Our 3 year old is at a top local nursery at around £4.15/hr. £6 is very expensive.
But at 18 months old they would be just as happy with a childminder instead. Wouldn't you consider a childminder until 3? Getting a good reliable childminder will always be a huge asset in life with kids.
I work 3 days a week march-nov now and wife works 4, so the kids only need looked after 2 days a week. For 2 days childminder for the baby and 2 days nursery for the wee boy we pay £450/month plus I get to spend lots of time with the kids as they grow up.
Some truly selfish idiots replying on this thread by the way. It's reasonable for someone to have a moan about the cost of something going up 20%.
+1 nobeer and TJ. That was almost adult behaviour there :).
the compromise to send a child to nursery is not only based on the financials but also the social growth of the child.
What does 'social growth' mean please?
Heavily subsidised. And capped.Free or heavily subsidised childcare is the norm in Scandinavia, and its my understanding that its normal for women to return to work after maternity. Then the returnees start paying tax again.
I paid ~£300 (3300SEK, 2200 for the first child, 1100 for second) when both of our kids were in nursery. That's the monthly rate.
It's gone down since then as well. About 1400 for first and 900 for second i think.
That included food and ~40 hours a week. It was a good nursery as well. The rules about qualifications and adult/child rates are far stricter too.
And you pay tax on the money you get for parental leave (you get a load of paid days parental leave, ~450 at the equivalent of something like £20k a year) so being out of work doesn't mean you pay no tax. But it's a bit of a bodge.
Funnily enough, my total salary deductions/payments to government/services are less than they were in the UK as well. I had a step change (down) in cost of living as well........
TBH, i doubt kids would have even been on the radar if we'd remained in the UK. As it is, either of us could have walked out of work at any point in the last ~10 years and life would have pretty much carried on as normal.
. Socialisation of child, learning to interact with peers etc...What does 'social growth' mean please?
Socialisation of child, learning to interact with peers etc...
Thank you jamj1974 but isn't this done on a daily basis anyway? Or am I just behind the times cos mine have been adults for over a decade?
possibly if you take them out to places to interact with other kids on a daily basis.
There is a noticeable difference between kids who have been to nursery and those who haven't. Most starky on the first day of school.
To add some more fuel to the fire.... the type of people now choosing to not have kids, due to financial pressure, aren't the thick low income / low contributor type parent they are the type of parents that would likely have a kid that grows up to be some sort of useful role in society - you know like a doctor / engineer / IT bod.
To add some more fuel to the fire.... the type of people now choosing to not have kids, due to financial pressure, aren't the thick low income / low contributor type parent they are the type of parents that would likely have a kid that grows up to be some sort of useful role in society - you know like a doctor / engineer / IT bod
Just to piss on your fire, society needs more low income workers than it does doctors, engineers and IT bods.
It does now. What about in 25 years?
To add some more fuel to the fire.... the type of people now choosing to not have kids, due to financial pressure, aren't the thick low income / low contributor type parent....
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I think nursury is a good thing, we pay approx £40 a day... we also recently got a message that fees would be going up in Jan but it wasnt the same magnitude of increase. Ours is only in 1 day a week at the mo as we wanted her to get used to it gradually but she seems to love it (can't speak yet so who really knows!)
It's possible for kids to meet other kids without going to nursery.
It's possible for kids to meet other kids without going to nursery.
scotroutes - I get the impression from the way some users are responding that their offspring are prisoners in their own home. 😉
Of course scotroutes, but my own anecdotal experience of our two kids (who both went to nursery from 12 months old and then did a nursery year at school) was that they started their Reception years at school with a large cohort of friends and a confident understanding of school life.
In retrospect I think nursery was very good for them.
(That doesn't mean other approaches aren't just as valid)
Well - imagine having to chat with your neighbours!
I wonder if there's a Zwift add-on for those with child carriers on their bikes so they can all "interact" with one another without having to go outside?
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confident understanding of school life.
At 4 or 5 years old they're still children!
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Chatting with your neighbours doesn't prepare your kids for school does it?
Nurseries are monitored by OFSTED and have early year curriculums to follow.
..so they can all "interact" with one another without having to go outside?
I'm confused. Are you're saying that parents sending their kids to a nursery full of other kids, for 40+ hours a week from the age of 1 (as we did) are [i]not[/i] letting their kids interact with others kids enough, but the parents that keep their kids at home with them [i]are[/i]?
How does that follow?
At 4 or 5 years old they're still children!
At 17 they are still children too.
Graham - I think what I'm confused about is this 'preparing' them for school when they're barely out of nappies!
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Structured play, learning to socialise with other kids, learning daily routines and acceptable behaviour, learning to sit and listen when required, confidence, basic numeracy, letters and mark making.
All good stuff.
As I said, there are others ways to teach this, but I agree with the previous posters that nursery gives kids a good start.
Ah - outsourced parenting?
🙄 Yeah if you like.
Obviously for the other 128 hours a week we just kept the kids in a box in the shed.
Structured play, learning to socialise with other kids, learning daily routines and acceptable behaviour, learning to sit and listen when required, confidence, basic numeracy, letters and mark making.
You forgot immune system development...
You forgot immune system development...
LOL yeah that too - though a few trips to some manky softplays usually have that covered too. 😆 Ahh the musty smell of a fetid ball pit.
That YouTube sums up what I was trying to say perfectly....
I'm somewhat confused about what scotroutes and cg thinks people should do with their kids?
Most people need two incomes to support a family, until kids go to school they need looking after so there are only two options: free childcare from family (not always feasible) or pay someone else. What's so contentious?
