Childcare

[pinkyprincess]

When baby's born what are your plans?

I'm taking the full year off then after that I'm depending on if I enjoy being at home with him and if we can afford for me to stay home!
I don't have a great job, I'm not earning much and I don't have a huge amount of qualifications so I'm hoping that being at home is more rewarding than my current job!

I've also thought about training as a teacher which I'd love to do.

As for LO if I did go back to work or into education I'm not sure what i'd like LO to do. My MIL would want him but she's disabled so I thought 1 day a week (so it's not too much for her) then the other 4?????

What are your plans?

 

[Toni_Win]

I'm really lucky in that I get 6 months mat leave on full pay from my job, then can take another 3 months on satutory maternity pay for 3 months, then another 3 months unpaid and still be guaranteed my job, as long as I come back in that 12 month period. At the moment I don't know how long I'll be able to take off. I would really love to have the full year off, but that depends on whether we can afford it or not. So we're going to see how the first few months go, and how the baby impacts on our savings, and then make a decision as to when I need to go back to work. Unfortunately there's no way we could afford to live on DH salary alone in the long term, so I do have to go back to work.

When I do go back we've decided to put the LO in a nursery. We don't have any family nearby who could look after it on a daily basis, so it's childminder or nursery. Looking at the difference in our area there isn't that much in it price wise. Childminders are slightly cheaper, but if they are ill then you have to take time off to look after LO, so nursery wins there. Also nurserys all do so much in terms of early years education, which many childminders are not able to do because of the variety of kids they look after. So it's definitely going to be nursery for us. We've only looked at 1 so far, but it is pretty good. It's convinient as we drive past it on our way to work, and they offer term time only places, which is really helpful as DH is a teacher, so that can really help keep the costs down. And they accept childcare vouchers, which both DH and I can claim. Need to check out the others in the area though to make sure there's nowhere we like even more.

 

[lewisca]

Hi hun all of mine have gone to a nursery not full time 3 days a week as me and oh work shifts so can juggle things a bit !! I am thinking of cutting my hrs slightly this time though xxx


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=52.416783,-1.569923

 

[Hunnie]

I could really do with getting back to college as soon as possible really just so I can get my course finished and then I can decide after that if I want to take next year out and spend it with baby or carry on and go to uni.

If I go to uni then I am entitled to have my childcare payed for through the care to learn scheme. If I dont go to uni then I think I might end up going stir crazy at home as I wouldnt be able to get a job that would cover the costs of childcare while I was there so it looks like uni and childcare will be the plan.

 

[pinkyprincess]

I do like the idea of staying at home and teaching a little one how to become a person but I know I'd get lonely without adult time! I also want to have more to talk about than my child you know?

 

[Hunnie]

I do like the idea of staying at home and teaching a little one how to become a person but I know I'd get lonely without adult time! I also want to have more to talk about than my child you know?

thats exactly how I feel :/. How about looking into some evening classes during the week? I think Id quite like to go on a cookery one or something if I stay at home so then I have some structure to the week and my mind is being kept active.

 

[Cazza]

I currently work 3 days a week and OH works shifts. Am planning to be off for 10 months and will go back to my job on my current hours.

LO will go to nursery/chilminders one day a week and then OH and I will juggle shifts/work days to cover the other two.

If money was no object I would stay at home and be a full time mum. OH can take early retirement in 3 years so he's planning on doing that and being a house husband!!!

 

[Maybe_mummy]

Well im having 3 months off then back to full time work, so LO will be going to a childminder. As im self employed dont have much option and we simply cant afford not too. For the second 3 months shes 2 days at a childminder and 2 days with my mum then my and OH are going to alternate having a day off each week for another 3 month. Then at 6 months she will go to the childminder 4 days a week and my mum 1 day.

I thought I was really early looking for childcare but seems not i went to some nurserys and just didnt think they were suitable for a young baby, came across this childminder and shes fabulous and loads of glowing refrances and she just 'feels' right. Its going to be heartbreaking to leave her but needs must.

My best friend has a good mix as she now only works part time and she says that they worked out the costs of full time work and full time childcare compared to part time and the difference was only about £100 a month so she said would rather loose that and have some extra time with her daughter and still have some adult time. Depends whats right for you! XX

 

[Mrs N]

I am going to be a stay at home mum, my current job (temping at the moment) asked me if I would come back but I said that I would only do 2 afternoons a week and they said that it wasnt enough so I shall be a stay at home mum till I decide I want another part time job. DH job means that I cant really work as he works very long hours.
xxxx

 

[mummy2b73]

I got made redundant (after 20 years working at the same place) so at the moment I am not working I am hoping to get maternity allowance (subject to me qualifying but thats another story) and hope to stay at home for a while but if I do go back to work it will be part time and my mum will probably be looking after the baby.

 

[ForestLas80]

I have a job I haves work hard to get and do enjoy so want to go back but don't want to at the same time. I need to help my oH out as he wants to change career and needs me to support us when that happens so for the next couple of years I need to be back FT. Plan is 6 months off work, 2 months back to work part time then at 8 months full time and baby in nursery as have no family/friends nearby in a situation to help with child care think with baby two things might be different though. I work from home as well which does help a lot!

 

[Lilelephant]

I am taking 6 months mat leave which is all we can afford and then I have to go back but for 4 days not 5.
My sister is having Orlando 2 days and he my friends mum who is a childminder for 2 days.
Wish I could be a stay at home mum as hate my job but not a financial option for us. Luckily my hours r good and finish at 3.40 so will het home at a decent time and get to
Spend some of the afternoon with the little monkey

 

[suzzi]

this has got me thinking as i was going back full time but might go back for 4 days x my mum has offered to have lo 1 day a week which would mean only having child care for 3 days and it would be for term time only as i work at a school. but something i need to think about a lot more x x x

 

[redbear]

I will never ever ever send my child to a private nursery,
i went into childcare when i left high school for a year and worked at three well known nurserys that had four and five ofsted stars where really nice but when you work there you see how shit they really are.
The same toy's and activities day in day out, none of them did anything educational although they told the parents they where, they had me put up a display so i chose farmyard and when i wanted to actually do the activity with the kids they wouldn't let me, the display was or the parents,
They fed a vegitarian child sausage rolls, a muslim child sweets that where not halal,
they where just terrible. A
ll three where the same, all nice and telling the parents they where doing loads with the kids when they wheren't, they would leave the students (me and some others) to watch all the children while they all sat and talked. One woman had her daughter in the I ended up leaving childcare because of it all,
However i went to a surestart nursery and it was brilliant with the kids, probably because its goverment run not private. --- i know its a strong opinion but they have scared me from ever sending my child to private nursery xx

 

[pinkyprincess]

I'm a bit worried about waiting lists too! I havn't been able to look into anything due to moving, but we only intend on being in this place for another year so by the time he's in nursery/childminders/whatever we end up doing it'll be too late?

Redbear that's a scary thought!

 

[jojo_2012]

My son (9) goes to a childminder before and after school while I'm at work. Before he was school age he went to a day nursery full time while I was at uni.
When I go back I'm reducing my hrs to 2 days a week because I've had 9 years of working and missing out I'm not doing it again.

I'm only taking the 9 months paid leave. If I take the unpaid leave I still have to pay £140 a month into the pension because technically I'm still full time until I go back

I'll probably be signing baby up for the crèche at work. Alternatively if he doesn't get a place in time I will look for a good childminder as I prefer this to the nursery idea.

 

[redbear]

I don't want to scare anyone it was probably just my bad luck to end up in those places but because they where private the owners daughter had her daughter in the nursery and also worked there, her daughter was allowed to do what she wanted .....when other children where told to sit at the dinner table they let her run around and play, she was a bully and they just let her hit, push, take toys etc and any staff that tryed to tell her not to act that way would get told off over it. They also left me and another woman think on i was in my first year of college to look after 30 children all afternoon because the daughter and her friend who worked there went out shopping. its ment to be 4 children to one carer not 15 to one!
It was just terrible i would want to go to a goverment run nursery just because things like that can't or shouldn't happen. xx
I loved nursery as a kid tho so would like to find one but it won't be private thats all. x

 

[Hunnie]

I've recently done my placement at a nursery (may have been government run or private? I dont know the difference) and it actually seemed alright.
The children did a sensory session each morning which involved them looking at things of particular colours eg. monday was red day so there were lots of red things and as a taster they had some strawberry jam. Throughout the day they had lots of playing out time and pre-school were helped to get ready for primary school by having weekly PE sessions. They had access to weekly french lessons and were taken for swimming lessons but these were both at an additional cost. During the day they were read to continuously as well as being allowed constant access to drawing and toys. The food they were served was really good (I even ate it!) and they had fruit sessions both in the morning and afternoon, they all definitely went home with full bellies! Pre-schoolers were taken out twice weekly on walks around the countryside where the nursery is (either to see the pig at the farm or into the wooded area thats had all footpaths installed into). Two pieces of work were sent home during the week as well as daily diarys filled out for parents to look at and they also had to have weekly educational sessions. The first week I was there they were looking at dental health and did lots of activities involved around the dentists such as singing songs, listening to stories, dentist dressing up stuff and equipment etc. The 2nd week they looked at pirates.
I overall felt happy with the nursery and parents definitely got their moneys worth every week. The children all seemed happy and were taught manners throughout the day, not one single one got special treatment and they all behaved and told off when caught doing something wrong (wasnt exactly being told off but instead labelled as "making bad choices."

However I have also previously done another placement at another nursery and I really wasnt impressed with it at all. The children's minds were not stimulated at all during the week I was there. There were no daily activities and the nursery staff were very short with the children. The children werent allowed constant access to drawing and painting stuff and only had one 20 minute playing out session a day. They werent allowed to go out on trips at all and parents werent offered for their children to go to swimming lessons or have any other educational opportunities. The nursery itself was cold and none of the staff seemed to fill out any paperwork. I never saw any diaries being completed.

I do definitely think its a case of searching for nurseries. I think LO will probably be going to the first nursery I mentioned, even though its a bit out of the way for me, as I trust it and felt happy with my baby being there.

I think ive definitely had an advantage being able to have a proper look into daily nursery life as Im sure if I was to go and view other nurseries in my area then they would straight away try to make the place look better than it actually is.

Its a difficult one :/

 

[redbear]

Hunnie - that nursery sounds brilliant and well run its just the experience ive had has left a bad taste for nurserys that are private - i.e someone owns the nursery where as i would prefer it to be goverment i.e surestart just because i would trust the people running it more. I think because in the three nurserys i worked in all the owners seemed money hungry and didnt really care, didn't really want to provide anything more than basic for the kids.
I would't really tryst looking around a nursery anymore because the main nursery i worked at looked brilliant to the parents and even me when i went for my interview but working there you see what its really like.
Its probably just my luck i ended up at rubbish places when i worked in a jounior school it was brilliant and the bit i saw of there nursery it looked amazing so thats why ive decided i want a sure start or school nursery xx

 

[Olive]

I did work experience in a nursery when I was 15 and I always remember them giving a 2 year old muslim boy mini sausages and I asked if he could eat them and you could see realisation hitting her. Lol. She took them off of him and her response was something along the lines of it being a shame and how much he was enjoying them. WTF. At 15 I knew better than her. Silly mistake but actually bang out of order when you think about it.

You just made me remember redbear with your vegetarian story.

I think a lot of nurserys look fab. I suppose you just have to go and have a look. I quite like the idea of a childminder. I'll be going back part-time, or if I'm very lucky and we can afford it, not at all

xxx