Travel time to/from childminder

[Abustleinyourhedgerow]

Hi, looking for opinions on travel time to/from childminder. I’m due to finish Mat leave and go back to work in Oct. We’re really struggling to find a childminder nearby…best we can find is a good 20-25 min walk away from home and not near the tube. Husband drives so not a problem for him to do pick ups and drop offs…however I’ll be on foot. Is 20-25 mins on foot too far for 6pm at night? Would mean getting home for 6.30, then I assume hasty dinner, bath and bed. Doesn’t seem feasible but wanted to know what others do especially anyone else in London who might be using the tube. Is 20-25 mins too far? How near are you to your childminder? Just to add I’ll work from home sometimes so those days would be less of an issue but the days I’m in the office…seems like it would be a slog. Hubby and I will share the load but he can’t really commit to specific days due to nature of his work. Thanks!

I used to do it my baby fell asleep in the push hair on the way home and I'd have to wake him for dinner. Wasn't ideal to be honest

My kids nursery is at the train station I commute from, which is about a 20 min walk (15 if I can use the steps)

We picked up at 6 when they closed and did bath and bed as soon as we got home.

That said, nursery made a point of telling us that they fed the kids enough in the day that they didn't need a full meal when they get home.

Even now when I pick my daughter up at 5, she doesn't want any of the family tea at 6. She's had enough during the day

I also think this is not ideal because your DC will probably fall asleep on the way home. Our childminder is also a distance from the tube and in the opposite direction to home so when we were both working in the city (pre-covid) the one dropping off would leave the car in the station car park and the one picking up would collect the car on the way home and then drive to the childminder to collect DS.

Is there a bus that goes between your home and nursery (with it being London)? It's not so much the walk but I know I'm knackered after work and the walk for me would feel harder, also for bad weather etc. I can't think of many places near me (west London) that are 25mins away that I could get a bus near to.
Although I
I'd also make a snack type lunch box for dc and they could eat that on the way home in the pushchair if they are hungry, so it wouldn't have to worry about dinner when you got in and could start the night time routine.

Sorry meant childminder

It's quite a walk for you but I wouldn't worry about getting home late. I used to get home at 6.30 with DD and just did everything later. I used to get her to bed around 8.30. She was fine - slept all the way through and was ready to go next day.

Not great, but what are your options ?

My daycare was on theway to work and I drove. So half an hour drive home from there. Drive, walk, tube - I don't recall it being an issue - needs must.

It's doable, but not ideal.

What are your other options?

I do a 45 minute walk to/from nursery, getting home at that sort of time. My baby (15m) very rarely falls asleep on the way home (only if he's not had much of a nap). He doesn't have a lot left in the tank when we get home, though, so I do have to have dinner as ready as possible in advance, and I'm still working on the optimum sequence of the evening so I can hastily get him to bed when he runs out of steam. But it's possible, yes.

Thanks all for your replies…really helpful.

@Babyfg no direct bus no unfortunately…would go round the houses to get home

@BackforGood @NuffSaidSam we have a nursery 10 min walk away from home (and conveniently between tube and home) and have paid the deposit so little man will go there if we can’t find a childminder closer to home. Childminder is preferred but he will go to nursery if necessary. Didn’t help that yesterday read some not good comments about safety at that nursery

Personally, I would opt for a closer nursery over a further away childminder (assuming safeguarding concerns are unfounded). I've always felt nurseries are generally better than childminders anyway - no worries about using your AL for childminder's holidays and sick days. More hands on deck when children are tired or upset instead of just one person trying to do everything. More often than not, better facilities.

If your dh can do the drop off/pick up and it's then only 5-10 minutes away, then great, you won't need to worry about it much. The only concern would be if you are doing it regularly. A 20 minute walk in the dark in December when it's freezing and raining is not nice.

That’s so hard. I walk about 25 mins to our childminder two days a week (often takes longer now he’s a toddler as he won’t go in the stroller… so factor that change in). Not London based any more, I quit my old job knowing it was never going to fit around him. Now working a happy part time role. Which means I can facilitate a much earlier pick up, as my son goes to bed at 6pm… but won’t forever.

I am amazed at how people cope. But they do. I’d opt for the close nursery… less stress. Though I do think childminders are brilliant- as my son loves his and they go out lots.

It would depend on the childminder but I used to send food with dd and sent her with lunch and tea. A frozen portion of something would be defrosted and ready for heating up by the time tea rolled around. Some childminders would be happy to provide food themselves (at a cost).

The journey home was similar for us too and I have to say dd usually ended up with a cat nap. On balance it probably worked better in the end because she’d have just enough energy for a little play and her bedtime routine. It depends if your dc develops a ‘danger nap zone’ though (a time of day where if they sleep you’re in for a late night party!).

We don’t have a decent nursery near to our house but I’m not adverse to the idea otherwise and journey times are a valid consideration. What looks ok on paper right now might be a massive pain in the arse in practice.

Our childminder is 30 mins walk from our home but is 5 mins from a train station. In nicer weather we can cycle there which makes it 15 mins away
Our childminder feeds our child dinner so don’t need to worry about that when we get home.