Nursery vs childminder

[Ging78]

Hi

I'm sure this has been asked loads but I'd really appreciate advice.

My lg will be 13 months old when i go back to work in August.

We have met at least 1 lovely childminder and today we visited a lovely nursery (excellent reviews, graded good with Ofsted).

Any opinions on which is best for little ones?

We would pay more for the nursery as i work term time more or less and would end up paying for weeks i didn't use.

Thanks!

Ging

It's personal choice. My Choiice was nursery because I didn't want to leave my child being looked after by only one person.

I use a childminder as my DD was 7 months when I went back to work and I wanted her to have just one carer rather than lots of different nursery staff.

I've used both and I have to say I think if I had to choose again, I would go with nursery

Can you not put her in nursery for term time only? My DS will be doing that when he starts nursery next month. That means that if there are extra days I need them to do during school holidays, chances are they'll have space for him as people don't tend to just use nursery in the holidays.

Personal preference really & child temperament. I chose childminder as I wanted my Lb to have a 1:1 relationship until at least 18m old and have secure attachments. He also has food allergies (not known when he started) & she has been brilliant. Care & learning activities are very individualised and child led as there are only three children at most there - but there is the social element. She also takes them to larger toddler groups & he does this with us too so he's a lovely sociable little boy. Go to a good few childminders, definitely need one who has the same/similar ethos as you.
I am the only one in my group of friends using a childminder, all the rest are in nursery and have been since around 10m old and are all thriving lovely children, anecdotally more issues with separation anxiety however this could also just be natural differences in temperament. My Lb will go to nursery/preschool at some point.

Things to consider:
-If childminder is ill then you need a backup option - won't have this problem with a nursery
-Temperament of your child
-If you'd be happy with your child forming a strong bond with your childminder and them possibly seeing milestones first
-type of hours you'd need/flexibility, nurseries often open earlier/later more flexible with days.

But go with your gut, you can always change. I went back to work at 12m but lb went to childminder from 10m for a few hours a week and this transition worked really well. Good luck xx

@chuttypicks I thought nurserys continued to charge for days through the holidays whether you used them or not?

Having been pro nursery, with hindsight I’d say CM, nurseries can be very stressful for some children if they’re doing 10 hours a day there as mine did. One dc found it overwhelming and the other didn’t get much attention as she was happy to play on her own for long stretches.

It does depend on the actual setting too though - one nursery we had was amazing, one CM wasn’t so great.

We chose a nursery. I didn’t feel confident trusting entirely in one person and I liked the socialisation with children her own age and more formal structure of nursery. It was the right choice for us and she loves it right down to hiding in the dressing up box because she doesn’t want to come home most evenings! Totally a personal choice though- there are lots of pros to a childminder too, namely that it’s one person for your child to bond with.

I thought nursery would make my dc more outgoing - it really backfired for us, she was over stimulated. It does depend how long your dc will be there, how they cope with noise and lots of other children. Even with small ratios, nurseries often have many kids and staff in the same room.

We’ve always used a nursery. I didn’t like the idea of only one carer and my dc not getting as much one on one time. I felt with several staff (who they were very close to), they would better have their needs met and not be let to cry when another child needed attention. I also didn’t like the idea of a CM driving around with my dc and not knowing where they were, or having to scramble to find cover for sick days or CM’s holidays.

Most nurseries do offer year round or term time only, so it’s worth looking further if the one you found doesn’t.

Childminder worked very well for us. I had the same one for both dc for 9 years and she is an "Aunty" forever.

@Whytenoise
No, the nursery where I work offer term time only contracts
We don’t advertise it though as we would prefer everyone to be all year round but if parents ask we will accommodate most requests

I had a really brilliant childminder just around the corner from my house. She used to be a paediatric nurse so I felt the level of care was excellent. She had one or two other children at the same time so there was other children to play with but it wasnt stimulation overload. They also went out every morning to a playgroup, park, farm or library etc (Really all over the place) before returning for lunch which I thought was really great. In the afternoon she had a nap in a cot in her own room. She never left me down with sickness but would take a holiday around December which meant I needed to make alternative arrangements. I didn’t choose a nursery because I believe consistent care is more important for younger children ( attachment ), the hours worked for me ( 07.30 - 5.30 3 days a week), she was open throughout the year and offered experiences not available in a nursery setting. I’ve heard some quite negative stories about nurseries ( naps on floors or in buggies or with a high turnover of staff etc) but with all of these issues it must be judged on a case by case basis. Another childminder might be unreliable or might just stick the kids in front of the TV all day. You need to check out the options and keep an open mind.

Lol clearly my DD had a nap and not the childminder.

There's multiple threads on this on childcare options

@WhyteNoise . The one I will be using doesn't. It charges for 38 (or 39?) weeks of the year but you pay it over 12 months so you pay all year round, but only for term time childcare.

Thanks very much for all of that ladies! Loads of really good advice.

The nursery offers year round only.

We would have no back plan if cm cancelled as my family are in another country and his mom is elderly.

I really appreciate all the advice!

Sorry I meant to add that I used the cm 3 days a week from 11 months to 3 years and then added a day and a half pre school from 3 years. My CM did the drop off and pick up for the half day and I did the full day. This ensured smooth transition from the home setting to the school setting. Mix and match may be an option or CM up to a certain age and then a move to a nursery setting. You don’t have to stick to purely one type right up until school

We chose nursery (not sure why tbh, just preferred the idea!) and it has been brilliant for our DD. She is such a busy toddler who needs to be kept occupied every minute of the day, so a busy nursery setting suits her perfectly. She has her favourite nursery nurse that she runs to every morning and she never wants to come home with me (quite embarrassing sometimes actually ). Quieter, more reserved children may do better in a CM setting though, I guess a lot of it depends on your baby's personality.

It really depends on your needs and your child’s temperament. We chose nursery as we didn’t want to have to worry about covering sickness and annual leave. We also didn’t want her to be in a buggy doing preschool or school runs 3 times a day. It works well for us a DD loves it.

We chose nursery initially but made the switch to childminder at 18 months. He wasn't coping with having so many different adults and is much happier now he has a secure attachment to the same 2 people he sees each time. He's also thriving with being with a small group of children at different ages

I'm ex Ofsted.
I'd pick a childminder every time.

Picked a nursery- better for my daughter, she’s quite energetic and I felt would thrive from the activities. Also is an august baby so I want her to get used to a school like environment early on as I’m conscious she will be one of the youngest when she goes to school.

Our cm is brilliant, dd loves her and talks about the cm's kids constantly. Dd's a very happy, confident little kid, very settled there. When cm or her kids are ill (v rare) she has a great network of cm's so she always arranges cover for us, it's never a problem. Dd knows the other cm's too from seeing them at groups or special events they all organise like farm trips or going on a fire engine. We were thinking of moving her on to a nursery at some point to help the transition to school, but will likely start easing her in slowly to that from 3 on.

It's a personal preference, nurseries can offer a more structured experience and there's no issues with sickness etc whereas a childminder can be more personalised, eg my friend takes them to the park, the museum, the library etc but they do have to fetch big kids from school at 3.30 each day.