Are all nurseries a bit grubby?

[BluPeony]

I have viewed 3 so far and they're all grubby to some degree.

Is this normal or is it just my area? Should I look further afield?

We're about to send our first child to nursery in case that wasn't blindingly obvious 🫠

We had the opposite from previous posters, initially at a childminder and swapped to a nursery and by far my child loves the nursery more! The nursery isn't grubby or dirty but I would say by the end of the day it's clear the cleaner hasn't been around yet! They do absolutely tons of messy play though so it's understandable.

Edited to add - we looked at 2 nurseries, the first just didn't feel right and the second I just felt so comfortable in and my LO settled so quickly! Nursery's take a lot of flack but some ate fabulous, you just have to keep looking and at the end of the day, you know your child best and know what environment they will thrive in!

I felt the same OP. All the ones I looked at seemed a bit run down, needing a fresh lick of paint, a hoover etc. When I found the right one for my DC, that didn't matter.

Yeah they are disgusting. I have dine supply in many many nurseries and they all smell, have dirty floors and surfaces and the bathrooms are rotten. I hated sitting or kneeling and always seemed to put my hand on something cold and wet when I did. Some had cleaners but seemed to just surface clean. Some of these places needed a massive deep clean and disinfect at least once a month and it never happened. At many kids were crusty and grubby too. Childminder with a nice clean home is the better option.

Our nursery was immaculate. DD always came home covered in paint though

Visit at different times of the day, first thing in the morning you'd expect it to be clean and tidy. Middle of the day after lunch, snack and messy play not so much.

If it's constantly grubby and dirty that's different. Also being a tired and worn but not dirty is okay too, as long as the kids are happy and it's safe.

Ours is a bit grubby. I think they all are tbh. Ours doesn't have a cleaner- the nursery staff are expected to clean at the end of the day. They hoover, mop etc but obviously aren't doing a deep clean.

Your baby will get far better, more personalised + devoted care with a childminder than at a busy nursery. Surely your emotions should be focused on what is best for your child?

I used a CM for both my DS's. Best care by far!

Not in my experience. Despite sometimes delivering back children covered head to toe in mud or paint from messy play, ours kept the facility in order.

Most nurseries are grubby to some extent , but I don't like the sound of the mud garden!

I'd do what's best for your baby and not what's easiest for you. You might feel a bit upset about sending your baby to someone else's house when you'd rather be home, but that's no reason to deny your child the comfort of a home from home setting (particularly if all the nurseries are grubby!).

I'm working in a nursery at the moment and the carpet is hoovered daily but never looks properly clean - sand and playdough are a nightmare to get out of carpet but we try our best.
Our garden also looks a bit like a mud pit, especially after it's rained, because the children use it, they run around, ride bikes, splash in puddles. They have a lot of fun and are not bothered in the slightest that it's not a pristine lawn. We have a supply of wellies and puddlesuits so they stay fairly clean and dry.
The walls and windowsills sounds like a decorative issue not a cleaning issue - a lot of nurseries are really struggling to stay afloat financially at the moment so painting might not be a priority.
I wouldn't rule out the nursery for these issues if everything else is good - staff, toys, food etc

Your child will have their emotional needs met more consistently by a childminder. I'm baffled as to why you think a nursery would be better. I have worked in education for nearly 15 years and there is no way I would send a baby to a nursery for the first few years of their life. When they're at preschool age, it's very different. Leaving a baby in nursery with young, underpaid and inexperienced staff is far worse for your child's emotional needs in my opinion.

Really not surprising that so many children are constantly sick in nurseries. Every time I visited one I saw at least 1-2 snotty kids with snot running down both nostrils.

I have a strong preference towards CM and my DC loved theirs. And they weren’t constantly sick either.

Frankly I think that’s weird. Why has he food stains on his coat? My DC all went to childminders and never came home covered in food and paint.

A dirty child is a happy child as the saying goes.

Not in my experience. I wouldn’t be impressed with a grubby nursery either.

and a clean child is unhappy? What nonsense

@SuuzeeeQ No, that's not what it means.

Very well known saying in NI.

There’s a difference between dirty and tired/worn. We had our nursery painted not long ago and the wear and tear from lots of little people already shows!

Looking well used is normal but dirty in the sense of filthy resources isn’t. Children are grubby. They get paint/pen/playdough/sand etc everywhere. Mud on the floors from outdoor play (you always get someone run in even if they are meant to take shoes off first). If food is eaten in the Main rooms then this is additional mess - sticky hands etc. Also children put things in their mouths, sneeze on things etc.

No sorry, no food stains on the coat, just paint. They do have art activities in the garden when the weather is nice so it’s not much of a mystery, just an inconvenience to me

Honestly, I do think this is a case of you get what you pay for. All the nurseries I’ve viewed have been spotless but they’ve all been priced at the higher end.

I do think some find it hard thinking baby will love that person, get mixed up etc....if that's the reason I can reassure you that absolutely does not happen once you find someone who matches with you we can be a big support and you can relax. Have you tried visiting any?

If the kids get muddy then yeah the inside will get muddy too. They don't deep clean every night but should be giving the floors a good clean

My 2 year old goes to a forest nursery and their inside space is the cleanest of any nursery we visited! And if anything I expected it to be a bit muckier day to day, but it never is

We visited one that was grubby with a layer of grime almost everywhere, it reminded me of a nightclub with a sticky floor! 🤢

Having worked in nurseries (and primary schools) - yes, all nurseries are grubby and unhygienic. Schools are worse.

Nurseries generally have no or very minimal cleaning staff as owners want to save money. Childcare staff usually have to clean as best they can during nursery hours while the kids are there so it is a surface wipe and a hoover.
Toys are very rarely cleaned unless there is an outbreak of something!

Working in a nursery I would antibac my hands a lot, not touch my face during the day and wash my hands and change clothes the second I got home