full time nursery or part time with childminder

[lucillevanpelt]

I will be going back to work full time just before dd is one. I have a place for her at a nursery which is well regarded and used by numerous other people at my work. The baby room his space for 9 babies. However, I worry that full time is a lot for baby in any setting. Someone I know is going to start childminding part time. She was a primary teacher (reception),and her own dd is v close in age to mine. She is very organised and trustworthy. My question is what will be best for my dd- full time at nursery or a mix of nursery and cm? Will a mix be complicated and confusing? It would cost £130 more per month, but would do it if better for dd. Anything else i should consider? Am a bit daunted about the whole going back to work thing!

I don't see any advantage in settling the child in to two different settings, and with a childminder you'll have the problem of covering her holidays/sickness.

My children both started nursery full time at 9 months of age and settled in very quickly.

You obviously think there is some advantage to your DD going to nursery, I'm just wondering why that is. My DS went to nursery part-time from the age of two and took a long time to settle in - he only seemed to start really enjoying it at the age of 2 and a half (we did think about pulling him out a bunch of times during that first 6 months, but every time we thought about it he'd have a good few days and we'd think things were picking up. Plus I knew the nursery and his keyworker were doing a good job, and I had to work) (now at the age of 3 and a half he loves it and can't wait to go). We chose that nursery partly because there were no childminders in our area I liked the look of but also partly because I thought it'd be good for DS to mix with lots of other children, but if I were to do it all over again I'd go with a childminder for a child that age or younger.

That said, it seems to depend on the child. WidowWadman's children obviously had no problems, and neither have several of my friends' children. My DS has always been quite sensitive and, looking back, I think a more home-like environment and more one-to-one attention would have been better for him. The plus with nurseries though is that they plan a programme of stimulating activities - childminders should too but being at home there is always the temptation of sticking the telly on I think (I also remember how much telly I used to watch at my childminder's when I was a kid!). That's one thing I always think when I drop DS off at nursery - at least now he's going to have an afternoon where it's guaranteed he's not going to watch any telly.

One thing I would advise is looking at quite a few different providers (I only went to look at ones with a 'Good' Ofsted rating but these varied quite a lot).

P.S. The other thing with using a nursery for a baby is there is a limit to how much children interact with each other at that age. Again, that said, at my DS's last birthday a friend's DS of the same age who has never been to nursery, or even to a stay and play group, wouldn't sit at the table to eat his party food with the other kids, nearly all of who were DS's little friends from nursery. So nursery definitely has a socialising effect.

For me the priorities would be;

• family
• nanny
• childminder
• nursery

I think a child of that age needs lots of adult interaction and a low number of children to compete with.

I would prefer a CM over a nursery as it's more like a home. There will be trips to the park, the supermarket, helping in the kitchen, etc. I don't personally believe young children need to be stimulated non-stop. Hopefully a CM will take her to playgroups or a few activities where they can be around other children to get the socialisation aspect, although tbh I am not convinced that necessary until children are more like 2/3.

I think a childminder is preferable as they are in a home environment.

At that age, I would (and did) go for a full time childminder, but then I am passionate about young children being in an environment which is as close to a home environement as possible until they are at least 3.

I'm a nursery teacher.

I totally agree with you, SootySweepandSue, that they don't need to be stimulated non-stop. I just worry that mine already spends too much time in front of a screen (he's just been introduced to, and is very enamoured of, online CBeebies games) and not enough time doing imaginative play etc.

DS goes to both nursery and a CM (I'm at uni in a different town to the one I live in, and it makes sense this way). It's worked well for us, and I don't think it confused DS! He gets different things from each settting, if I had to choose one now I'm not sure which one I would! Although that's partly because his nursery is so amazing - my default position is CM before nursery.

However DS didn't start at the nursery until he was 2 - before that he was at a CMs for 3 days a week.

Yes I would agree that full-time is a lot for a such a little one. I also agree that they get more out of being with a CM at that age.

Is having just a CM and not a nursery at all an option?

Have you explored options other than going back full time? Would your work consider even 4 days a week for example?

I did both as my childminder didn't have a full time place and my baby was only five months. Childminder loads better and three years on dd still goes to her. Nursery was ok but just not as good. As soon as I could drop the nursery I did and my dd goes to a play group 2 mornings and the childminder is happy to take her. They also go to a mums and toddlers group.

Thanks so much for all your replies. Food for thought!

The childminder option is only available part time, so it is really just about whether a combination would be better, or just nursery.

DH and I are re-exploring part time/ 4 day weeks as an idea, but not sure if it would be agreed by employers and/or financially viable for us.

But why would they get more out of a CM at that age? Nursery have a key of 1:3 for under 1s, so it's no worse than a CM. Personally I always felt more comfortable with the idea of more than one adult looking after my children in an organised setting.

Childminders tend to be older and parents themselves, they tend to be less structured and provide more of a home from home environment. Nursery workers tend to be young and many are not parents. Nurseries tend to be quite regimented for babies, but perhaps better for older toddlers. I know it's a sweeping generalisation and I sent my 1st child to nursery for 3 days a week from the age of 7 months, but I would never do it again. All my other children have gone to a childminder who I have known personally or who has been recommended. I will probably get flamed but I don't think that people who are not parents look after children as empathetically as those who are already parents. I would go with your gut instinct, sounds like you really want to use the CM who is known to you. CM's are very heavily regulated these days, no one would go into it unless they were passionate about it.

id just like to say that i dont quite agree with the comment 'I will probably get flamed but I don't think that people who are not parents look after children as empathetically as those who are already parents.'
I started work when i was 18 (no children) and looking back i wouldnt have done, said etc anything different than what i did. I have always grown up around children (mum and dad foster) so i do prickle a bit at that statement for myself.
However i do think personally that a GOOD childminder (not nessasarily voted good from ofsted) would be prefrable to me at that age than a nursery. But it would have to be a childminder i knew and trusted.
Both my ds's have done 2 'settings', Family, preschool, V small nursery in a house(almost like a childminders) and a childminders. My youngest found settling in at the childminders the easiest.

I'm just not sure how just having popped a sprog yourself would qualify someone any more for child care than being trained in a childcare environment.

Also not sure what "home from home" is supposed to mean. In my daughter's baby room they have plenty of toys to play with freely, sometimes get to get their fingers grubby with baking/decorating of biscuits, or sticking random bits of tissue paper to things. When they want a cuddle they can cuddle. Yes meal times are structured, but I can't see that working any different at a CM who looks after more than one child.

9 babies in a room, plus 3 adults, is very full on. I would go for part time at the nursery and give her some quieter/more relaxed days at the childminder too.