Nursery or childminder?

[Jac1978]

Am planning to go back to work in January so need childcare for my daughter who will be ten months. I'm not looking forward to leaving her but I think that financially I need to work and if I'm honest I'm not an ideal stay at home mum type, I do miss the people I work with. I was just wondering how much childcare costs on average and which would be better for a child of that age - a nursery or childminder? I'm thInking a nursery as there will be other children and a range of adults rather than putting all my trust into just one but I don't want her to be neglected and I'm also worried that the cost of nursery care will be so much that it won't be worth me working!

My DS went to both over the course of four year. And i myself have been a nursery worker for 7. Each has good and bad points.
Nursery is slightly better for social as in there are generally more children and adults. However depending on the nursery and how good they are depends on what kind of keyworker system they will have (KW is a person who competes your child's progress file and help your child settle) some nurseries have a high staff turn over. I would suggests looking round your local nurseries, have some questions ready that are important to you ie, the meals they serve, outings they have, nap times (although now there should be no set nap time at your DC's age, should be as and when she sleeps). As you go around you will get a feeling about the staff. If they seem like they are being fake ( in my opinion they prob are being).
Childminders have less children but your DC can still learn lots of social development. And CM wont have the staff turn over. My DS's CM was able to take him on more outings and it do activities he was interested in. But again l would visit local CM and see how you feel.
Money wise it can very. CM can be more flexible as some still charge by the hour. Nurseries charge by sessions (morning, afternoon, or all day) so it depends on your working day as to what might be best for you.
I hope this helps in some way, i feel i might have gone off track
Feel free to ask any questions i might have
Missed.

It really is a very personal choice. For us, the flexibility of a CM, plus the one on one attention when the older children were at school, the actual doing of the school run, the mix of ages, the fact she has a dairy allergy which means I literally cannot afford for her info not to be communicated properly, being with older kids and so less likely to have cross-contamination of foodstuffs, were massive factors for me.

For me, and it was very personal as the allergies run in the family, so I'm also really nervous and reluctant to send DD to school when the time comes, even though things have changed dramatically in the last 25years, it was better to trust one person and deal with the odd sick day than the chance of much more sick days and total lack of sleep dealing with DD reacting yet again because a keyworker wasn't watching when the child smeared in butter/ice cream/cream/cake/biscuit/ham/chicken etc., etc., gave DD some by accident just wasn't worth considering tbh.

H works flexibly and our CM only charges us fir the hours we use. For me it just doesn't seem right to divide kids by age, and she's involved in everyday life, going shopping, different groups, just like she would at home. For me, and just for me, everyone is different and there's no right choice, it was about providing DD with an environment as similar to that she has at home as possible.

That's what education is about for me, when I'm thinking about an 18m old. She has a caring adult, two older 'sisters', 'cousins' as in other age-mates who come to visit (my CMs older childrens children) and a menu that takes into account her dietary needs, with as much margin for error as she has at home.

I'm not looking to debate, or even to influence your decision really, just explain why I reached the decision I did.

I have read a lot about this recently as I'm in exactly the same boat. At 10 months your baby needs to put all their trust in one person, a range of adults is not best for them. That's why nurseries evolved the key worker system so your child has some continuity of care/monitoring but as mentioned staff turnover/illness can mean that there is little consistency for your LO. I have visited many nurseries as part of my job and I am always slightly depressed by the 'baby room/area' - when a baby can't walk they really struggle to access the activities without 1:1. Having done the research (usually in the middle of the night) at about the age of 2 or over part time day nurseries are then best setting for your child for all the reasons you mentioned (range of adults/children) but until then you should aim to get as close to 1:1 care as you can. A childminder comes closer to this (obv nanny at home is closest but bloody expensive). In terms of cost the way I look at it us that I will earn almost nothing after I've paid for the childminder but what I am doing is preserving my career and sanity. Good luck making a decision.

I went back to work p/t when DS was 5.5mo. I chose a CM for lots of reasons, however, the two big things for me were the continuity of care and the fact that he can go out and about on a daily basis with his CM. I could never really get my head round the idea of him just seeing the same 4 walls the whole time I was at work.

DS goes on the school run, to the park, to the shops, to toddler groups, different soft play places, the library etc on a daily basis. Basiacally all the things I would do with him if I was at home. I prefer that. I also prefer him to be with one adult and love the fact that he has a really great bond with her. I'm sure DS just thinks his CM is another member of his family.

That said, I will be sending DS to a nursery school when he is 3 so he can get used to a busier environment and joining in with routines before he goes to school.

I'm a big fan of a good childminder.

The CM who looks after my girls is not cheap, in fact it's a couple where the wife was a nanny before she started working for herself.

Having my children looked after in a family home with children of varying ages and two adults who are parents themselves is something I really appreciate.

There's plenty of social activity of a kind that is less institutional.

One of the things that's really nice and was unexpected for me, is that going out (to the shops, toddler groups etc) and about means they are very much a part if our local community and they know people/people know them despite having two FT working parents.

10 month olds don't socialise with other 10 month olds, but they can get a lot out of having older children play with them.

DD1 (4) has benefitted from both ends of this. As a baby and toddler she had older "friends" who she had fun with. Now she believes herself utter indispensable to the CM and the little ones :o There's a baby there who started at 9 months and she and DD1 are crazy about each other. It's really sweet :)

The drawback is, as you say, that you have to place a lot of trust in someone you don't know. But if you seek out recommendations, that can help get over the initial worry.

Ultimately I prefer to trust a person than an institution, and over time you build up a very comfortable familiarity with a childminder.

I get the local community aspect too Thing. People stop and talk to DS at the weekends who clearly see him regularly but I don't know from Adam. He definitely has a better social life than I do!

It's lovely, isn't it, EBD?

I've also met parents of children I know in the same way. It's kind of weird when you "know" a 2 year old, but not their parent :o

Thank your comments have all been really helpful and given me things to consider that I hadn't thought of!

I went back to work FT when my DS was about the same age and chose a CM for the one to one care. I think consistency benefits babies and they've built up a lovely bond (which occasionally makes me a bit ) We chose our CM based on the care we knew she had provided to my DSDs when they were little and we pay rock bottom prices (on the whole CMs are less expensive than nurseries). He goes 37 hours per week and it costs £440 a month. She cares for several children, two of which are close to my DS in age, so he's definitely benefiting socially, yet he's not overwhelmed by lots of children and gets a lot of one to one attention. Luckily she's also extremely reliable and has only been ill for one day since he's been going to hers (he's now 18mo). I personally think that CM are a good choice for small babies but toddlers probably benefit more from nursery.

I think you need to look into what's near you, the childminders I met locally I wouldn't trust to look after DS for us nursery was much better.

People have mentioned the consistency with a childminder which is undoubtedly good, but also raises issues if the childminder is ill or can't work for another reason. If a key worker is off at a nursery at least they are still able to go and be with adults who are familiar.

There are pros and cons of both that's for sure.

CM all the way for me. The one to one care and home setting are far preferable IMO for a 10 mo than nursery. Both my DC went to excellent CM's and were really part of the family.

btw a good CM will always put her mindees first and if she is ill find alternative care for them.

Yes Funny the family setting is lovely. My CM has a grown up son and daughter, both of whom have become very fond of DS and love to entertain him. If they're cooking their dinner in the evening when we arrive i invariably find one of them carrying DS around the kitchen letting him try some of the ingredients. Her DH makes a big fuss of him too.

oh and the other thing that put me off nurseries was seeing those trailers of children being carted around the town by bored looking teenagers. OK once the child is about 3 or so, but really not OK for a baby who can't really sit up properly.

matana your CM sounds lovely.

DS2 also gets to do the school run and collect his brother from school, something which I can't do for him as I work FT.

It really is a personal decision, and will depend on who has spaces in your area. I have to say though, I chose CMs for all the reasons above. To my mind, it's much more of a 'natural' home from home environment, out and about every day, doing 'normal' things you would be doing if they were home with you. I too visit Nurseries and, despite there being some lovely staff working in there, I find the idea of a baby sitting in "the baby room" for up to 10 hours a day (tbh, even for half that time) to be a very depressing thought. CMs have much more flexibility about what they do in a day.
When mine were tiny, I used to love the fact that when the older children came home from school, they would play with the babies, and there was almost an 'extended family' of people who loved my dcs. As mine became the 'older children' I realise how much they love the babies and toddlers being there when they get in from school.
Agree about the fees - CMs tend to charge by the hour, whereas Nurseries charge by the session on the whole, and also about the flexibility. I've had CMs who brough ds home to me when he'd gone there for a few hours after I had dd, to save me coming out (I think she also wanted a cwtch of the new baby ), she took him for the time he had chicken pox - as, after all, all the other dcs she looked after had just had it, and their parents were all cool about it, realising he'd probably picked it up from their dcs in the first place. My last CM (this will seem a long way off to you, but there's a lot of parents of current Yr6s who know what I'm saying) let him walk home to her house for the first few weeks of term in Yr7, just as a transition thing, so everything didn't change at once when he went to secondary. One CM took him to his developmental check at HV for me. Once at school, they are more likely to be able to pick up at different times (after school clubs, etc.). All sorts of stuff Nurseries aren't able to accomodate.

Hello! I've recently gone back to work and our 8 month old is at a childminders. Before he went, the primary reason we chose a CM over a nursery is because I will know exactly who is looking after him and he gets to go out and about in the day. He goes on the school runs in the morning and afternoon, to the shops and the park most days and to a childminders group or soft play.

After him being there for a few weeks I also realise I like the fact there are older children sometimes there, it is definitely more like a family setting, and not just in a room of babies!