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childminder vs nursery?

hi everyone,
i go back to work on may 26th, and unexpectedly i'm now going to need about 1 1/2 days of childcare for evie as my MIL isnt as flexible as we previously thought. it's pretty short notice to be looking into childcare now i assume, but none the less i don't know if i want her to go to nursery or a childminder. for those of you with experience of either, or even anybody who has an oppinion, i'd love to hear pro's and con's of each or personal experiences of either to help me make my decision! she's now 5months, so 6months when i go back
thank you xx

Replies

  • my little one didnt start a playgroup until he was 2 1/2 so i cant comment to much but it has been great for him, he loves to socialise and i would recommend they all get to learn theys skills at a young age but im not sure i would want a 6 month old to be in a nursery, i dont have a problem with them i just think it would be nicer for them to be in a home environment and with more 1 to 1 care at such a younge age and then swith to a nursery in another 6 months or so. either way i think the most important thing is going to be finding someone or group you cick with so it might just be woth meeting some childminders and nurserys, it might make up your mind for you
  • hi my son goes to a childminder but she is a friends mum so we did already know her but she is brilliant with him he loves her so much he has never cried when left. she treats him like her own grandson (she doesnt have any yet) and im really pleased with it. i do worry about the social part of it but she takes him to the park and i take him to playgroup so im ok about it at mo. may look into nursery when he a bit older. xx
  • I'm really glad my son went to childminders because he gets fantastic care and he is really close to them and the other child. Its in their own home and spends a lot of time with them playing games and doing activities but also stuff within the community - going to the park and to activity groups and the library - all stuff I'd want to be doing with him.
    However at the end of the day it will be the individual person that looks after your child that is the important thing and whether you and your child click with that person - the person within the nursery is just as likely to be as experienced and qualified - if not more so than a childminder - there will also be more than one adult present if you were to have trust issues with leaving her with someone you don't really know.
    You can check the ofsted report of childminders by using their registered number.
    Because you are short of time I would recommend investigating who has availabilty and going from there. also ask people if they know anyone good - if any one has older children and you can ring and see if they have spaces.
    I live in a rural town and there is 1 nursery and about 8-10 childminders - I had 3 months to sort out childcare for 1 and a half days and there was no space anywhere. In the end he had to go to 2 different ladies and luckily both were brilliant!
    best of luck, julesy

    [Modified by: julesy on April 27, 2008 07:37 PM]
  • hey...i worked on a day care n my honest opinion is i wud never let my child in one!! my we boy will be goin childminders, in the day care i found if one child had a baad habit then they all pick it up...and the food we were givin 2 tins custard between 15 kinds! like come on!! and there reali expensive as well
  • the nursery i put my lo in two days a week is fantastic! the staff are brill, very caring and they try to spend time with each child individually each day. each staff has 'key children' so they specialise in those children. they keep great records of what he is doing every day and identify areas that need more work and tailor the activities to suit. they go out to the park when the weather is good(no garden), 6 babies in a huge pram and a line of little toddlers in yellow jackets. they look like little ducks going down to the pond - so cute!
    Jack and i have aways been very social but i made an effort to go to larger groups and activites with him so he wouldn't be scared of having lots of children around when he started nursery. he loves it, was quite teary the first few weeks but now loves it! only problem is he has now constantly got a cold!!:roll:
  • Hi my little girl Eleanor started nursery when she was about 6 months, I too didn't know which to choose but almost a year on and the nursery has proved to be the best decision I've made in Eleanors life so far. She's so happy and outgoing and does stuff at nursery that I don't alwasy think to do with her. The have well supervised outdoor play areas and mix with plenty of other children.
    At nursery Eleanor seems to have gained social skills that some children don't appear to have as they've not been around groups of children before. Its a great learning environment. They even did a sponsored walk recently for charity...tottering around the playground........but it gets them involved in activities that we don't always consider.
    Its worth looking around a few nurseries first, but I found that if you think about it too much, you'll end up talking yourself out of external childcare altogether.
    Tomorrow Eleanor will be baking cakes and spending some time in the older childrens room ready for her move there in september. We've even had a giraffe teddy to stay for the weekend and had to write in his adventure diary what he did when he 'slept over' at ours. These little things are absolutely priceless as little snippets of adventures in your childs life that they can share with ALL of their nursery friends.
    She's off to the farm in a couple of weeks wih her 'school' chums for another adventure.
    Good luck with your decision
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