Child Care

Firstly, I would look at what’s available in your area and go and visit the settings. You may find that a lot of places have wait lists because of the new childcare hours so you may never to act fast as well. My daughter started nursery at 8.5 months & I can honestly say it’s been amazing for her. She has come on leaps & bounds and is such a happy child full of character. The staff at her nursery are amazing and I’m comfortable with her there. I’d prefer to have her home but needs must haha. She settled well, eats more there than at home haha. She gets colds etc easily but her immune system is building nicely. It will depend on what you want, childminders have less. The nursery my daughter goes to has up to 49 children split across a baby and a toddler room. It’s busy enough to socialise her but quiet enough not to overwhelm her. I’d start researching, contacting & viewing settings in your area. If your area has a mums Fb group you could ask on there for recommendation locally

@Mel you’re making me want to choose a nursery😫 but thank you, I’ll do just that!❤️

Agree with above, the settings can really vary. We viewed 4 or 5 nurseries before choosing ours. It's a small nursery as we knew he would struggle initially. There are only around 10 in his room and were only around 6-8 in the baby room. He absolutely loves it there. The next room up has a lot more children which he will be ready for by then. The advantages are the socializing with more children, the activities they can set up as part of play, the clear structure to the day and not having to worry about sickness or holidays for the staff. Also the food - he eats well there and i dont have to worry about prepping anything for the day. The downsides are that child minders have a more personalized relationship and can do more varied things out and about. It's such a personal decision for you and your child, definitely best to scope out some places to get a feel. My little boy loves nursery now and is excited to go. However he can be a bit tired and over stimulated after x

Also it really depends on what the Childminder set up is in terms of food, activities etc

Ah sorry, it’s just my experience. Trust your gut when you’re viewing the settings, you know your little one better and you’ll be able to suss out the really good ones. One thing to mention with a childminder is making sure they accept the free government hours and the taxfree childcare if you’re eligible, I’m aware that some don’t. Lots of things when viewing, staff turnover, the amount of qualified to non qualified staff aswell is a good one. My nursery has an app for everything which was important for me to keep tabs on everything. Look at ofsted ratings too and food hygiene scores. It can feel quite daunting but like I say, trust your gut and you’ll get a good feel for it. Try and view during the day so you can see it in full swing. You’re welcome, happy to help where I can. It’s so daunting to give the care of your child to someone else

@Stephanie Aw that’s amazing! Thank you for all the advice, I’ll keep it in mind❤️

@Mel thank you so much mel & honestly, it gives me so much anxiety😫 but I’ll just have to just trust my instincts x

It will, I hated doing it and if I didn’t have to work she wouldn’t be going but it’s just where we are and she’s really happy and settled. I hope it goes well and you find a really good place whether that’s nursery or a childminder

@Mel As long as she’s happy!☺️ & thank you!