What would you choose?

[Mamabear04]

DD has just turned 3yo and will be starting part time at nursery come January. Right now she spends 3 days with me and her baby brother and 2 days with my parents. She's never been looked after by anyone other than us so will be a big change getting left at nursery by herself. I think it's definitely the right time for her because as soon as she wakes up she asked me "where are we going today?" And constantly wants to do new things etc. I just can't give her the stimulation she needs with the new baby around.

So my question is what would be better for her I your experience; x4 afternoons at nursery OR x2 full days and every 2nd Friday?

After mat leave is finished I plan to go back to work but reduce my hours so I'm not sure exactly what days I'll be working but I know I'll definitely be working a Wednesday evening and hoping DP will still take DD maybe one day a week or possibly a half day a week here and there.

Every case is different - this one is a bit hard because my gut instinct is that 4 afternoons would be better for your child but the full days would be better for you.

My dc1 went every afternoon, 12.30-3.30, a short walk from our house. It worked fab as that's when Dc2 had his biggest nap, so I'd get a clear 2.5hrs to myself! Sometimes I'd nap, or read, housework etc. It was bloody lovely!!

Definitely full days, though do some settling in sessions with short days to start. I would suggest having a regular timetable though, so she knows every Friday is a nursery day. Do nursery definitely have the hours you want open? Ours has to be booked quite a long way in advance for full days mid-week.

For context, my nearly 4 year old also wakes up and asks where we're going today 😂He's been going to nursery four days a week since he was 1.

Definitely full days, much less faff than having to go and down 4 times a week for short periods. Then you have full empty days with the baby too and don't have to rush around so much with them to do drop offs.

2-3 full days, otherwise the whole day revolves around back and forth to nursery. I would either do or not do the Friday though, every other week is likely to be a bit confusing for her.

I like full days- allows you to crack on with other things, also makes the days she’s at home more productive eg. Day trips etc.

Full days are definitely better. Preschool sessions are usually quite short unless it's a day nursery. A half day at my son's is about 2.5 hours. I agree with PP though. Either do or don't do a Friday. Alternate weeks sounds confusing.

I liked afternoons at that age. DC1 went to nursery every afternoon when he was 3, and DC1 and DC2 would have their naps while he was there. Bliss!

Full days will be more useful when you go back to work though - will it be possible to swap?

Full days if you want to do stuff on the days she's not in. It's too annoying to try and do everything around nursery.

Half days if you don't want to bother with activities and want nursery to be the activity. (This sounds really crap but it's too early for me to explain it better!)