Travelling on tube to take child to nursery

[firstimemum]

Hi, just wondered if anyone takes the tube in the morning and afternoon (or knows of anyone who does) to drop their child off at nursery?? I am planning on using a nursery at Canary Wharf which would mean travelling on the tube and taking a pram because ds will be less than a year old. The Tube website says that it is not permitted to take a pram on the Tube during peakhour!! This basically puts a massive spanner in the works and now I am wondering how I will get to work and nursery. So, just wanted to know if anyone had any experience of travelling to and from home and work on the tube during the morning and afternoon peakhour. Many thanks

haven't done the work thing but have taken ds in his pram on tube and i'm sure we've done peak hours-positive in fact.nobody has ever said anything though.
it was hell on earth of course!
could you strap ds into a sling instead of the pram?

First off, a peakhour commute is less than fun even when you're on your own, so, as Alexsmum says, don't underestimate how nasty it could be with a tiny. Any chance of flexible hours? Ghastly as it sounds, arriving for work an hour early and legging it at 4pm might be enough to miss the worst of it, and you'll probably be up early with the baby anyway...

As Canary Wharf is large, new and well set up for prams (flat access, lifts etc) you're less likely to get a 'peak hours only' jobsworth problem there, but where are you getting on?
If somewhere equally well equipped (ie on new Jubilee line and no changes) you might pull it off, but they could deny you access.

Would a sling in combination with an umbrella-fold lie-flat buggy (Maclaren Techno type) be any good? Child can stay in the buggy for as long as you can get away with, but go in the sling if you're asked to fold it.

Would also advise travelling as light as possible (have duplicates of everything at nursery so no bags of sippy cups, nappies etc; don't carry laptop if you can help it etc).

good luck...

if you are going to do it alone every day, how on earth are you going to manage the steps?
my thing was to just ask random strangers to help and most would even if with bad grace.ok for an occasional trip but not every day.

I did this with steps at both ends for 2 years on the Met line. I changed my hours so I was working 8 to 4 so missed the worst of the rush, though had a few bad journeys going home due to tube failures. We had a lightwight Maclaren which I folded if it got too full. Never heard a word against the pushchair (though I didn;t listen too hard!), and the staff at Finchley Road were especially kind and friendly. DD loved it tbh and chatted up the other commuters, most of whom were quite cheerful at that early 7 am hour strangely-mainly older business men, or laborers, and I often had unasked for help up the stairs, sometimes from the same guys as I went on the same train each day. If no one offered (which I didn;t expect anyway), I was able to carry it with her in it holding it at the side, until she got too heavy, but I am quite tall and strong. Had to stop when I got pregnant again, and also developed a slipped disc a few years later, so can't wholeheartedly recommend it. You need to travel light-a good rucksack for any stuff (storybooks drinks, and little snacks in fiddly packaging to amuse him/her essential esp for emergency) and a raincoat with hood as you can't carry an umbrella, and that keeps you cleaner too.

I did it for four years. Not fun though got easier once she was around 3 and we didn't have to take the buggy.
But neither of us enjoyed it and it added a dimension of stress to both the beginning and end of our days.
I thought it would give us extra time together but in fact it was the opposite of quality time....
Seriously think about using a nursery or childminder near your house. Wish I had done!

Sorry that's probably not very helpful... of course if you have to do it then you will get through it... but look at all options. Good luck

Thanks, that's all really useful stuff. I am dreading doing it but childcare options around where I live (Clapham/Battersea) are limited and I feel I want to have him somewhere closeby work at least for the first few months so that I can drop in and check on him if I want to. He's too big to carry in a sling but that's a good suggestion about having one on standby if I have to fold up the pushchair. I'll consider the Maclaren too.

I can probably work 9am-5pm or 8-4. Are the Tubes really packed at 8am?

I'm really impressed that you managed it for 2 and four years bluejelly and major stress. An Amazonian effort!

My ds goes to a nursery near my home but I commute to work in the City and use the tube at peak times - I don't think anybody would especially object to a pushchair but you might struggle to get on a tube with it at peak rush hour (especially if there are signal/track problems etc). Probably depends which tube line you will be using and at what times. at 9.10am this morning for example I had to let two tubes pass me at Kings Cross before I could squeeze on (and that was me on my own.)but other days at 8.00am its a breeze..

Having said that, if you have a sympathetic boss you might be able to tweak your hours to miss the worst times - 15mins here or there can make all the difference to how busy the tube can be.

I echo bluejelly - look at all the options to try and make the journey as stress free as possible.

firsttimemum, sorry posts crossed - in my experience 8.00am is busy but not unmanageable - 9.00am is much worse..

firstimemum, please get a sling. Forget a pram. If taking a buggy, make sure it is easily foldable and carried in one hand. There are steps, fast escalators, not all tubes have easy disabled access. Tubeusers are the nastiest people ever, having commuted on it at rushhour for a good few years. That was during my childless days. Nobody gives up seats for pregnant ladies. I don't expect they will give you sympathy if you are with a child. The rush hour jostle and squeeze is frightening enough for an adult ...

Can you change your hours to travel off-peak? Do you get on when the tube is relatively empty. A seat would be a lifesaver.

Sorry to sound so negative. But it is stressful journey - some days are better than others. Be prepared for the worst.

I have spent 4 years travelling on tube with first 1 & then 2 children & have never been asked to fold up buggy.

They even let you go up and down escalators with them although I avoid this as far as poss since a woman fell over in front of me at the bottom of escalator and I narrowly avoided a nasty pile up.

If you are going from Clapham/ Battersea can you get train to Waterloo from Clapham Junction? Then you'd only have to go on Jubilee from Waterloo which is accessible by lift at both ends. This would only mean contending with stairs at Clapham Junc. These are a pain but I've always managed them on my own with a lightweight buggy (7kg or less) & people will usually offer to help particularly if you make a real meal of going up the stairs (taking up whole stair case etc) or stand looking pathetic at bottom. (Am always a bit too wimpy to ask)

Working 8-4 is advisable. Tubes are much less crowded before 8.

Good luck

Thanks everyone, am feeling a bit calmer about the possibilities now that I know how other people have done it. I think I might try the Canary Wharf nursery for a few months when I first go back to work and in the meantime look for one closer to home once he and I are used to the idea of him going to nursery. I know it will be horrendous travelling for those few months but at least it will only be for a limited time and, yes, I'll take the sling with me (he is already about 23lb at 7 months old, so using a sling all the time is not really an option unless I want to become a hunchback). It's really good to know that none of you were refused onto a Tube or train with a pushchair, despite TFL's policy - I almost died when i read that policy on their website this morning!

thanks everyone and well done for surviving (well, sort of) travelling to and from work in London with children!!

Having said this firsttimemum, I'm not sure if I'd do what you are doing.

It will be quite a long day for your little one and I would have thought that for what you are paying for a nursery in Canary Wharf you could easily get a childminder or nanny share in Clapham. I always have the impression that Clapham is crawling with nannies looking for shares (whenever I'm trying to recruit one to work for me where I live which is not Clapham!).

I know its nice to think that you'll be able to pop in on him for the first few months but I do think that a two hour plus commute each day with a baby will be really hard work.

Anyway good luck whatever you decide.

You're right about the cost at Canary Wharf - they charge £1095 a month for 4 days! The complication with my situation is that we are looking for a bigger place to live in the area but until we find something we don't know exactly where we will be living. This makes looking for a local childcare place almost impossible. It's all a bit of a mess really.

You're right about the cost at Canary Wharf - they charge £1095 a month for 4 days! The complication with my situation is that we are looking for a bigger place to live in the area but until we find something we don't know exactly where we will be living. This makes looking for a local childcare place almost impossible. It's all a bit of a mess really.

You're right about the cost at Canary Wharf - they charge £1095 a month for 4 days! The complication with my situation is that we are looking for a bigger place to live in the area but until we find something we don't know exactly where we will be living. This makes looking for a local childcare place almost impossible. It's all a bit of a mess really.

I too liked the idea of being able to drop in at the nursery to check etc.
In reality i did it twice ( in four years!)
Babies/kids get really confused if they think you are coming to pick them up and take them home and then you leave them there again.
If there aren't any good nurseries near you, have you thought about a childminder?
If I had my life again I would have chosen a childminder who lived with me rather than a nursery near my workplace...

I still think it would be worth looking for a childminder or nannyshare locally. I think this could work even of you are planning to move as people who are looking after more than one child often can cope with arrangements that only last a few months. Have you tried looking at/ advertising in Simply Childcare? They often have adverts for slightly unusual childcare arrangements.

I'm presuming here that you are buying somewhere in which case it can often take up to 6 months with all the faffing around.

Anyway hope it works out

get the right carrier and you cna carry babies much heavier than 23lb in comfort. I have an ergo classic carrier and can carry my 3 stone 4 year old in it over a considerable distance!

If you are starting work you will have to drop off earlier anyway, if you drop of at the nursery at 8 am that will leave you time to get into work realxed and even have time for a coffee before going in, this means you will miss the 8-9hell but still start at 9 am, simliarly at the end of the day by the time you pick up from nursery and get babes ready the main rush will be starting to ease.

I live in rural scotland and I wouldn't even consider getting the train or bus into town at 8.30am due to the squeez so thoughts are with you.

We travel with a 18-month old and a 4.5 year-old on the tube from Fulham to Hyde Park every day. Works fine for us. The boys enjoy their tube ride and get to chat with people on their way to nursery. We use a light buggy for DS2 (didn't know it wasn't allowed) and DS1 walks. I think it really depends on the child as some children could probably find it stressful. I know there are some lovely nurseries at Canary Warf. I have friends who work there and they often have lunch with their children. I think that would be lovely!

You can carry a child in a sling until they are 3 years old or even older. We have an ellaroo hip sling that ds (17 months) loves and is really comfortable and light. Dh and I have carried him around in it for a couple of hours or more quite comfortably. The main problem I find is when wearing bulky coats in the winter etc but it is much easier to use than a push chair on the tube Another possibility is a child backpack which all have inbuilt space for child/baby essentials.

Mind you I tried a nursery near work and ended up with a childminder near home. Much less hassle at the end of the day when ds is really tired and does a lot of crying.