Need to start thinking about childcare - where to start?

[jumpyjan]

I am due to go back to work 2 or 3 days a week in January and think I should probably start to look at the options for childcare but don't have a clue where to start.

DD will be 1 by that time but I still feel very panicky about the thought of leaving her as I have not left her at all so far.

In a way I think I would prefer a childminder but don't know how you go about 'interviewing' if that is the right word. What are the benefits of nurseries vs childminders? I have a list of childminders and nurseries in the area but the information it gives is quite limited - do you just phone around them/visit them etc?

Would love to hear from anyone who has recently been through this and has some advice on how to select a childminder or nursery and what the benefits are of each.

my dt's have been at nursery full time since they were 5 months and when we looked around price was the same. With nursery, if any staff off sick, it doesn't affect you, with CM you have to make sure she is part of a network that stand in and help out when CM is ill else you could be 'working from home' at short notice if you have no alternative childcare. My nursery does after school club for when they go to school. the local school is near by and they do school runs, so luckily they will be in familiar surroundings after school and during holidays up til when they are 8.

I would advise looking into both and you will know what feels right.

Trusting your gut is essential, but what can help hugely with this is if you can get word of mouth recommendations from people locally. When I went back to work after dd1 we got a place with a wonderful childminder who had looked after my best friend's daughter so I could ask my pal lots of questions that might have felt a bit daft if I was asking the childminder directly. Probably people at your local playgroups etc will know people - and also you might hear about vacancies before they're advertised officially.

I think the other thing to bear in mind is that you don't need to be making the decision forever. You could go for a childminder now and then move to a nursery later if you think that the more bustling environment will work better as your little one gets bigger. Although we worry about the stress children will have in moving, I think in reality it's more us that doesn't like change - many kids are very flexible. When I went back to work after dd2 we employed a nanny as the costs made more sense (although still more, there's no way around that) and it's really the only way to get quality childcare for the hours we need in our jobs (for me PT but three very long days with travel).

Meeely2 - in total agreement with your reason for choosing a nursery they are reliable, the afterschool club is a great idea ours does not offer this. Is your nursery part of a chain? ( like busy bees or something )

glucose, nope, it's a one off family run place, but if your child has been there since babydom, u are guarenteed a place in afterschool. I think they do it because the local school is very close and they also provide after school care, so the nursery can take on the excess. (plus the owners 10 yo triplets go to the same school).

I love it as it's like taking them to granny's house every day but with more kids - it's a big family, ALL the kids get together after 4pm and play in the same room, so there's lots of mixed age interaction and it's situated in the middle of the wood, so unless they are knee deep in snow they go for long woodland walks everyday. Well worth every penny (even though i miss those pennies dearly!)