help please - nursery or childminder??

[Allyco]

I'm returning to work on 4th January (sooner than I wanted but was made redundant during my maternity leave, but got another job very quickly) and don't know whether to find a nursery place or childminder for dd who will only be just on five months when I return.

Help please - who has a preference and why?

It doesn't really matter what we think, Allyco - it's what's right for you and your dd, plus what is available locally that you click with. We chose day nursery for both our children because we had good ones with vacancies reasonably accessible, although for a few fraught months until we moved we had a long round trip to our first nursery.
We were never lucky with childminders - our first and only one was not a success, and we can't find one that does pick-ups from ds' school now.
Many people instinctively prefer one or the other - because of our previous experience, we wanted the reassurance of an "open" setting for our children's care, but nurseries can be viewed as too noisy and distracting for young babies.
I'd say a REALLY good childminder was the ideal for a baby under 18 months but they are hard to find. Good luck with your search and your return to work.

I think you should explore both options in your area. See which one you like most. I've had a childminder myself - since both my babies were four months old - but lots of other people have had very good experiences with nurseries too.

Childminder. The child has a day like being at home. Trips to the shops, helping with laundery, playing games, doing activities. Drop-in centres to visit, going to the park, library and toy library visits etc. Also the one on one that the child gets with the minder. Just my opinion. I'm sure that there are pros and cons on both sides, but a childminder is what I favour.

i have 4 kids 12 yrs, 8 yrs, 6 yrs and 10 1/2 weeks. Mine have been going to same childminder for 8 yrs - the oldest 2 anyway and the youngest will be going after Easter. I preferred a childminder to nursery as 1) couldn't afford nursery! 2) while they were really young i wanted them to have a more homely atmosphere. childminder is fantastic, they love her to bits (sometimes i think they prefer her to me) but also with a nursery i know friends who've been phoned to collect child for slightest thing - i don't been anything serious but slight sniffles etc.

Totally depends what is available in your area - I agree with some of the others that a good childminder is worth their weight in gold, but we started off with a nursery when dd was 5.5 months because we couldn't find a childminder we were really happy with. And dd got on very well - was very happy there and the staff were loving. We then got on the waiting list for an amazing childminder mother-daughter team, and when we got a place when dd was 2 we moved her, which was perfect, because the nursery only catered up to age 2 anyway.

The main thing is that you are happy with it. Visit as many places as you can so you get a feel for what is available and you'll get a gut instinct for where you would be happy to leave your child.

Go with what suits you and what you feel comfortable with. We have a fantastic childminder - my dh has been going to her since he was 7months (now 2.3) and loves it, but equally I have friends whose children go to nursery and also have a great time. Good childcare is good childcare whatever the setting.

The one thing I thought about was location - it had to be practical for both myself and dh to pick up/drop off, so is very close to home - location can make all the difference.

Good luck!

IMO a childminder. Your baby is so young a home environment would be preferable. I know some people are very happy with daycare nurseries but i know someone who has worked for a few of the big chains and has some horror stories. I sent both mine to a childminder mainly - dd did attend a daycare nursery when she was 3 and it was Ok for her at that age but the babies just seemed to sit in a room all day - very depressing. Don't want to start arguments here - this is just my opinion!

Hi Allyco,

It is a tough choice to make. I have worked in a nursery and as a childminder, and as a mum have used both for my son.

I think what other people have said is right, it is largely about how you feel. I was very concious as a childminder not to have the paretns of smaller children feel resentful of me. This is human nature but V.difficult to deal with. I paid close attention to the education of the children i cared for too, and not all childminders do this. When i used a childminder it was someone very close who already had a strong bond with my ds. So i didn't have a problem. While working at a nursery i found that the children really did benifit from have company there own age. Not a huge issue at your dd's age but as she gets a few months older it will make a difference. Not having issues with sharing etc. But the special bond with one person is missed, but then you may want to keep that for yourself. It all depends how your dd would handel it. When ds went to a nursery he loved it! but he was a bit older, just 2yrs. He was thrilled to have so many playmates. i didn't find him phased by leaving there to go to a childminder tho. (i did this due to a change in working hours, nursery couldn't accomodate). All in all i think nurseries are much more controlled environments, thus given a parent more peice of mind, but a childminding setting is a lot more true to everyday life. I think you need to write a pros and cons list before you make any decisions and decide what's most important to you.

Sorry if i've gone on . Just hth.

I think the decision has to be yours as each of us has made a decision which we feel is right for us and our children/babies. I also definitely agree that there are advantages and disadvantages of both. Before you make you decision though - irrespective of what your current instincts would be - I would suggest that you visit both, i.e. a good range of both childminders and nurseries as it is only through doing this that you will have your opinions enforced or changed!!

My onwn personal preference was the nursery route. I guess too allay my own fears/concerns I wanted dd to be in a more controlled environment and therefore not have the one on one attention that childminders (or nannies for that matter) would provide. I was also exceptionally lucky to have a fantastic nursery available that we could afford and could get into and I know my dd is wonderfully happy there. DD gets to mix with others her own range, does a huge range of activities - including outdoor stuff and catch up on all the every day - laundry/shops etc. on the weekends when she is with us.

I'm not knocking nannies or childminders at all here as I also have friends who have found great people and the set-up they have with them works for them. So it really comes down to individual choice and what will work for you.

my instinct initially was a childminder - with dd being so young I thought maybe a nursery would be too intimidating. Am going to start searching around asap. Thanks!

We went for a nursery. DD started at 21 weeks. We have never looked back and it was one of the best decisions we have ever made. DD has thrived at nursery form day one and made lots of very early friendships with adults and children alike. DD is now 2y 8m and moved to a new nursery this September because of my work. Againa he has settled in well and loves it.

At nursery Dd has done so much and has done so well. She does so much there and far more than I can ever imagined doing myself if I had been at home woth her full time.

I just know that it would have taken me longer to feel comfortable leaving my DD in the care of just one other adult. I know that these are my own thoughts only.

My DD is happy, healthy and very very socialable. She adores nursery and we feel that this was the best choice for us. With another child we would make the same decision again, and hope it would pan out so beautifully again