Nursery versus childminder

[Wattagoose90]

My DS (7 months) will be going into full time childcare when I go back to work (he'll be 9 months at this point).

My DH and I have been viewing nurseries and childminders but can't agree on what would be best. I prefer the idea of a childminder because I like the idea of one constant person being responsible for his care. DH thinks that nursery is a more progressive environment and he'll benefit developmentally in a nursery. Our favourite nursery so far looked great for 2.5+ but didn't really impress me for the baby stage.

Cost wise, a childminder is much cheaper than nursery, so I'm worried this might be clouding my judgement.

Any particularly good experiences in either? Any recommendations or things we should be looking for?

[saraclara]

The school run didn't bother me at all re: childminders. Again, it's normal family life, and that's what I wanted for my child.

[Tobebythesea]

We chose nursery as it had better opening hours and no staff sickness/holidays. Yes, it’s more expensive than a childminders.

The biggest thing that put us off childminders was the school/preschool drop offs. The children can spend hours strapped up in a buggy. Half an hour there and back twice a day and then preschool pick ups at lunch time.

[BackforGood]

A good childminder is better than a bad nursery, and a good nursery is better than a bad childminder. And there are many good and bad of both

This ^
Well, I'm not sure there are many poor CMers, but I know there are many Nurseries I wouldn't leave a child. However, you can only compare the specific Childminders and specific Nurseries that you can access. I also know some superb Nurseries.

The biggest thing that put us off childminders was the school/preschool drop offs. The children can spend hours strapped up in a buggy. Half an hour there and back twice a day and then preschool pick ups at lunch time.

Again, this is really specific to the Childminder. I LOVED the fact that ds took "the big boys" to school, then walked back across the park every day - stopping to have a swing or go on the climbing frame, then toddled across the park in the afternoon to meet his friends "the big boys". Of course, this will depend on how far away the school is, but I loved the fact it meant he was taken out and given "a run about" even on days when - had he been at home with me - he probably wouldn't have.
IME (having used 6 childminders over the years) they don't tend to 'go off sick'. It is their own business and they have a strong relationship with the families plus they can have a bit of an 'easier day' as you would if it were your own little one, if you were unwell. When you are in a minimum wage job, there tends to be less desire to struggle in, when you know someone else can cover you anyway.

I can only reiterate what I said in my first post - it really is very personal.

[corythatwas]

Our childminders had an agreement with a net of other childminders to step in and cover during sickness/holidays, never had a problem. The only reason we switched childminders at all was because our first one couldn't do the school run for a disabled child.

Otherwise, we felt them doing school runs and generally being out and about in the community was a great advantage. Dc got to know a lot of the people and places locally, not least from being taken to groups and halfterm activities. Having children of different ages to play with was also an advantage: they learnt from that, and when they started school there were kindly older children there who already knew them.

[Wattagoose90]

Thanks for all of your replies, they've really given me food for thought.

We've decided to use a childminder until he's around 2/2.5 when we'll swap to nursery. We've found a childminder we love and another one to fill the gaps when she's not working during school holiday time.

Of the nursery's we've seen, they don't tend to take the babies out of the same four walls for the majority of the day - he gets cabin fever pretty quickly at home so this has been the biggest deciding factor for us.

Thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences :)

[FTMF30]

I personally prefer the concept of a nursery from a safeguarding pov. With a childminder, anything could happen and you pretry much just have there word. There was a separate thread about a childminder leaving a baby in their car while they picked kids up from the playground for the school run.

I also actually dont like my child being taken on whim, here there and everywhere. Others mentioned CMs taking kids to playgroup, but nursery is basically like playgroul but also with structured activities. My nursery has a bog outdoor area too and there are regular trips to our local park/woods.

I feel nursery is better for social development and seems more geared towards helping children progress, rather than someone just keeping an eye on your child.

[FTMF30]

Sorty, just so your last post OP. Glad you've come to a decision .