Nursery or childminder?

[Isitwinteryet]

Just that really? Which did you go for and what swayed your decision?

Currently not sure which to go for!

I have used both
Childminder pros
More personal
Lower amount of children
Possibly more flexible
Childminder cons
No cover if they sick/ holiday

Nursery pros
No worries about holidays or sickness
Nursery cons
Not a flexible
More children
Not as personal

I think it depends on the child when I used a childminder my dc then preferred a quieter more one on one setting bower with my youngest dd she thrives on the hustle and bustle of nursery and all the children to play with. However she is a little whirlwind in herself.

I have used both and found a childminder much better for my family.
Childminder has fewer child ratio.
Mine has a network of other childminders so they will cover her holidays if we need it.
I can drop off earlier or collect later if I give a days notice.
Fees are less.
One of my children is a very fussy eater and is always catered for.
The children are treated like a member of her family and it is very obvious to me how much the children adore her.

Aw thanks for your replies. I think I'm heading the way of a childminder really. Need to have a look around a few!

CMer for me. Just much closer to a home environment. Meant they weren't stuck in one room all day. I used several CMers over the years and all took the dc out and about each day. I now (through work) go into an awful lot of Nurseries who have outside space, but don't go anywhere else.

With babies, rather than pre-schoolers, the time outside is often quite limited.
Re the no sickness cover, IME Nurseries (understandably) have to have quite rigid policies on children not being allowed in for various ailments, whereas CMer can be more flexible - depending on what other children they have that day. Over the 10 yrs I used CMers for pre-schoolers (and then further 7 years for out of school care) I only ever had one occasion when I didn't have childcare. Employees are much more likely to call in sick than a self employed person IME.

I think it depends on age a bit. A lot of older children thrive at Nursery. For me, I was much more comfortable with a CMer for babies.

Thank you, she'll only be 1 when I send her so still tiny!