A happy nursery story!

[angel1976]

Hi all,

So many unhappy nursery stories lately so I am going to start a happy one! My DS started going to nursery 4 days a week starting 6 weeks ago. Initially, he was quite unsettled as he is at the classic age of separation anxiety (just turned 1). But once he settled in, oh my goodness, he just loves it!

Today, he did his first painting ever and it was a Picasso-in-the-making (no, not quite but you know what I mean!). He does water play (he loves it), cornflour play or sand play pretty much daily. So he does messy fun things there that he would not get to do at home. Because his nursery is attached to a primary school (in Greenwich borough), they have the healthy eating initiative and he gets the best food there. Yesterday, he had roast turkey, potato, broccoli, cauliflower followed by fruit and fresh cream for lunch. He then had veg ravioli and yoghurt for dinner. He gets fresh fruit for snacks. He basically eats better than DH and I and actually, probably better than when he is at home. And he actually eats and eats in the nursery while at home, he has no patience to sit in his high chair.

His key worker and the lady who runs the baby room love him to bits and always make a big fuss over him. He got a lovely big home-made birthday card recently for his first birthday. Next Friday, they are letting the kids wear PJs (and so will the staff!) to nursery for a donation of £1 for Red Nose Day and even I am looking forward to that! LOL! They have a lovely outdoor space and a very calm sleep room. Ok, DS still doesn't sleep as long as I would like him to for his nap but I ain't complaining as he sleeps a lot better at night now since he started nursery and knackers himself out! They will hug, cuddle and rock him to sleep. Everytime I go pick him up, even if they are unaware of me being there, he is always sitting on the lap of his favourite nursery staff playing pat-a-cake or something similar. Once he gets a cuddle from mummy, he wants to get down to play again. All the parents who have kids in the nursery love it.

They don't seem bothered about money and have only billed me recently as I kept nagging them to do so! Just found out I am pregnant again but DH and I have already talked about letting him stay in nursery for at least 2 days a week even when I am off on maternity as he seems to enjoy it so much. I love DS's nursery!

Ax

That is a lovely positive story.

Angel, great post!

Can I just add, I love DSs nursery, too! I think they do an amazing job and he loves it.

I too have a lovely nursery, or rather DS does. They go out in their little garden every day, even if just for ten minutes. All their food is homemade, and very tasty it is too (I tried some at the open day). All rooms have huge windows, so the children can be nosey and parents can have a sneaky peek. I too have often spied him having a cuddle from a member of staff, and once, a big smacker on the cheek. And when he's two, in a couple of months, he gets to eat in the main dining hall, on a mini-chair, at a mini-table, with a mini-tablecloth, and chatter with his friends. So can we have a little break from the nursery scare stories please?

Oh these are such lovely stories and I am very !! DD not in nursery yet but we are looking and haven't seen anything locally that sounds as good as yours. It must make you feel so much better I am really dreading this whole experience, thank you so much for posting, more please!

Caz10 - Don't get disheartened... I looked at 4 nurseries and I think the nursery DS goes to now was the 3rd or 4th I looked at. The first two I looked at were horrible private nurseries that I felt was only interested in getting me to pay the registration fee and they had very young staff (DS's nursery has a mixture but it's mostly women in the 30s/40s/50s). Initially, the nursery could only offer me 4 days and I had to look for another 2 days of childcare and had a very highly regarded local CM lined up. They turned round in the last minute to offer me 2 more days and I was in such a dilemma and in the end, I forfeited the deposit I already paid to the CM to secure his place (£480 ) so he could go to the nursery all the time as I felt it would be easier for him. But I was so unsure about my decision then... But am so glad now that we decided to do so... It wasn't without trial and tribulation before we hit the nursery jackpot!

Great post - totally what was needed after all the anti-nursery stories recently.

DS LOVES his nursery and has loads of fun there. He gets on well with all the staff and absolutely adores two of them who adore him back. Plenty of cuddles and creative play.

He does lots of art, lots of messy play (which he doesn't get the chance to do at home), lots of music and DH and I have no qualms at all about leaving him there. He started at age one and is now 2.2.

Oh and whenever a child has a birthday the cook makes them a cake and they get to wear the birthday hat (with felt candles) and everyone sings happy birthday.

My PFB DS started nursery part-time in January when I went back to work. We don't have family who can look after him, we can't afford a nanny and I have to go back to work to pay the mortgage. Even if we could financially manage my career requires a long period of unpaid and hard to get retraining if you take a career break for more than 2 years so if I stopped work that would probably be the end of it. FWIW I'm a doctor and I do wonder if the anti-nursery brigade would be happy never having access to a female GP because they are all at home with their children.

Anyway, I digress

DS absolutely loves nursery. He cried for the first few weeks when I left him but now goes happily to the nursery carers who he knows well. He eats, sleeps and plays well there and I have the photos to prove it. He is a shy and cautious little sole usually and doesn't take easily to strangers so when he is laughing and hugging the staff there I know he is happy. He always ends the day messy but clean and usually has at least one set of clothes covered in food so I can see they are letting him feed himself like I do at home (messier and slower but he likes it and benefits from the opportunity to learn).

He's been ill a few times since we started and they have looked after him so well I haven't felt a need to rush and can finish seeing the patients booked for that morning. When I arrive at any time he is being cuddled or played with and his confidence has increased so much since he started. It is a private nursery but lovely, the owner is there most days and most of the girls have been there for a long time.

Nursery has been really positive for us and I'm much happier than I would have been with him at a CM (but that is my personal preference). We will probably have to pull him out if I get pregnant again in the future as we couldn't afford to keep him there while I was on maternity leave but if I could afford it I would keep him there for a few sessions a week like the OP.

I love our nursery too. Dd3 is very happy there. I've frequently 'sneaked up' on her at home time and can see how absorbed and content she is. They have a great outside space with lots of slides and bikes and a good mix of staff ages. There has been no turnover of staff in the 11 months we've been going. They do lots of messy stuff, have an inside play room with soft play stuff as well and are all round brilliant!

dd's nursery is fab too. her key worker is just adorable, and a granny herself. dd only goes 3 afternoons a week, but she asks to go every day. again, there is a nice mix of ages in the staff. many have been on maternity leave themselves then come back and have their own children there, always a good sign.

they're always doing themed weeks or having open days and what not. loads going on. next week is comic relief so they're doing PJ day on monday, opposites day tuesday (clothes back to front) and a mr men and little miss day on the friday (the author is from our town!)

i also love it when i see their food delivery arriving from asda and silly as it sounds they have heinz beans not value beans and branded bread not that long life cheapo stuff. all good!

Wow, so great to hear all these great stories! I thought I can't be the only one who is so pleased with DS's nursery. Since DS has started going to nursery as well (since he doesn't do long sleeps there but I hope it will come with time), he has started doing long naps at home, which is so fabulous! He's been sleeping 1.5-2 hours for his afternoon nap, which he has not done for months with 'encouragement'. He now just goes out like a light for his nap. Wonderful!

My DCs' nursery is fab -- had a bit of a wobble recently when we had a communication breakdown over DD's settling-in sessions but that was soon sorted and is the only issue I've had in 3.5 years.

They have a big garden with chickens and rabbits where they go every day and spend much of the day in the summer, do lots of fun messy play, have a good range of staff, very few of whom are particularly young (and several of whom are grandmothers) and all of whom are qualified bar a couple who are studying for a qualification.

DS doesn't want to come home in the evenings; DD cries a little when dropped off but only until she sees her breakfast, and is as happy as Larry all day long. And there's a lovely close-knit group of friends with whom DS has been the whole way through nursery, several of whom are going to the same school as him in September.

THANK YOU everyone! - my dd (pfb ) starts nursery in a couple of months (2 full days - dh and i are lucky enough to be able to look after her a day each and one relative will take her on the third day)
I was getting really scared at all the negative threads - as dd will only be 8 months when she starts and I have no choice but to go back to work full time.
I'm sure she will love it just as much as your lo's do.
I chose carefully - friendly caring staff, lovely garden, walks everyday to park, home - made food, fruit as snacks,lots of fun messy activities and all the kids were happy and confident (i have visited 4 times without warning).
phew! i feel better/more confident about my choice now.
cheers ladies

Our DD1 is another that gets to stay in nursery for a couple of days a week, even though mummy is on maternity leave. She has loads of friends at nursery, loves her carers and has a fab time. We have now got over her refusing to leave at the end of the day, but it took a while

What a great thread angel!

My ds's nursery is also wonderful. The staff are friendly and obviously care about the children. The meals are healthy and the outdoor area is huge, with another private park behind it that the children can run around in.
As it is owned by my workplace it is also heavily subsidised.

All the anti-nursery threads on here atm have been making me feel quite angry, yes there are some bad ones out there, but they are not all like that!

my 20 month old boy attends nursery full time and loves it (FT since 13mths part time from 9 mths)
he runs in and sits at the table for breakfast! he is a very happy and confident little boy.
Like others have said they do some much! playing outside a lot, painting, sticking, messy play with water sand etc. stories, singing, dancing even "cooking" (came home with a fruit salad for mummy the other day (fruit threaded onto a wooden stick)and also a vaguely heart shaped biscuit type thing on valentines!)
had a sticker last week for sitting quietly during story time!?
they must do similar thing re birthdays as he was singing happy birthday in the bath the other night!
They also have animals there and often go to the park to feed ducks.
also he sleeps for 2 hours there at lunchtime generally (hes up early and bed late so ive said to let him sleep as long as he wants)
hes also got a few allergies and the staff are excellent in dealing with this. they also apply cream for his eczema regularly as requested.
he eats sooo much better at nursery than at home. all home cooked healthy food and he enjoys sitting at the table with all his little friends. he drinks from a normal cup there too.
ive been very happy with my choice of nursery.
if i won the lottery and didnt have to work im sure he would be disappointed to leave nursery!!

I agree - and threads making those of us that use (or have used nurseries) out to be Bad Parents... Anyway, ds went pt to nursery from 6mo and loved it - to the extent that later on he would sometimes have a strop at coming home time and we'd have to manhandle out rigid son who was screaming to stay there . It was the third nursery I visited, and it just had the right 'feel' about it. Even the babies were taken out for walks - in triple buggies! and when it was quiet last summer, ds went to the library on the bus as an outing. Washable nappies - no problem. No cows milk - no problem.... (luckily for us, he is back on this with no problems now).

Thanks Angel for starting this thread!

angel which nursery is this? ds will be going to a nursery near work, as we couldn't find any close enough to home in greenwich which had space. I'd be interested to know about your nursery so we can put our names down for the wait list !

workingmom2000 - DS is in a nursery in the Plumstead/Woolwich area. Not sure if it is any good for you (Greenwich Borough is massive!). If it is, let me know and I will give you my email address so you can email me. Not sure if I want to put DS's nursery out there in the public domain! Hope that's okay. The good thing about DS's nursery is that because it is run by the council, it only takes families from a certain postcode, which means if people move out of the area, their child can't stay in the nursery so places do come up despite the long waiting list!

Yeah a nice nursery thread! I'm a nursery manager and my own precious DS starts tomorrow, having a settling in today. Very different being on the other side of the fence but my girls have made me feel so at ease, telling me yesterday what he liked palying with - which is similar to something at home so i know its true!

Thanks OP for making us mummy's feel better!

My DS (14 months) loves his nursery too! With the water play, sensory room etc...

I also sneak up on him when I go to pick him up and he is always happily pulling toys out of a box or clambering over one of his ladies! Speaking of which, they must be doing something right as he blows them kisses when we leave!

angel thanks ! yes it doesn't work for us as we live in greenwich itself. We happen to lie just outside the catchment area for a v. good council run nursery and the private ones are either not v. good or have a long waiting list !

angel thanks ! yes it doesn't work for us as we live in greenwich itself. We happen to lie just outside the catchment area for a v. good council run nursery and the private ones are either not v. good or have a long waiting list !

Workingmom2000
Have you tried Quaggy Nursery [Orchard Hill (at the end of Morden Street)Greenwich, SE13 7QZ, Tel: 020 8 465 9785] It's Council run. Don't be put off by where it is. Inside it's spacious with plenty of outdoor safe play space. Lots of different activities that are changed daily, yummy food, very well run by the management and most importantly filled with staff that seem to love their jobs and really really care for the kids. High praise from a super fussy mum! Spaces are limited for under twos especially, but keep talking to Jane regularly and you may eventually get a space!

Acqua's suggestion is a good one cos there is 2 Quaggys - one in Greenwich and the other one is down the road from us. I saw the one down the road from us as I have heard great stuff about it and it would have been our second choice. The real edge that DS's current nursery has over the Quaggy one was that the Quaggy one had no separate sleep area and that was crucial for us. But am not sure about the one in Greenwich (or whether that's important to you!). Most of the mums I know who live in the area either send their DCs to DS's nursery or the Quaggy one... Hope you found something good anyway!