What do you look for in both of these? Our preference is a childminder (at least until SM jnr goes from being 5 months to 2-3yrs) and then maybe look at nurseries.

Not easy trying to find a childminder that ticks enough boxes though. And at the risk of sounding very non-PC, are most nurseries really staffed by mainly large (obese even) 18-22yr old girls who (IMO) don’t look the brightest? They might well “love” the children and the job, but are they really capable/aware/trustworthy/etc?

Tuppence and jelly babies for your thoughts pls … tvm

Who do you think is going to look after children for minimum wage?

Depends on the individuals. Our 2 have done both. The childminder was great, but she buggered off to Australia. The nursery is also great – the staff are really good. Better than the school nursery.

You need to visit / talk to folk local to you.

My daughter went to nursery from 9 months – loves it, doesn’t understand why she can’t go and play with her friends everyday.

Hear what you’re saying about the quality of staff, but they’re all on just-above-minimum wage, but will have to have relevant NVQ’s at least. You will always get some good and some disinterested staff…..

Have a look around, ask questions about activities, numbers in each room, access to pre-schools/arrangements for places with local primaries, how do they record child development etc etc. If you don’t have a good feeling, walk away. The one we went for in the end wasn’t the most expensive, but had the best feeling and staff overall.

There was a big-old thread about this a while back, though I can’t find it at the moment…

are most nurseries really staffed by mainly large (obese even) 18-22yr old girls who (IMO) don’t look the brightest?

No

My mum is a childminder, and I’ve met quite a lot of other childminders because of that.

Most childminders seem to be older women who have had children of their own. Have lots of experience, and tbh (you may not like this) about 90% of the time the childminder has a better idea of how to look after the child then the parents.

Most childminders seem very dedicated, and get the children to interact with each other, learning, having fun, etc. etc. They will also take the children out on trips, even if its just to the park or something.

Of course you also get all the obvious benefits of a childminder over a nursey, flexible hours, ability to pick up from school, etc. etc.

are most nurseries really staffed by mainly large (obese even) 18-22yr old girls who (IMO) don’t look the brightest?

No. If you pay enough they staff them with 18-22yr old swedish hotties. In bikinis. 😉

Agree about the minimum wage thing – I do get pissed off with companies that sit top heavy with profit because those on the shop floor are “happy” to work for sod all.

NVQs fair enough – not sure how much they count for in the real world though. Maybe being a nursery worker is a bit like being an apprentice, i.e. learning on the job? Sure, some will be very capable and very bright – others IMO somewhat less so.

Have already been asking around locally/friends for months. Heard a few bad stories and a few good ones. Followed up on the latter but so far haven’t found the right option. Seeing more childminders next week.

I just can’t see myself trusting the little man with the nursery staff we’ve seen so far. Maybe I’m doing them a dis-service?

RealMan, like you say, our preference is a CM, probably for pretty much the reasons you mention, especially experience/wisdom/maturity/day trips/interaction/development etc.

I’m assuming its the price that is the only disadvantage, what are childminders in your area charging?

No, not the price. Sure it’s a factor, but not key. Trust (especially if by word of mouth) is probably the biggest factor.

3 days/week = £650-£1000 per month.

Nursery staff are a mixed bag IME – our previous nursery was a smaller one and the staff were excellent. That closed (a lot of old nursery owners have been driven to closure because they can’t be arsed with the massive bureacracy nowadays), and the bairn’s now at a much larger one. Some stars nurses here, but a noticeable amount of stereotypical dumber than owlshit ones as well, unfortunately. I guess they can fly under the radar at a larger place.

A good childminder who had a few other kids on the books for the social aspect seems a really good solution. We’re expecting our second in June and will probably look into this.

The qualifications and regulations for a childminder are ridiculous, so if they have all those, you know their not just some idiot.

After that, its just a case of getting to know them.

You don’t want to leave your kids with someone you can’t trust, but you can’t trust someone until you know they can look after your kids.

And I meant price per hour, sorry.

Stupid question, but do childminders charge per child?

Ie, with twins we pay for them both to go to nursery (small discount). We never even thought about childminders.

Stupid question, but do childminders charge per child?

Yes and yes (duh).

As I said, we hadn’t looked into them – I guess it was a bit of a daft question 🙂

Mine went to a fantastic nursery. Couple of the staff were a bit “quiet” but most were absolute diamonds. Was a bit sad when ours moved on to school as we got on really well with the staff there. The turnover of staff was quite low too which probably helped things.

A mate is a childminder and I wouldn’t hesitate to either use or recommend her. She is brilliant.

Ignore stereotypes and go on recommendation and instinct.

We are going for childminder, I’ve heard enough nursery nurses say they would not put their child in a nursery to convince me.

If the childminder is sick then are you able to sort something else at the last minute?

What happens when the childminder is on holiday?

Council nurseries attract a different sort of staff member so check them out if appropriate.

Like Sniff says. Childminder calls in sick or decides when she wants to go on holiday then you’re left holding the proverbial baby.

Never regretted our nursery. Little gets to interact with lots of different adults and children.

And as a bonus the nursery staff are always keen to get a few extra pounds doing babysitting duties if you haven’t got anybody else to do it, which saves having strangers turn up at your door and trying to explain that to the kids. Obviously that depends if you think they are okay or not in the first place.

Like Sniff says. Childminder calls in sick or decides when she wants to go on holiday then you’re left holding the proverbial baby.

Can’t speak for other childminders, but my mum recommends other childminders in those cases, but she will usually work unless shes really ill, which isn’t often, and just not cough all over the kids or anything. Holidays? You will be told months in advance.

Equally, the nursery could burn down.

Equally, the nursery could burn down.

But I suspect childminders calling in sick and going on holiday probably happens a little more often 😛

Maybe something to ask the childminder – what type of backup plans there are, do they know some other childminders that could handle extra kid for a few days.

Of course, trying to get your little one to stay with strange new women in a different environment whilst you are desperately late for work as you’ve driven 30 mins trying to find their house might be fun….

Ours are at an excellent nursery. If the boy didn’t like it he’d let me know.

The 3 year old’s room is supervised by a trained teacher and many of the staff are “more mature” in years.

The cost however is crippling! 🙁

Personally it’s nursery everytime for us. Mostly for the interaction that the kids get plus the get games/education appropriate to their development needs. If a childminder has a variety of kids aged up to school age then how do they arrange age appropriate things to do?

We put both our kids through nursery, it was excellent and the kids really benefited from it. The staff weren’t on minimum wage and really cared about the kids, one of them still ask after them both when we see her or speaks to the kids if they’re there.

And at the risk of sounding very non-PC, are most nurseries really staffed by mainly large (obese even) 18-22yr old girls who (IMO) don’t look the brightest?

What a load of bollocks.

3 days/week = £650-£1000 per month.

Cost us half that.

If a childminder has a variety of kids aged up to school age then how do they arrange age appropriate things to do?

Same things a parent would do. Just they get paid for it.

Using a childminder has worked out well for us. Holidays have lots of notice and we’ve tended to just schedule our holiday to match. The childminder will have a backup in case of illness or accident, we’ve not had any problems with this.

Did try nursery part-time for a while, and while it was OK he wasn’t getting a good nap like he did at the CM and would end up very tired.

A CM will usually charge per hour as well, and it was significantly cheaper than a per day rate from a nursery as I could drop him off (start work later) and wife could pick him up (ended work earlier).

are most nurseries really staffed by mainly large (obese even) 18-22yr old girls who (IMO) don’t look the brightest?

Nope. Obviously it pays to visit the nurseries when trying to choose which one to send your precious angel too though.

They all have full Ofsted reports these days so it is worth checking how they rank:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Inspection-reports/Early-years-and-childcare
(select “Childcare on Non-Domestic Premises” for nurseries)

Nursery will help them make the transition to school if its a good one. Ofsted reports are like mtb reviews – not worth the paper they are written on. Visit the potential nursery and use your gut instinct, if the car park is full everyday then thats always a good sign, if you can get one within the catchment area of your potential infants school then your kids nursery friends will become thier school friends and you’ll be able to get help with the school runs because you’ll know some of the parents.

What about a nanny – owes was cheaper than for two at nursery, and you didn’t need to get the kids up in a morning.

If a childminder has a variety of kids aged up to school age then how do they arrange age appropriate things to do?
Same things a parent would do. Just they get paid for it.

Like dump them in front of CBeebies? Surf on STW? Fix bike? Stuff like that? 😉

Nursery gets them in the routine for going to school which helps.

Nurseries vary – my other half was in tears when we visited the first one (because of the bad feel she got), in happy tears after the 2nd! Both went/go to same place, both loved/love it.

I wouldn’t fancy the rigid holiday options of a child minder – plenty of that to come when school starts! Always wondered what would happen if she keeled over as well, unlikely but could happen.

Nurserys like pretty much everything vary. Some we saw were a bit crap and some were great. The one we chose is very good – well run, kids well looked after, entertained, educated (seriously!) and love it. In fact, this evening my son was refusing to come home and had a tantrum in the car because I made him leave.

As to the girls who work there, there are two or three main types – slightly older (mid 20s) ones who have their own kid(s) and the younger (18-early 20s) ones. Some fat, some not 🙂 The younger ones are on min wage IIRC but they’re keen and certainly not disinterested and also supervised by the older ones. That’s where the better nurseries score high – they employ better people and ensure that the standards are kept high even if the wages are similar.

FWIW, I find it generally quite noticeable that the kids who go to childminders are less sociable with other kids – they don’t share or play so well, though I think that also depends to some extent on the age ranges – where all the kids are similar ages, this is less the case. That said, I don’t suppose it makes any difference in the longer run – eg when they start school.

Useful comments guys – thanks.

Ofsted reports – I’d like to think there’s something accurate and sincere about them, but also feel gut instinct and WOM is just as important (sometimes)

CM cover – what happens if she’s sick or one of her other kids is? Need to check

Chill Drac – I asked a question, not made a statement:

We put both our kids through nursery, it was excellent and the kids really benefited from it. The staff weren’t on minimum wage and really cared about the kids, one of them still ask after them both when we see her or speaks to the kids if they’re there.

And at the risk of sounding very non-PC, are most nurseries really staffed by mainly large (obese even) 18-22yr old girls who (IMO) don’t look the brightest?
What a load of bollocks.

3 days/week = £650-£1000 per month.
Cost us half that.

From those I’ve seen so far, they are fat (grossly in many cases) and they don’t look too bright – that’s my impression. Just being honest, but there could be “better” around the corner.

As for costs, that’s what it is round here. Lucky you for paying half that.

I agree that a good nursery offers loads of developmental/pre-school benefits. It’s just a case of finding the right one. But I (and the missus) also think a CM might be better until he’s 2-3yrs, then let him loose in one because he’s maybe more likely to build his social skills at that time.