help me out mummies who work!

[Iwant3]

I am a childminder and currently lots of nurseries have expanded or other childminders have changed into nurseries etc.....

I just wondered what would make you choose a childminder over a nursery? or vice versa - just so that I can see what parents are looking for!

As you may or may not know Childminders are registered and inspected by Ofsted, and follow the Early years foundation stage just like a nursery - only difference is less children at a childminder, a mix of ages (Rather than separate rooms for ages) and home environment (usually).

any input would be great. thank you

 

[Belfa]

We are going with a childminder because I prefer the idea of by baby being in a household environment with a handful of other children and being in the same village and going to the park that is familiar to him. I pass a nursery on the way to the train station in the morning and feel sad seeing young babies in high chairs having their breakfast with loads of other kids x

 

[Holi]

I went nursery over childminder - purely because I had a bad experience as a kid with childminders! Nothing sinister, just basically left to entertain ourselves, felt very inferior to her own children (not allowed to play with their toys but had to share ours if we brought them, different buscuits for her own kids to us etc)

I would worry that would happen so if I was to ever to use a childminder if they could show me structure and activities to the day that would be brill xxx

 

[Pumpkin9]

I went nursery too. I don't like the idea of my son being potentially dragged about on school runs and I also like that he's in a setting with similar age children at nursery (classes are all specific age ranges) and they have lots of staff on site so I feel there are more eyes to keep and eye out.

I'm also liked the nursery ive taken my son too is purpose built. Generally I think near me people pick childminders for older kids, or if they have more than one child and also because they are often cheaper.

 

[Mummybexee]

This is very relevant to me atm.

I chose nursery because I wanted Oscar to be with similar ages ( he started at 6 months ) I don't like the insecurity of childminder - I.e sickness days, holidays etc - And too agree with the dragged about on school runs etc.

Now I'm not far off due with second I have a dilemma. Cost is 1 because nursery is more expensive. But having 2 19 months apart is great but the 2 pros with a childminder with 2 is they spend time together rather than in separate age rooms and it's cheaper!

However now I qualify for tax credits. If I can afford it I will def have both in nursery rather than childminder. I really think Oscar is how he is today because of what the team have done and have every confidence in them doing the same this time around.

They also know us and my son inside out now and they are offering a 10% sibling discount.

 

[Mummybexee]

I don't doibt a childminders ability to follow EYSF like a nursery oh another thing I didn't like was a childminder can have assistants etc - when looking it was husbands, older children, friends - don't like that at all - I like that there will always be maybe 4 staff around my son all qualified fully

 

[littlemonkey]

We are going with a childminder because I prefer the idea of by baby being in a household environment with a handful of other children and being in the same village and going to the park that is familiar to him. I pass a nursery on the way to the train station in the morning and feel sad seeing young babies in high chairs having their breakfast with loads of other kids x

This is how I felt about nursery with my son. All of the ones I looked around I hated because they just felt like little schools and I wasn't ready for my baby to go to a little school. As soon as we met our childminder I was instantly more comfortable with him staying there. I prefer the idea of a home from home environment. I wanted the same person to be looking after him day in day out. I also liked it was a smaller amount of children and there are children of different ages. I really think that's helped my son with his confidence around other children, as well as his speech.

There's a lot of reasons I chose and prefer the childminder Like Belfa, I live out the way a bit, so it made more sense to choose a childminder who lives locally. He's made good friends with two other boys who live in our road as a result. We also had a friend whose daughter was there when my son started. I like that there is flexibility rather than a strict routine, just like there would be at home. My childminder also has a huge back garden so he gets to play outside lots in the summer. She also takes the kids out to places like the zoo, woods etc so he's not always stuck in the same room (was going to say class room!).

 

[CARNAT22]

Childminder for me. Kids have plenty of time at nursery (due to when his birthday falls James will be in nursery for almost 2 years!)

I prefer them to have a less 'schooly' environment whilst they are still quite young.

X

 

[Jessiecat]

I have always used childminders and I've always had brilliant ones.
I chose a childminder due to the flexibility , I work different hours every week and only get my hours a few days in advance but the childminder would always be able to work around it. Whilst I was pregnant I ended up in hospital a few times and with a quick text she'd pick my son up from school with 10 minutes notice.
She sends newsletters out monthly to tell us what they've been doing and what's coming up the following month which I love reading.
For me it was about the homely environment and not being one of 30 kids. Also think it's done him good to mix with kids of different ages.

 

[Kiagirl]

I use a childminder as I work in a school so get the holidays off and she does term time only deals as she can fill twice over in the hols. I like the fact it's one person looking after her who knows her, not who ever is in that room that day. She copies older children doing dances etc that she wouldn't do at nursery and she really comes on. Yes she might go on the school run but they count how many blue cars they see etc and they are always learning.

At the end of the day I just want her to be happy and there are 3 other kids who tried the local nursery but didn't settle who are thriving at the childminders x

 

[Pumpkin9]

I think this thread is really interesting.

There's stuff that people are saying about childminders that others are basically saying is good and then there are things that people are saying about nursery that don't quite work that way at mine.

It clearly is just a personal choice. I might have thought differently if my son was going to nursery more than 1 day a week as he's with his grandparents the rest of the time. I wanted him to have some socialisation with children hence why I picked a nursery, I also wanted the back up just in case either of his grandparents couldn't cope.

Anyway I guess what I'm trying to say is there are pros and cons to both setups, it's just about trying to understand the person that has contacted you I guess to assure them that you'll meet what they see as a priority for their child

 

[GemmGirl]

Childminder for me. She has become like extended family and the kids love the home from home environment. I understand people having concerns about kids being dragged in the school run but in my experience this can be an advantage as when it comes time for your LOs to start school or nursery they are already well familar with the routine and even the building. In the run up to my DS starting nursery his childminder was taking him into the building a couple of times a week and introducing him to the staff and his new friends. I feel this really helped with the smooth transition and settling in. He would never have had this opportunity without her.

 

[Alipops1986]

I've chosen a nursery for Zachary - it's his first full day tomorrow!

We were quite restricted by:
- Location
- Opening/Closing times

The nursery is attached to my husbands work (he's a teacher, we both are) so we had no trouble getting a space as he's a staff member and we get 10% discount. I go the opposite direction to work, so we figured it made sense for OH to take Zac with him, rather than the logistics of going all over town at rush hour.

Also, the latest we can drop Zac off is 7:30am in order for us to get to work on time, a lot of the childminders we looked at didn't accept children until 8am at the earliest. Some closed at 5/5:30pm whereas we needed the flexibility of 6pm just in case.

I too was worried about if the childminder was poorly, Zac wouldn't be able to go etc whereas that isn't a concern with a nursery. I was a bit concerned as well about helpers - a lot of the childminders we looked at had friends/family as helpers.

That said, I did really love our local childminder but she didn't open until 8am, shut at 5pm and has no spaces until Sept 2016 anyway so that was the end of that!!

 

[littlemonkey]

It's true what you're saying Pumpkin, the situation in every nursery and with every childminder seems to be so different. I know some childminders who don't even provide meals for the kids, parents have to send a packed lunch! Needless to say we didn't meet them!

Alipops, my childminder is fab with the early starts/late finishes. I had to drop him off at 7.30 when I was on day shifts and my OH wasn't picking him up until after 5pm when I was working lates, but she was fantastic and happy to work around us. Every nursery we looked at wanted to charge us extra for the 7.30 starts.

 

[Mrs CW]

We have used both. I initially put my eldest into nursery but had an awful experience so moved him to a childminder. I've been so pleased with her. I love that it's a home environment with fewer children and that the boys go out for day trips and to the park when they're there. I also like that I only pay for the hours I need - say 8.00 til 3 so I'd pay for 8 hours but at nursery I'd pay for a full day for hours I don't use (depending on the nursery and the hours they offer). She is very flexible with times, early starts and late finishes.
We moved our eldest to nursery at 2 and a half and are going to move our youngest in the next few weeks. Our reason for the change is that we want the boys to get used to being around more children and get used to a more structured day (our childminder does something different every week). If it weren't for these reason the boys would still be with the childminder. The nursery we use is very flexible with hours etc so we're quite lucky x

 

[Iwant3]

Thank you everyone for your views, opinions and personal experiences! They all help - even the pro nursery ones ....

I can say that in the 5 years I have only had to close once for sickness for 24 hours! and that was when I had a miscarriage! I also had a baby while childminding, I gave birth on a friday and was back minding on the following Wednesday, all the families I had on board at the time stayed with me throughout and all the children loved seeing our new daughter and were just as fascinated and happy with her as my other own children were..... I take the children on the morning school run, but as others have said it's not really dragging them about - they either go in a pushchair or walk, and we talk about things on the way, play games and spot things etc - on the way back we go off through the park/woodland walk to see what we can see, gather bits to make things with etc. I teach them road safety, both walking safely with grown ups and later crossing safely. We have a purpose built play room, they nap in our bedrooms, they all eat together at the dining table, we provide meals, we are free to go out and about.....My husband (as assistant ) will do the afternoon school run in the car so that the children come straight home to eat and the little ones aren't taken out again, and get to do activities with me during the afternoon. We open at 7am close at 6pm, we only charge for hours used, so if someone is on a rota and uses some days one week and others the next, they only pay for what they use rather than the space they potentially use every day!

 

[littlemonkey]

You're very generous doing that with charges for shift work. My childminder was charging for the space even on my rest days! I must admit it came in handy when I was pregnant because I could have the day in bed while he went to her house!

 

[Iwant3]

I just don't believe parents should pay for hours they aren't using- they still have the option to add extra hours on other days if they need to

 

[Holi]

Sounds like you have a lovely business! Well done you! X

 

[Mummybexee]

You sound like a great childminder. You don't need to justify concerns to me though like the sickness fhing etc. Like others have said its personal preference etc

My son eats better with his little chums. About 6 of them in high chairs - it's not a massive baby unit - it's intimate and my MIL has worked there and is best mates with te owner for 25 years. Whilst that woulnt have mattered if I didn't like the setting it's very personal. I grew up with a childminder -

Nursery take them in buggies to the park, in their gardens. It's nothing like a school - it's all messy play and playtime - nursery and minders follow same guidelines set so their activities arnt that different I thjnj it's just the environment - my sister went to the nursery too ( she is 6 ) and went since 1 year and she is in top 5 of her class.

I'm sure all decisions parents make suit them and what they feel is best