Nursery - term time or all year?

[BatBoo]

DD2 will be going to nursery one or two days a week when I return to work later this year. As DD1 is now at school and we have the holidays to consider, does it make sense to send DD2 term time only? I'm just thinking if me/DH/my parents are looking after my eldest, might as well have the baby too. Is this what other parents with school age children and babies do?

I would do year round if you can affordit as it would give you some 1-1 time with your oldest,

Plus dd finds it much harder to settle after even a 2 week break

What do your parents think? Are they happy to be looking after both children or would they be happier only having your older child? For you and baby’s dad, it makes no difference if baby is there too, but for other people helping you out, it might be worth checking what they think.

Much easier to find people who are prepared to look after one school age child (especially other school parents) if you have to use holiday club they only take school age children and it's nice to do things that the little one is too small for.

Nursery makes life so much easier, make the most of it while you can!

I did term time only. As always felt it would be mean to send youngest to nursery if the rest of us were of work and school. My nursery was good and with notice would take my child during holidays if I had to work. Maybe enquire if your nursery could be flexible like this.

I'd suggest all year round for the same reasons other PP's have; 1-1 time with DD1 when DD2 is in nursery and it's easier to get childcare for just the one child during school holidays that you and DH can't get off from work.
Also, have you found a nursery that offers term time only? IME nurseries and childminders will mostly only offer yr round, so you will have to still pay even if DD2 doesn't attend during school holidays. I doubt the nursery would find another child to take up the place of your's for only 13 weeks of the yr.
If you do look for term time only, then I'd suggest a pre-school instead if DD2 is old enough to attend.

Thanks everyone. The nursery does offer term time only. It's the same nursery we used for DD1 and they pride themselves on being flexible - even worked a rota for DD1's sessions based on DH's shifts! I'm just in two minds as I don't know if I'd feel mean shipping her off during the holidays. It's really hard to know how it will be until we are at that point. At the moment she is very attached and we are very close. Think I'm just feeling emotional about the fact she will be going to nursery at all.

I do term time only as I'm a SAHM and would feel guilty if DS2 was at nursery when I was out with my other children during the holidays.

My DD3 does all year and DD8 has a term time childminder.
Usually for the half terms me and DH take a couple of days each and we have time with DD8 or we take DD3 out for 1 of the 3 days she goes to do something together.
During the summer holidays DD8 will go spend a week staying with both sets of grandparents, it would be too long for DD3 to go to and probably too much for the grandparents.
Then myself and DH take days here and there to cover the rest, but only have DD8 makes it easier as we can do some days working from home which would be impossible with DD3.