Nursery Dilemma- Please Help Me Decide

[titnomatani]

Hi all, my LO is currently 14 months old and I'm expecting baby number 2 in January (brave or mad- I'll soon find out!). Anyway, we've found a nursery that has 2 sites:

Site 1: 10 minute walk away, better feel re: staff/activities/space, etc. but the room my son'll be in, is smaller and the ages of the children ranges from 15 months- two and half year olds- there are more older children than children my son's age. The only sessions they have available currently are afternoon sessions. These children are likely to go to our local infant school= familiarity for my son when he gets to that age.

Site 2: 20 minute walk (I don't drive), have a dedicated baby room from 3 month olds- two and half year olds. They have lots of availability currently. The local feeder school here is too far out of our catchment area so any friends my son makes will most likely be left behind once he starts school.

Dilemma: should I send my son to the first site? My worry is he'll get trampled on by the bigger children as he's only just started walking? Also, learning wise- will things go over his head as activities will be pitched across the ages but specifically for the older children? Or should I send him to the second site where he'll be in a class of children who are developmentally (perhaps) at his stage- language, social, physical, etc.?

Please help me get this right- we've just taken him out from another nursery that promised us the world when we went to have a look around but massively under delivered when we went in for our settling in period.

Anyone? Hopeful bump...

Why does site 2 have lots of availability?

I used to work in a baby room and we were chockablock with a waiting list.

I would edge towards one. He will change a lot in next 6 months and most activities, messy play etc are accessible on some level across ages. I would want to know what their ratios are like, what they have in place to make sure littlest are protected a bit. There would be more staff to kids in an under 2s room usually. Do they have staff who mainly work with the youngest kids for example?

Ps I would make sure he’s there at least 3 days or it will be a struggle to settle him (from experience)

Definitely site 1. Nothing you said about 2 sold it. He won't get trampled. My DS moved from a bigger nursery to one like this and the older kids helped the younger ones. It was lovely.

I don’t really like baby rooms and prefer a more mixed age range. I think the little ones get more out of being able to see and emulate bigger kids than they do staring at a bunch of other babies. The school connection could also be great for easing that transition if it works out.

Also, activities, space etc are factors, but much less important than the staff.
The atmosphere, mood, vocabulary used to your child, are so dependant on staff and especially your child’s key worker.
Also, ask about staff turnover. Who has been there for years? Who is only on a training placement?

Does it have to be a nursery? I would consider a childminder instead tbh.

Definitely the first one. He won’t get trampled on by the older kids. If anything he will learn new skills much faster by watching the older ones. My son absolutely loves spending time with the bigger ones. And don’t worry about him not learning things because things will be too advanced - it’s nursery, not school. They will just be playing, doing crafts etc.

The benefits of being closer to home when you have a newborn are massive. And so is the benefit of going to the nursery that feeds into your local school.

It’s a no brainer.

Thanks all- I knew site 1 was the right one for us but was worried in case we made another mistake like our initial nursery. I asked when being shown around about my concerns about my son (potentially being the youngest one)- particularly around safety (he's only just started walking independently) and meal times (he's a nightmare eater) and was reassured re: adult-child ratios and how they had specially trained staff who worked with the little ones and would assist/keep an eye on them, etc. and was happy with the answer. It was only when we went to site 2 and I saw him interacting with the other children who all looked his age that I thought maybe he needed more of the same.

Thank you for reassuring me that children pick up so much from the older ones and that the older ones generally look after younger ones! When I've been around children with siblings, the bigger children (usually) throw their weight around and want to dominate the younger ones so that was my worry. However, I know that's not always the case!

We'll be taking on afternoon sessions to begin with- hopefully they'll be a bit quieter than the mornings so that'll help my son find his way around at his own pace and get used to the setting and then once the baby arrives, hopefully there'll be morning sessions so I can make it a full day or two for him.

The benefits of being closer to home when you have a newborn are massive. And so is the benefit of going to the nursery that feeds into your local school.

This is absolutely true. Our last nursery was a short bus ride away- which my son absolutely loved. But, I, on the other hand was shattered and wanted to cry every morning- I currently have SPD- taking him in. That, coupled with seeing some of the things I saw at the nursery- made me realise it wasn't the right one for us. With a newborn and toddler, I need something very close by.

@FurrySlipperBoots- we considered a childminder/nanny but they would cost the same (if not more) as a nursery in the area I'm in. Also, I'd need reliable childcare that wouldn't be dependent on another adult calling in sick, etc. This nursery is a preschool nursery so once I return back to work, I'd need a childminder/equivalent to drop off son and pick him up but for now, I think he needs the extra stimulation nursery would give him.

@moreismore- the idea is to get him in two sessions a week to begin with until he gets used to the setting and gradually increasing this to two full days. He's only little (or feels like it to me!) and he's never been away from me (no family around and my husband works very long hours)- so is really attached and recently going through toddler separation anxiety- toilet time is no longer a solo activity for me! So, I'll see how he gets on and the adjust as necessary.

Here’s why afternoon sessions are quieter
Most children will be sleeping after lunch, so anything from 12-2.30, meaning not much is happening during this time
Then they wake up gradually, have nappy changes and then it’s time for tea
About 4ish the children start to go home and so do the staff ( some will have been in since 7am)
The last couple of hours are spent writing diaries and tidying up after the day and preparing for the next day
Then there’s only a handful of children left till closing

I would go for nursery one, especially considering that your son is only likely to be the youngest for a short while - he will keep growing older and new younger children will keep coming in. I would expect most activities at the toddler age to be child-led and play/ sensory based so I don't think that things will go over his head - the staff should be interacting with the children as individuals and pitching to where the child is, as in the early years development of different skills can vary so much even between a group of children born in the same month.