Which nursery would you choose?

[Knitsewthread]

I'm after some advice on which of these scenarios you think is best!

Nursery 1
A 5/10 min walk from home and other DC's school. Ofsted outstanding. Have heard good things about it. Can't look around due to Covid and they aren't the best at replying to emails - still waiting on a photo/info pack a couple of months later. Could be a problem if bad traffic on way home from work (if I go back to the office) and I couldn't get there in time.

Nursery 2
At my work which is 45/60 min drive in rush hour traffic. Know it well as older DC went there and very happy with it on the whole. I may be WFH when I initially return but unlikely to be permanent so getting him there would be a problem if I am WFH to begin with. I really don't like DS having to do the commute every day and worry about getting him home if he was poorly etc.

DH likely to be WFH long term but not certain. What would you do? Anything else I should consider do you think?

Number 1 without a doubt.

1

1

1!!!!!!

1

One

One

I’ve done both close to work and close to home with my DD and i much prefer closer to home even if there is sometimes some stress with traffic. I found that when they go to nursery close to work there’s a risk of them falling asleep on the way there or back which disrupts nap routines, if they moaned or cried it was stressful, when I was ill they’d end up staying at home with me when really it defeated the point as I needed to rest and also any friends they made there lived in that area although this only really matters as they get older. Then add in the work from home part and it becomes really complicated for nursery to be so far away.

1!

Oh wow, that's pretty resounding so far!

@user1493413286 they are good points I hadn't taken into account. DS1 didn't know anyone when he started school so it would be nice to build up a friendship group where some might go to the same school or at least still see each other locally. And you've reminded me, DS1 would sometimes fall asleep in the car and would have a real meltdown when we got home and he woke up as he was all out of routine. And the drive home could be so stressful if he got upset. He used to play a fun game where he'd throw his dummy to the hardest to reach part of the car on purpose and then scream and cry all the way home when I couldn't reach to give it back Would love to avoid that....

Based on that I’m surprised you’re even considering number 2

I didn’t get past the first line of each.

One without a doubt!

If he ended up in hospital then he wouldn’t be at your local, if there was an emergency it would be potentially an hour before you could get to him, it’s at least a three hour round trip each day it’s not even a contender.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat yes writing it all down has helped clarify a lot!

I think number 2 appealed due to the familiarity and not having the panic of getting home if traffic was bad. But if I finish earlier than normal for school pick up, that shouldn't be as much of a problem. And @ithinkyouareveryrude makes good points about location too.

Do you have people who could pick up your DC if you got held up?

Nursery 1 100%. Your home location is less likely to change than work. A job/office move and all of a sudden you have an unnecessary huge commute which could be in the opposite direction to your a new work location!

1

Ds1 did nursery near my work he enjoyed it however when he went to school he knew nobody.
When I had dt they went to local nursery and later onto school with some children they knew.
Having done both I'd go for option 1.
Sitting in traffic after a busy day trying to keep dc1 awake till we got home was not fun, when I was ill I couldn't take dc1 to nursery as I couldn't drive if it had been walkable I'd have taken dc1 and managed to rest and keep dc1 in a routine. When dt went to nursery locally I booked the odd day off work took them to nursery and then dc1 and I went out for a few hours 1:1 time I'd have not managed it having to drive across town.

Would you worry about not seeing option 1 before DS starts? Guess that is my one big con for number 1.

@Mysterian no family that would be closer than my work unfortunately but a friend might be able to help. If DH is WFH permanently then that would solve that worry. Would help if his company just let them know!

@Schoolhouse123 thanks for your advice, the horror car journeys are definitely coming back to me now. I can remember singing nursery rhymes loudly to keep DS1 awake! Agree it's much easier sickness and days off wise too - much better to avoid unnecessary journeys.

Definitely NOT 2.

Not sure 1 is right though, keep looking? Childminder?

1 without a doubt. It would be mad to consider 2 when were in the middle of a pandemic and no-one knows when it will end.

Number 1 for sure!

We actually are sending our DD to a nursery near my dh's work atm (20mins drive) and we wish we had sent her to the one which was 10min walk instead as we had spots in both but the one near my DH's work had a better reputation. Alot of hassle getting into the car, making sure she is settled, getting out and then repeating it all on the way back! And we are still wfh so it's a bit silly driving into DH's work area when we don't even have to

you can also reconsider option 2 later or put yourself in the waiting list for a later entry in case option 1 doesn't work out? We deferred our place for the walkable one to later in the year as they allowed us to do that for free.

Close to home but if its a heafty charge per minute for being late and you think you will be id look for a childminder we do exactly the same as a nursery working to the same standards but can be more flexible and typically keep the children right through to year 6 or above. With Covid were a smaller bubble but once thats stops we can go back to working alongside others and giving all the socialisation a child needs.

Definitely number 1 !!!

@jannier there is a big charge for being late which is a worry. Hopefully if DH does continue to WFH and I adjust my hours to avoid rush hour some days then we'll be ok.

My only reservations about a childminder is sickness and holidays (being without childcare if my childminder was poorly). This feels like even more of an issue at the moment whilst self isolation is still a thing but hopefully it won't be forever!

How do people tend to find a childminder - is there somewhere you'd recommend to look or is word of mouth best?

@Knitsewthread
You can find childminders who work with others....they can have co minders or assistants as well as working in a close network. In 25 years I've had 2 weeks unplanned when my parents died but families knew it was on the cards and 3ach time children went to network childminders otherwise I've had no more than 10 days in all thoes years again parents ring my network if they need to.
My holiday dates are fixed for the year, parents cover thoese weeks either by having their family holiday and Christmas breaks at the same time or will split a week between them ....I have a week Christmas and 2 weeks summer then one week spring. They could also ask my network of minders if they needed to.
I've worked right through from lockdown 1 as have all my friends. The local nurseries have all had shutdowns at least once plus the first month of lockdown one and some more. They have more staff have to use bank staff and more children so much bigger bubbles.
As self employed we dont get sick pay so dont close for the reasons many would not go to work. If you pick someone with older children they are less likely to close becouse there own are sick .Some can isolate away from work areas (normal illness not covid) having seperate bathrooms so cr9ss infection isn't an issue.