Nursery or childminder?

[hoorayforharoldlloyd]

Which one did you pick and why?
Am currently trying to sort out care for next spring and am leaning towards childminder because it seems friendly (possibly influenced by having nice relative who was one!) plus it is already too late for the very popular nurseries here!

Nursery, because they only closed for a few days at Christmas and at Bank Holidays. They didn’t close for staff holidays or staff illness.

We choose nursery in the end, the childminders in our area don't cover the hours we need as shiftworkers. Most were 0830- 1700. Our nursery is open 0700-1800. It only closes for 2 days at Christmas and 2 days at new year which also helps as my husband gets allocated his leave and we don't have friends/family to cover when the childminder is off on their holidays. My friends childminder takes 2 weeks at Christmas, 2 weeks at Easter, 2 weeks in October and 3 in summer so suits my friend as a teacher but would be a logistical nightmare for us if we ever wanted time off together.

Fees are pretty similar around here and our nursery gets fantastic gradings.

I chose nursery on the basis of more reliability and only closing for bank holidays. I know it sounds weird but I didn’t like the thought of my DD being really attached to a childminder- she loves all the nursery staff but it’s not the same as one person constantly. I also think the range of activities and things available (DDs nursery have chickens, go on days out, have a yoga teacher come in etc.) is more varied compared to a CM

Nursery for us - reliable whether or not one member of staff is ill / needs time off etc.

Also was very put off the idea of childminders by attending a number of different groups and activities with baby dd and seeing small cliques of childminders chatting and ignoring the kids they were there with / babies left sitting in buggies / toddlers snacking on sugary crap and crisps etc...

Had not thought about childminder holidays! We have no family support here either.

However, this is a short term thing - we will be moving to another city by late spring/early summer. Although that could mean 2 half terms and the easter break in terms of a childminder not being available. I was thinking that a childminder might be less upheaval as it's a smaller experience and in a home, rather than getting used to a nursery and then leaving. What do you think?

Nursery here, as I visited one and really liked it. The facilities etc were much better than a childminder could offer. However there’s no right or wrong here, it depends on your own preference and what’s on offer locally.

Most childminders work through the school holidays, just taking a few weeks annual leave across the year. I give all my holiday dates in January for the whole year.

I’m leaning towards childminder - however I am a teacher so the CM taking weeks off in school hols (she has her own kids) suits me as I won’t have to pay for weeks I don’t need anyway.

Lots of CM do seem to offer restricted hours - one told me hardly any round here work Friday afternoons!! However I’ve found one who offers the early start and late finish I require and it works out a little cheaper than a nursery.

Nursery for me because of hours, holidays, facilities and activities, but also because I also knew DD would be one of many in the same age group whereas a childminder might have had three older kids when she started. I think the socialisation at nursery is better and gets them more prepared for school.

It’s a very personal choice. I would suggest visiting lots of different settings, childminders and nurseries and see what works for you. I speak as an ex nursery manager and current CM.

Yes nurseries can cover holidays/sickness easier than some CM, but they also have a high turn over of staff...and some use unknown agency workers to cover sickness/holiday.

Some CMs, like myself, belong to a network, so if I’m off unwell (only happened 3times in 7yrs!) or on holiday, there are plenty of other local CMs that the children know. It’s also worth remembering because of the massive inconvenience it is to parents, good CMs are less willing to have days off. As they also work from home, so if they are feeing ill, it’s relatively easy to arrange a movie day and just soldier on through...

I have also found, that the quality of care, especially for under 3s is substantially better in CM settings, because it’s smaller, less alien, feels more like what they are used to, as opposed to loud over stimulating nursery room. (Just my opinion!!)

I think it really depends on you, and your situation. For my eldest, CM worked best. At 3, when we switched to a nursery we had months of tears. My youngest went straight into nursery because I'm not a great people person and I prefer being able to drop off without a chat, and request certain things without feeling like I am directly criticising the CM. I also echo pps saying nurseries don't get ill.

A few nurserys do term time only but don't publish it. You have to ring each one up and ask.

We only use 1 day per week so just went for nursery for ease.

I must admit though I don't think it's great for babies they don't really get anything out of nursery until about 18 months. Maybe as my little girl was only in 1 day a week couldn't build a bond but she definitely was much more settled being with family.

She's just turned 2 and is loving it so much she's started asking to go on days that she doesn't go 😂 She also tells me her friends names and what she's been up to. They have a big outdoor play area, swings, slides etc. Always painting, making things and she has an absolute ball there.

I originally went with a childminder, but lasted 8 months. I had to pay for her services even when she was on holiday so I had to take leave at the same time. She needed to take time off for her own kids appointments. She took two weeks off at Christmas. All of which they are perfectly entitled to...it just didn't work for me.

I’ve found such a lovely nursery right on my doorstep. They are really flexible and operate 3 to a child so the babies get lots of attention. The room for babies is huge and they have so many educational toys, sand pits and an outdoor garden with soft play and umbrellas to shield them from the sun.

They’ve also got a lovely cook that makes lovely nutritious meals (fat better than what I could prepare for a childminder or nanny).

I weighed up the options of a nanny, childminder and nursery and felt that on balance the nursery will be so much more beneficial for the baby in terms of her education, socialisation and ability to roam. The space really is lovely and they are so flexible.

A few of my friends are primary school teachers and they have commented to me that they can always tell who went to nursery as they tend to be more advanced.

It's a personal choice, child minders tend to be slightly more flexible, my friend is even licenced for overnight and accommodates rotating shifts eg nurses.

I went with nursery - more accountability, better range of activities, only closed 4 days a year.

The accountability was a big one for me - I work with victims of child abuse and I just wouldn't have felt comfortable with DS shut up in someone's house all day before he can tell me what he's been up to. I know 99.9% of CMs are probably wonderful people, but when you spend all day surrounded by something you start seeing it everywhere.

I lucked out with DS nursery as well - he's been going for nearly a year and there hasn't been a single staff change in his room.