Childcare - what do you do, wwyd and why?

[Firsttimer7259]

I'd really like to gather some opinions on childcare options if your child has SN, developmental delay etc. I am currently waiting for a diagnosis for my daughter who has a development delay of 6 months.

We are also struggling with childminder and while I used to think this provided an ideal mix of small setting and exposure to other children I now think somewhere bigger might find it easier to deal with my daughter when she's having a difficult phase. I always thought I wouldn't send my daugher to nursery until she was about 2.5 but I went by a nursery and rather than being all 'oh difficult child' they were 'hmm for us this is interesting'. They basically saw it as adding richness to their work experience rather than a baffling problem.

So I am having a rethink and would love our input. What have you done? What worked, what didn't?

My ds was in a large nursery from 5 months. It was by far the best setting he's been in. He's now 5 and in school and he didn't cope or get understood in the small preschool he went to and the small school he initially went to. For him the bigger the better. The nursery he went to, although mainstream, had a lot of experience with a wide range of special needs. That probably helped. He still goes there for holiday club. They are the people I still trust the most outside of the family to care for him.

hi i think if you find the right nursery then its fab. for my DD it was a disaster :( she went at 12 months when i had to return to work. She was petirifed of the other kids (and still is) and refused to leave the book corner so thats where they left her - all day! They said it was easier than having her scream and tantrum! She also refused to eat for the entire day due to being so overwhelmed and stressed. When she came home in the evening she was withdrawn and quiet it was so upsetting. Childminder was much better and she got on fab there although she did still have issues she was at least eating and the CM was great with her. If you get the right nursery then i think its good

I think it partly depends on what her needs are. I am a childminder so kept my DDs with me. Had I been choosing childcare I would have gone for a childminder because my DDs have AS and are uncomfortable in busy environments.

If your DD's needs are complex and it really matters that she is with someone who knows her and her routines very well you would be better off sticking with the childminder. Staff turnover can be high in nurseries and they have long shifts to cover so one room could be covered by quite a few staff members in the course of one day.

If your DD's needs are causing a problem for the childminder now do you feel that they would be more easily met by a setting who can throw extra resource at her for short periods as a kind of crisis management then a nursery is probably going to be better for her.

If you are seriously thinking about moving her I'd suggest you go and look around lots of settings to get a really good feel of what is available. Talk about what support will be available from outside agencies if your DD may need it in the future. Discuss how they would manage if they needed to employ extra staff to meet her individual needs in the future.