Morning or Afternoon nursery session: which one did you choose and why?

[Ruth_Baldock]

S, who will be 3y10mo when he starts school nursery, has a choice of which nursery session to choose from. I don't know which one to go for, WWTFD (what would the forum do?)

Factors to take into consderation:

-His sister will be 2y2mo at the time, hopefully still having a PM nap starting at 1pm.

-I am not currently working and probably won't be at the time.

-Nursery is a 7min walk away, no bus or cars to worry about loading anyone into

Any thoughts?

[Princess]

I have same dilemma with kids exactly the same age. We currently do a lot of classes and playgroups all of which happen in the morning. However, I think I've convinced myself to go for morning sessions for no.1 and take no.2 to as many of our regular activities as we can whilst making sure we're back in time to pick up no.1.

I think for us and our lives it'll be much easier getting everyone out for 9am rather than squeezing lunch in and trying to get to nursery for 12.30pm. Not to mention the napping issues for both of them which shouldn't be affected by morning sessions.

I'm not sure there is a 'perfect' solution tbh. Good luck!

Px

[Ruth_Baldock]

We don't do that many classes, we do a few playgroups but both of mine are, hmm, characters...so things need to be unstructured/relaxed activity wise. We do a lot of Park outings. My youngest used to be a calm and compliant baby but there is a reason we now call her "Crazy Lady".

Everything else you pointed out makes a lot of sense too!

[Polly D]

We've gone for afternoons. R is more or less same age as S and will be about to have a sibling so I'll be on mat leave, and we're also a 5 min walk from school.

I thought getting there (all dressed and fed) for 8.45am with two could be a struggle, plus the day could feel a little long after picking up - for me anyway with a newborn. I like the idea of breaking the day up in 3 hour stretches, sort of. Mornings we can go to the park, library, things which aren't timetabled, or 'chill out' ha ha at home before early lunch and a 'relaxed' walk to school. This is all my ideal, in my head...sure there will be many last-minute hassles, loo dramas, puking from baby etc.

Would be nice if your daughter continues her afternoon nap while S in nursery, you'll get an hour or two to yourself!

One thing which put me off though is that means you are tied to your location all day really. Can't go far while he's in nursery for 3 hours so no trips to see friends and family on the other side of London, unless you meet halfway I 'spose.

I know lots of families tend to prefer the morning though. You could always leave it to chance, see what the nursery offer you.

[susyp]

I requested morning but got afternoons this year. Pluses of afternoons is that you don't have to schedule much on lazy days, and playdates work well as only a couple of hours then lunch then off to school together. Mums from the morning class say it can be a challenge filling the afternoon with a tired child. But at the same time I have felt that if I had the afternoons free we could disappear off to nice places or even into town. But if you have a younger one you might not want to do that anyway! But it does work well in the afternoons, she can work off a bit of her energy in the playground first so I think perhaps concentrates better becaause of it.

susypx

[BeccaL]

We liked afternoons but only have one, so no little one to worry about. No early morning rush - there'll be plenty of that when he starts school proper!

[Lula]

We're contemplating the same thing. I'm leaning towards mornings as my son is raring to go then, full of energy. He tends to have a short nap still in the PM so it's nice to be close to home in case he really wants to lounge about. If transport is not an issue and you're a stay at home mum, then go with the session when you think your son will be most alert, happy and easy to get out of the house!

[The Nappy Lady]

Love morning sessions having tried both because;

1. Staff are fresher

2. You can use the morning time effectively then plan rest of day with both kids - afternoon session sits right in the middle of the day with little time to do much before or after it!

3. I can never get my youngest to eat lunch before the afternoon session - then she comes home hungry so wants snacks that mess up tea time.

4. She will often come home from an AM session and nap (just think both kids may nap at once!!) where as with PM session I've had to be late because she fell asleep after a busy morning with me, so annoying and even worse if they fall asleep at 4pm after the PM session!!

Hope this helps. Have to say C (my second) has been doing a mix of both sessions so far and seems to be very happy at both so it doesn't matter that much and isn't worth fretting about. Choose whichever suits YOU best - for me from Seot it's going to be 2 full days and 1 morning - hurrah!! I can't wait!

Xx

[etta166]

I like morning sessions for my older child. Most groups that I do are in the morning, so I can spend quality one-on-one time with my second child at play groups in the morning and the have family time and play dates in the afternoon. I would struggle to get mine to eat lunch before an afternoon session, and then I expect that the younger one would fall asleep on the way to or from nursery rather than in her bed for a nap.

Also, if you do mornings then you can escape at lunch time on Friday for a weekend away...

[GinaG3]

I requested mornings, but got one full day, 2 afternoons and one morning due to 4 children not getting school places. I really desperately wanted morning places as L desperately needs a routine. Her sleep is a nightmare. I was banking on nursery sorting this, you know early morning, must get up, play play play, early to bed. But it doesn't look likely to happen. Ours are literally all over the show. It's a nightmare. I'd definitely go for mornings. But then again, it's what's more suited to you, what your routine and agenda is like.. Everyone's different and has different preferences don't they.