Better to have three consecutive days in nursery or break in between?

[Rosegoldeneagle]

I am shortly going back to work after 12 months on maternity leave and I am wondering whether to ask for Monday and Tuesday off then children in nursery Wednesday to Friday, or Tuesdays and Thursdays off and a ‘break’ in between. Interested in opinions

I would say run of days is better for you and baby, you can get stuck into work, and baby will have the routine.

I’d ask nursery! My son does 3 consecutive days currently (but is much older); when he started he did 3 then 4 consecutive days. A break feels appealing to my adult brain but our childminders have often said having a solid block helps them understand more what’s happening / get into a pattern. But him only going 1 then 2 days without a nursery day might help him not ‘forget’ vs 4 days away with 3 consecutive days. Both have benefits and he will settle on both, just depends on his personality!

Thanks

I have a three and a half year old who is currently at the nursery but has only been doing two days while I’ve been on maternity leave. He’s been doing Wednesdays and Fridays but I’ll obviously have to increase that soon 😭

I've worked 3 days a week since I returned to work after DC1 (who is now 7) and still doing it while DC2 is at preschool.

Personally I like to have 2+1 days. It means I get a 3 day weekend every weekend, and only 2 days in a row at work before a day off. It also means I'm only ever out of the office for 1 working day.

Whatever you choose I would advise not working on Mondays. Because most bank holidays fall on a Monday, you will end up with extra leave to use when you like.

IMO Tue, Wed & Fri would be the best working pattern, although I see why people would choose Tue-Thu.

Your little one will be fine whichever option you go for.

To be honest - I would do whatever feels best for you. Three days consecutively may be better, due to little one knowing that they're there for X amount of days and less issues with getting them in to nursery.

I think it's best not to 3 days together as it's quite long days for a little one. However, they will get used to it.

When my eldest was first at nursery at 10 months I did Mon, wed, Fri, this was the pattern my work wanted me to do. It was actually great for little one as she was never away from me for more than a day. It also helped when she was ill. So if she was ill for 3 days sometimes it meant I only needed one day off work.

I then changed days again when I had second child and I had 2 days off in the middle of the week. I enjoyed having the 2 days off together but it was trickier for work. Sometimes I had to logon in the evening to enable me to meet deadlines. I changed again and now off a Monday to get all the extra bank hols allocation. Then in Tuesday off Wednesday and in Thursday and Friday. This actually works well from work perspective and I love having a Monday off!

I think that when they are little having a break can work really well, especially if they are ill as less likely to miss all days of work/nursery that week.

I don’t have leave unfortunately - I am a teacher!

It’s interesting a lot are advocating the Monday, Wednesday, Friday in nursery approach which would actually be nice in terms of activities available. But Mondays and Tuesdays would be fine too.

I like the break. I find my DC were/are often exhausted after a run of days and so my first day at home with them is spent dealing with emotional meltdowns and overtiredness. But if we have a break in the middle then all the days I spent with them are better.

I've done the full range now I think, had DC in every day except a Tuesday, then in M, W, Th and home the other days, in on a M, W, F and home the other days. For me the breaks are preferable, also means I set up a load of stuff at work, then leave for a day where people respond and the next day I'm back in and can finish everything off. My fave routine so far was working M, off Tuesday, work W&TH and off Friday. That meant I had some consecutive days to get stuff done, the kids weren't overtired gremlins on our days together, I got a long weekend with the Friday off but got a child free day on the Monday (which was often welcome after busy weekends!)

So perhaps something like that might suit as a middle ground?

We always did Monday, Wednesday, Friday and it worked well for me and for all three kids.

Interesting. I'd hate to work MWF. Just goes to show we're all different!

I don't think it matters much, in that they'll be fine either way. We initially started our son at nursery Monday and Friday. He never had any issues with it and settled in just fine. He now goes Monday-Wednesday and again, he's fine with it. By Wednesday he's clearly a bit more tired and grumpy when he gets home but nothing major.

I think as he's got older, being there three days in a row has been more beneficial for making friends and getting in a routine. It also gives us a four day stretch for potty training without interruption. But when he was tiny, the two spaced out days were nice as he was never overwhelmed or super tired.

Split days are fine. We did mon Wed Thurs, but then changed to Mon Tues Wed later. Both were fine!

I wouldn’t want Mon Wed Fri - I’d prefer a 3 day weekend. I went to stay with my parents or they stayed with me, so a long weekend was great.

I do Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday work for me and nursery for DD. I've found when she's out of nursery for a longer run of days for whatever reason, it's a struggle to get back to it so I'd say break the days up rather than 3 in a row.

Also if DC doesn't nap very well at nursery, at least they don't have 3 days of rubbish naps in a row.

I was going to say get a 4 day weekend for trips away... but if your elder child will ve at school that is a moot point!

Are there any activities you would like to do on your days off? My friend chose Wednesdays off to coincide with toddler gymnastics.

My DD is 2 and does 3 consecutive days, I just feel it’s easier for her to understand, on Wednesday we say see you next week to her nursery teachers. She knows that her big sister doesn’t have school on the weekend etc. I try and get all my boring jobs, like the food shop during the start of the week so by Thursday I have time to spend time with her.

What hours will your child be doing 7-6 is very different to 8-4, for example.

I work in a nursery.

I would say do a pattern which has a day inbetween.

Some children don’t sleep well in nursery or are really tired after nursery - it gives them a day to recover.
It isn’t long enough they’ll forget - where as 4 days off is a while for children if they are unsettled.
If your little one vomits or has diarrhoea at nursery on a Monday and they do M, Tu, W, they’ll need to be off nursery all week. For bugs/illness, spread it out and they have time to recover

More like 8-4, although probably around 745-415 but that’s approximate.

Thanks @DianeJl

I find consecutive days works better for us. Also I'd definitely want a Monday off - most bank holidays are Mondays and round here all the nurseries still charge for them whilst they are closed. Its always the least popular day at the nurseries for that reason. My DC2 goes Tues-Thurs atm which is their most popular 3 day booking pattern. In fact some nurseries locally don't let you do that at all and insist one day must be a Monday or Friday when part-time so they can fill those spaces.

I much prefer working consecutive days too. Find it easier to switch on/off work mode doing it in a block.

However, PP above made a good point I hadn't considered before around illness especially things with exclusion periods!

As others have said, avoid Monday if you can. You’ll be paying for all those bank holidays and cannot use them!