Childcare - advice and tips please

mumonashoestring

Little'un is 11 months old and I have been a SAHM since his birth having given up my old job in London when he was born. As we can't afford for me to stay home forever, I'm going to be starting the search for a local, part time job soon. I'm hoping to do either 2 or 3 full days, or 4 part or half days a week.

Whatever hours I end up working, I'll need to find either a nursery place or childminder for little'un. I would be very grateful for any pro's and con's to using nursery care or a childminder, and any tips on what to look for/avoid, particularly anything you have learned by experience that you wouldn't have kmown to look for before having kids please

Little'un is a very sociable little bod. He is an only child at the moment, but seems to enjoy being around other children at play sessions at the local children's centre. However, he also loves to be the centre of attention among any adults in the room. He still takes breastfeeds but is gradually getting used to using a sippy cup, and he eats pretty much anything you offer him.

FBaby

I would suggest you consider both. Both my childre started with a childminder (at 9months and 5 months) and at that age, I would say it suited them well, but by the time they were both 12 months (9 months for my son), they needed more stimulation than what the childminder could offer. Both childminders were reliable and caring but in the end, they were in and out, picking up other kids and I felt in both cases that my children had to follow suit.

In nursery, even though they of course didn't get much more individual attention, I did feel that the care was centered around the age group, so in a way more individual (then having to wake up from a nap to go and pick up the school children as it happened with the childminder). I also have sociable children who are very clever, so they needed the buzzing of a nursery environment and more importantly the structure learning that they offered. Both my kids adored nursery.

In the end, it really depends on the childminder and the nusery. The nursery my kids went to offered a 1/3 ration for under 1 yo, but as the other kids my son's carer looked after were part-time, he often had her for himself or only shared her with one other, so in many ways, he had more 1 to 1 attention than he did with the childminder.

The key things I look for is a childminder who didn't have young children herself. No offense to those who do, but I felt more reassured that an older childminder would be so because of her love of children rather than a young mum doing it just so it allows her to be at home with her children yet get an income. My childminder was in her 60s, but full of beans and adored kids.

Good luck and do start early. Don't go with any provider unless you feel totally happy that they can care well for your baby.

mrcow

Are you a single mum? If not, then I would look to find a part time job that fits in with your partner's hours so that he can do the childcare. Your baby is too young to get much benefit from external childcare and you'll save yourself a packet.

My first part time job was a few hours at the weekend and it worked out really well. Plus the money was ours rather than having to hand it over to a nursery.

Metranil_Vavin

I work part time MOnday-Wednesday and My DS goes to a local nursery 2 days a week and then a childminder on Wednesdays.

He really enjoys both, and I feel that he gets good experience from both.

My best tip would just be to trust your instincts with any nursery or childminder you go to see. I really liked my CM the minute I met her, and she was also highly recommended by a friend of mine who also lives locally.

Similarly with nurseries, some I walked into and got a good feeling from, and some I didn't..it's quite a personal choice. Look on your councils website for OFSTED reports and search for other peoples reviews on local forums too.

Good luck. I was a SAHM for a year, and was ready to go back to work p/t. I am expecting again now, so how things will work in the future I am not quite sure yet!

LannieDuck

My 16mo goes to nursery two afternoons a week, and loves it. She gets so many different activities, and gets to socialise with lots of other children. Some of my friends have their babies in nursery full-time, but that was too much for us (my OH is a SAHD instead).

Our nursery has CCTV that we can log into and look to see what LO is doing during the day. I'd never heard of nurseries having it before I went to this nursery, but I love it. I can see that LO is happy, and knowing that the parents can always be watching means that there's no chance the staff will just plonk the babies down in a corner and ignore them (not that this nursery would anyway - they're great).

Edit: I know a PP suggests that your baby's too young, but I would suggest you investigating childcare now even if you're not quite ready to do it yet. Some of the best nurseries have long waiting lists.

Make-it-3

The OP wants input on childminders v nurseries not to be told to stay at home MrCow. Some people work because they have to or even want to.

I chose to send my LO to nursery when she had just turned one (am lucky I didn't have a job I had to return to with a baby at a young age). For me it was about giving (my only child) opportunity to socialise with children her own age, develop new skills, learn to trust other adults and participate in activities we wouldn't do at home.

It took her a while to settle in and I do wonder what the very young babies (under ones) get out of it as there is only a limited range of activities they can participate in. I think they would be better in a home environment with a caring childminder.

The best advice is to go visit them and ask lots and lots of questions. Instinct and something "feeling right" plays a big part. I've just turned down a place at an "outstanding" rated nursery because we are happy at our "satisfactory" one.

onlyroz

I use both - my daughter attends a nursery full time and my son is collected from school by a childminder three days a week.

There are pros and cons to both. Nurseries are more structured, and obviously there is a wider range of children for your child to mix with. They will also most likely have a wider range of facilities and activities (e.g. my daughter's nursery has a pool, a large outdoor play area and a selection of animals, whereas my son's childminder has a modest garden and two rooms of her house set up for the children to use).

However, childminders are usually more flexible about the hours that you use (and ad-hoc changes if necessary) and will most likely take your child out on more visits to the library/park etc. Often childminders are in a large network and will meet up during the week bringing all of the children together. My childminder has been a god-send on the occasional day when I wasn't able to find any other care and she has also responded quickly to things like school closures. She is also less bothered if I am late (e.g. due to traffic) than the nursery is - because the nursery's insurance dicates that all children must be off the premises by 6pm.

Cost-wise they are likely to be similar.

ema_o

My experience was that I didn't mind being back at work because I knew DS was happy at nursery. It is worth spending time finding the right place so start looking as soon as possible (places fill up early).
If you want to see around a nursery it is best to just turn up rather than make an appointment, if they aren't expecting someone you will see what they are really like. The downside is there may not be someone to show you round but at least you get a first impression of the place.

Counting_Pennies_2

Both have pros and cons.

A childminder is on her own, she will have less children and will in a home environment, but she might have lots of commitments to have to drag the children out to.

A nursery is a dedicated venue that has facilities and staff, but how qualified they are and how bothered they can be varies massively.

I would go with your gut.

Also in terms of finding a job, you will probably need to go for whole days as opposed to half, as most childcare settings charge for the day

hth

mrcow

Make-it-3 wrote: »

The OP wants input on childminders v nurseries not to be told to stay at home MrCow. Some people work because they have to or even want to.

Can you read?

If you can, then please read my post (properly this time please?). Read what it actually says rather than what you'd like it to read.

If you can't then please let us all know so we can make allowances for when such drivel is posted.

pesky85

I've done nursery, and had a nanny come to my house. I would have tried a childminder but none could accommodate both my children together at the times I required.

I liked the nursery, I could watch from my desk via a nursery webcam and the girls that looked after my children were lovely. They were never unhappy to be dropped off. The managers / admin of the nursery were pretty shocking, which ultimately meant us taking our children out. That and the cost - nurseries are expensive! I was paying £1600 a month.

So I left work and returned a couple of months later in a part time role, where one of the nursery girls came to be my nanny. This didn't work out, and didn't last long. Based on my experience I would recommend going through a nanny agency if you wanted to try going down this route! They charge initial fees but it is probably worth it.

Ultimately I got fed up with the childcare battle and put my career on the back-burner, I'm now a SAHM and not really any worse off financially (this is because I have 2 pre-schoolers - when I only had 1 childcare was much more affordable and worthwhile).

I would go with nursery again, if I was back in your situation.