £6-£8 an hr net.

would a childminder be able to do 2 days and nursery 3 days i know lots of people who combine nursery and childminder.

is a nanny or childminder better option for you is there a possiblity of being out of work late unexpectandly and obv a nursery shuts at a certain time whereas a childminer or nanny would be able to work longer hours

2 of mine went to nursery when they were about 6 months, and tbh with hindsight I don't think it was ideal. They're fine, but I can see that it was stressful for them. I think nanny or nanny share is probably best.

Thanks. I've been contacted by several nannies with own child and their rates are the same as those nannies without a child ! I was surprised myself.

A childminder would have been ideal, but we haven't found any close to our area. They are all too far and it would be 1/2 journey everyday or more in rush hour to get to one.

In terms of your own experiences - what is more difficult
(i) going to nursery at 6 months
(ii) or adjusting to two different arrangements e.g. splitting the time between nursery and nanny/childminder.

perhaps if you advertise for a nanny saying you would accept a nanny with own child, looking for someone with x amount of child care experience with experience of children under 1yr and quals if you want them. the hours you want. etc etc and also the rate of pay you want to pay for a nanny with own child.

Did you try nannysharers.co.uk?