Nursery only 1 day a week?

[Emmiejenkins]

Hiya,
My son is nearly 2 and has been going to a childminder two days a week since the age of 1. We've now decided to out him in nursery as well, as I need to work more.

The thing is: I don't want to send him for two days a week (meaning he will be in someone else's care for 4 days overall).

The nursery staff and everything I've read says you have to send them for a minimum of 2 days, yet I met a mum the other day who said her kid is fine with only 1 day a week.

My son is very confident and independent and seems quite happy whoever he's with.

Do you think it would be cruel to cut down nursery to just 1 day? Anyone else doing this?

Em

I have never heard of a 2 day minimum rule. My children do one day at nursery and 1 day at the childminder. They seem happy with it!

I would check and find out if any nurseries would take a two year old for one day.

Most nurseries it’s 2 sessions so that could be the morning and the afternoon of one day

My son is very confident and independent and seems quite happy whoever he's with.

Focus on this. You not wanting him in daycare 4 days is, kindly, a you thing. Your kid will be fine, and more settled 2 days rather than just 1.

i think settling would be easier with going in 2 days, otherwise a week gap is a long gap for a child! Check with the nursery though, ours prioritises kids who will go in for 2 days or more.

He would be more settled doing 2 days rather than one visit a week, would you consider moving to 3 days at nursery and dropping the childminder?

Could you do two mornings? And then childminder picks him up? Or something. It probably won’t work, but in case it does!

1 day isn't going to get the best out of nursery. Its about socialising and practicing being in a sort of educational environment.

OP it would be better to see if either the CM could pick him up from half day sessions, as the others have suggested, or see if the CM could have him for an extra day rather than put him in another setting for just one full day per week.

Then when he's 3 years old if nursery has spaces and is open long enough swap completely to nursery.

I personally think any less than 3 sessions a week is a waste of money as kids that age will forget everything by the following week. I.5 days split into 3 sessions would help settle him better

Why don't you want him in someone else's care four days? If you need to work you need to work.

Why do you want him to go to nursery for one day? If it’s additional childcare can’t the childminder take him? If it’s for socialising and building relationships then one day a week isn’t enough. The childminder should be doing every thing a nursery does.

My dd, 2 this month, does one day, no issues (started 4 weeks ago) Might up to two days at 3 years old.

We live in a crazy world if a mother is told of for wanting to have a child in childcare 3 days instead of 4.
You do you OP, your child will be absolutely fine with 1 day at nursery rather than 2

If you need 3 days childcare then I would ideally do 3 mornings at preschool/nursery and afternoons with the childminder. Would be a nice little routine, settling shouldn’t be too hard and when he’s a bit older be good prep for school. I’ve had 2 kids at 4 different nurseries/preschools (5 if you count one abroad) and toured even more and I’ve never comes across a setting allowing 1 day, which makes sense to me as it’s going to be really hard for them to settle and make friends when they go so infrequently.

Can your childminder take him the extra day? That would be the best solution at this stage. Children under three don’t need socialising in the way over threes do.

As a childminder picking up from nursery I'd be charging the morning as I can't fill the space and provide exactly the same service

My nursery is 3 sessions minimum - so that’s 1.5 days or 3 half days

Have you actually found a nursery willing to do 1 day a week?

For every child on the books, there is paperwork and funding claims and EYFS folders etc etc. This - as well as the settling point- is why nurseries might set a minimum number of days or sessions.

The ideal for the nursery would probably be all 5 day a week children who stay from minimum age to maximum age, for surety of income. That rarely happens, of course, but they definitely don’t want entirely different children every day!

Wow. Thanks so much to everyone for their responses. So much to think about. I think after reading all of this and having a proper think, I do feel comfortable dropping down to 1 day a week at the nursery - so I'll just check in with them if it's possible. I'm also lined up to see another local childminder so might move him to be with her instead.

Thanks all ❤