Nursery or childminder?

[ManCubsMama]

Starting my search for childcare for my baby. Will be 10 months when I put him into childcare for 2 days per week.

I was leaning towards a childminder as regarding nurseries I’m put off by the high staff turnover and fact they’re all really young (18/19). Just feel like I’d prefer a more home-from-home setting for with someone that’s got that maternal experience. Also the fact that baby is likely to pick up a bug every other week at nursery.
But friends with children are telling me nurseries are better for the following reasons:
• nursery is a much more structured environment (a child minder can do whatever they want )
• as per point above nursery workers are in a place of employment and are managed a childminder is not
• much tighter measure on nurseries for the environment ur baby will be taken care of in
• better learning opportunities in nursery and interacting with similar age babies / children
• childminder can be CRB checked but the guests and relatives are not
• nursery offers a much more secure environment and unless there is an outing (when bigger) they remain at the nursery so no danger of accidents in cars etc
• A child minder can have 6 children up to the age of 8 yrs old which means even if the only have 3 young children they can then look after another 3 after school. 6 children for potential 3 hours (with a meal time) is more than one person can handle.
• you are relying on one person so if they are ill or on holiday u have to find alternative cover

WDYT? I’m already feeling anxious about leaving my baby without this quandary of one option being better than the other.

Thanks for the advice

Both CMers and Nurseries follow the EYFS. (Earyl Years Foundation Stage + the Curriculum) A CMer has the flexibility to follow the individual child's needs more if anything, IMO

much tighter measure on nurseries for the environment ur baby will be taken care of in
Not sure what they mean by this. CMers are inspected by OFSTED as are Nurseries. Both have 'rules' about space, welfare, food, etc

better learning opportunities in nursery and interacting with similar age babies / children
In their pre-school year, I agree there is value in being part of a larger group as a sort of half way house before school - getting used to not being the only child wanting attention and learning things like sitting as part of a larger group or lining up or routines for dinner can be helpful before they start school - but most CMers will take them to groups where they do that sort of thing. As babies, they are not developmentally ready to be playing with their peers. I would suggest they would have better learning opportunities from a good quality CMer when they are younger, not least through the fact they go out and about and aren't in the same room for 9+ hours a day.

childminder can be CRB checked but the guests and relatives are not Others who live in the house are checked and they wouldn't be entertaining guests whilst working.

you are relying on one person so if they are ill or on holiday u have to find alternative cover
Some CMers have back up, reciprocal arrangements with other minders, but, in my experience, CMers are FAR less likely to go off sick than employees on a minimum wage. It is their own business and they have a close relationship with the families. In years of using CMers I've only one had one take any time off at all - that was a planned operation

Just to bust some myths.

However This question is asked regularly on MN - understandably

It really comes down to personal preference.
I liked the idea that my dc were in as close to a home environment as possible. My (now grown) dc have fond memories of their time at CMers.
Others will come along and tell you how well their dc thrived in Nurseries.
Depending on what hours you will need, CMers are often prepared to be more flexible with hours whereas a lot of Nurseries will charge 'per session'.
There are some great Nurseries out there, and quite a few poor ones, along with many that are 'good enough'.
I suspect there are some poor CMers out there, but there are also plenty of brilliant ones and I'm sure others that are 'good enough'.

None of us can say all CMers are great or all Nurseries are great.
You have to meet a few who have spaces for you and get a 'feel' for what you prefer. Everyone prioritises different things.

I would personally vote for a child minder and I say that as someone who has worked in 3 different nurseries over the years. I'm a nanny now though.

I think the only downside to a child minder is that there is no back up if their ill/suddenly need time off due to an emergency, but most of the child minders that I know usually have their child minder friends numbers and can give them to the parents when something like this happens.

Your child can still socialise with other children in a child minders setting, and I personally think it's nicer because it's got more of a homey feel to it as well. A lot of babies/toddlers don't like big groups and find it quite overwhelming. (My old nursery could have up to 13 babies on any given day) as where a child minder can only care for a certain amount of children so I would say it's a lot more calmer/relaxed in that aspect.

I can understand why it might be a bit of a worry for you thinking that your child might possibly get hurt on an outing especially since she'll have other children to watch, but children can hurt themselves anywhere. The amount of accidents that happened just in the nursery room (children falling over toys, running into walls etc) was far greater than them hurting themselves on a trip outside. Also with many nurseries, they don't always get to go outside or on many trips because they'll have too many children and it's extremely difficult to monitor such a big number of kids, so a lot of the time they have to stay inside which can be quite boring for many kids (especially if their there from 7am until 6pm).

Another issue I've noticed that has become the norm (not just in the nurseries that I've worked in but others that I've been told about from other nursery nurses) is that many nurseries now don't stick within ratio. I imagine it has something to do with saving £££ and a lot of them will cut corners just to save on a few bob. It's easy to do it when the inspector only comes once a year. It's unfortunate but I do find it annoying that many parents assume just because there are managers present that means rules and policies are being followed which is absolutely not the case. It would be a lot harder for a child minder to break this policy IMO.

I really don't want to put you off though as I'm sure there are some lovely nurseries out there, I'm just giving you some truthful facts (as many parents I know have said they wouldn't have sent their children to a nursery if they had known about these issues beforehand). You have to do what feels right for you and your little one though and there are pros and cons to every child
care provider. I'm sure you'll find the right one for you. Good luck!

Go and visit some of both and you'll get a gut feeling for which you prefer.

Nursery is the easiest option logistically, they feed them all their meals, they're open all year round, you can drop them off at any time without worrying about school runs. But all the other points will vary depending on the individual settings.

I’ve put my dd into a lovely little Montessori nursery. I pay through the nose for it but my dd is thriving so it’s worth every penny.

I tried a nanny but just felt that the educational side was lacking and also a child minder but she had a load of kids and they never went anywhere.

The nursery my dd is in has toddler classes every single day so she mixes with other dc not in her nursery and it’s very varied. They also take them out most days to the park (weather permitting).

I am a childminder and have used childminders, nursery and pre-school for my own three children. My personal preference in childminder only until about 2.5 years and then some pre-school too.

I think it is a very personal preference though, there are terrible and excellent nurseries and childminders and some settings I wouldn't leave a dog in that have plenty of very satisfied parents as customers!

For me, the fact that a childminder is less controlled/regimented than nursery is a big bonus - they can much more easily take the children to feed the ducks or for a walk in the pram to sleep than a nursery can.

Myself and my husband are both DBS checked, as are my parents who are regular visitors.

As to the 6 under 8s being too much for one person - it might seem that way if you are a first time mum to a baby but honestly it's fine! I usually have 8 children a day and can promise you they are all safe, loved, fed homecooked home, stimulated and happy. I have a 7 month old, a two year old, a three year old, a 4 year old, a 6 year old, an 8 year old and two 9 year olds (one set of 3 siblings/one set of two siblings/three single children). Youngest three are home all day, one is in full time preschool and 4 primary schoolers. It's like a big family to be honest! They all love each other and learn so much from children of different ages.

I am very reliable - I last took time off for illness about 8 months ago when norovirus went round and before that I can't even remember when the last time was I was too ill to work. But I do close for 4-5 weeks a year for holiday and give parents my holiday dates at the beginning of the year. So that is also something to consider.

Visit some and see what feel you get. I checked both out and just couldn't take to any of the childminders so opted for the nursery and my little one loves it and has come on leaps and bounds. I've never regretted the decision. Good luck.

6 children for potential 3 hours (with a meal time) is more than one person can handle.

Really? Is it? Who says? I manage that easily!

Staff turnover is only terrible in terrible nurseries. DC2 has just started nursery, 5 years after DC1 and I'd say 75% of the staff are still there.

Go and look at both - you will know when you know!!

Not all nurseries are equal, not all childminders are equal. In my case we have an excellent nursery near us, the staff are a real mix of ages, lots with their own kids, low staff turnover. In contrast, I never warmed to the childminders I saw at toddler groups locally. But my experience in my local area doesn't really help you to decide.

Honestly, it depends a) on what suits your particular child best (some babies would struggle at nursery and prefer a home setting; others thrive in nursery), b) finances and c) the quality of either choice. Both nurseries and childminders very massively in quality and you could have an excellent or terrible one of either.

For us, we went with a nursery. My son started at 10 months. We did toy with the idea of a childminder as it would be a cheaper option. However, we went with a nursery instead for the following reasons:

• I'm a teacher so was worried about a childminder being ill. I couldn't easily take the time off work. I felt nursery would be more reliable.
• accountability. My son was (still is a bit!) reeeeeally hard work. I found myself getting frustrated with him. I was worried how a childminder might deal with him, but knew that nursery staff would be accountable to each other so I felt I could trust them more. Moreover, I was worried a childminder might try to put my son in front of the tv etc to get a break. Now I KNOW that many childminders are outstanding... but I would also have no way of knowing for definite what my son was experiencing. I felt more confident with nursery.
• the nursery is on my road making drop offs and pick ups a doddle!!

We pay a fortune for nursery (over £80 per day!) but we were amazed at how well he settled in, and the staff are amazing with him. However, there is a reasonable staff turnover so he does build relationships and then lose these people (which must seem really sudden and confusing to him). That's a pretty big downside. He also doesn't get much outdoor time in winter and doesn't go on trips on nursery days. I try to make up for it on my days off though.

Anyway, that's my experience. Why not visit a few nurseries and speak with a few childminders to get a feel for each?

My daughter attends both! Only one day per week at nursery however. The nursery is rated OFSTED excellent and is very popular in my area. The CM is rated Good or Satisfactory but is also extremely popular - we booked when DD was a few weeks old.

Overall I prefer the CM as she and DD have a lovely relationship. DD also seems to have much closer relationships (if you can call them that at 20 months!) with the other children than she does at nursery. CM does have the TV on at times, but I do not mind that personally. Our CM's husband is qualified too and works with her as needed and I like that there is a male role model around. Also, she is much more flexible than nursery about extra hours (happy to do an extra half hour even if she has space). She has never been sick so far and says she has not had a sick day in 10 years! She takes hols but tell us months and months in advance so it's all good.

Another massive win for us with the CM is that when the time comes she will do drop off and pick up from nursery school and school itself. It's a while in the future but I'm glad that DD will come 'home' to the CM or to us after school when she is still little.

Advantages of nursery are that they feed them and when DD goes up a room, the day seems to be a bit more structured which I think she will enjoy. However I am dreading her going up a room as it took her a loooooong time to settle at nursery - in fact I'm not sure she particularly loves nursery and I am glad she is not full time.

I think so much depends on your family's needs and the quality of what is available to you.

childminder can be CRB checked but the guests and relatives are not
Childminder must be DBS checked and for mine all the other adults are too (mum and husband)
And there is a log book of any other visitors

Mine also only has a maximum of 3

So you need to meet with childminders and ask what they do.
We tried both and we are now happy with childminder. Our nursery was outstanding but the staff turnover was constant, most teen 2/3 people leaving/ arriving.
Not for us

I was leaning towards a childminder as regarding nurseries I’m put off by the high staff turnover and fact they’re all really young (18/19). Just feel like I’d prefer a more home-from-home setting for with someone that’s got that maternal experience. Also the fact that baby is likely to pick up a bug every other week at nursery.

This isn't always true. The nursery we used had a very low staff turnover and staff weren't all young. The nursery were big on CPD so all the staff were regularly training and upskilling.
Also, our DS was hardly ever ill - it really depends on the child.

We preferred nursery as we liked the busy vibrant setting and it helped knowing it was open all year round ( only shut for bank hols)

I went with nursery only because I couldn’t find a
CM who could do my days. I’m glad I went with a nursery as she wasn’t put in a buggy and taken to and from nursery and school picks up all day.

But a good childminder is better than a poor nursery and good nursery is better than a poor childminder. The nursery I choose had staff a mixture of staff ages spread across the nursery rather than 1 I saw who had all the less experienced staff in one room.

A good childminder will be out and about so your child will be mixing with lots of children either way.

For me a childminder or nanny would be my personal choice for all day care of a small baby. I just think 8-6 in a full on nursery environment is too much. With home childcare they can be taken out and about, play, but also have time to relax and have a closer bond with just one childcarer and a few other children in their care.

We have gone with a nursery for DD aged 1. It's rated outstanding but it's expensive at £110 a day. However they have an in house chef who cooks all the organic meals from scratch, the staff are a mix of ages and her key worker is in her thirties and very experienced. The ratio is 3 children to each staff member. The nursery has a large outdoor space which the children explore each day and they have structured activities.

I feel a nursery is more accountable. I know what she's doing each day, she's mixing with children her own age and she is in a safe environment. I'm probably BU here but I wouldn't trust a childminder taking her out and about each day whilst managing up to five other children. I just feel nursery is more "professional" somehow and my husband and I both work so we need reliable childcare all year round.

Thanks all, this is very helpful

I often see this but my childminder doesn’t do school pick ups so any outing are for fun
I’m glad I went with a nursery as she wasn’t put in a buggy and taken to and from nursery and school picks up all day.

And our ratio is 3 to one childminder
I'm probably BU here but I wouldn't trust a childminder taking her out and about each day whilst managing up to five other children.

If you are thinking of going for a childminder then go to some free library sessions, stay and play for multiple ages or the park and observe the childminders. I’m a SAHM now but I know from seeing them with children exactly who I would use and who I wouldn’t use.