advice on daycare

[neilly1973]

hi all

i'm planning ahead as I understand that it is tricky to find places in SE15/SE22 for children.... will have to sadly go back to work in Sept 11 so am looking at options now...

just looking to understand good/bad experiences of nurseries, shared nannies, childminders - any recommendations? I am staggered at the cost of daycare and am trying to get my head around what is/isn't included in the cost...

to stop my head from spinning - any help would be gratefully received...

thanks

Cx

[prdarling]

I'm afraid many good nurseries have a 2 year waiting list so you may not be able to consider this option.

Not being super rich, we went for the childminder option - about ?40 a day including meals and snacks and a home from home environment (but not actually at home which was vital as I worked at home so didn't want my son there)

Nannies cost about ?10 an hour plus the same again for tax and NI. If you do a share it costs about ?7 or ?8 an hour each plus taxes. Nelly's and Gumboots are rated but I don't have personal experience

Nurseries, if you find one you like are about ?50+ a day. IMHO I don't think a nursery is the best place for an under 2. They benefit greatly from a more personal experience, even though it's hard to hand your child over to the care of one person :)

Have a look around and you will know instinctively what is right for you and your child. Good luck, it's daunting but you will get there x

[neilly1973]

thank you