Nanny or Nursery?

[sb]

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[samstopit]

If you are going back to work then I would advise a nanny over a nursery until they are at least two. They get sick at nursery and you will end up having to take time off work to look after your child. Whereas a nanny will always come to you regardless of how poorly your child is. Also she can work late if you get stuck at work.

Getting your child to nursery and picking him up again and still having enough hours in the day to get your job done is tough. A nanny can get to you in time for you to say your goodbyes calmly and walk out the door straight to work.

Most importantly a nanny can give your child one on one attention and if he wants to socialise she can set up play dates and take him to play groups.

The only down side of a nanny in my view is it's pricier if you only have one child. But then there's always the nanny share option.

Good luck!

[Mellors]

I chose a nanny for the following reasons:

1. The prospect of getting other people dressed, breakfasted, out of the house and to anywhere in a morning frazzled my brain. I can only just manage to do that for myself, let alone them.

2. I can't get back for 6pm when nursery finishes.

3. The prospect of coming home then having to get them back to the house, bathed, fed, pajamed etc after a long day frazzled my brain.

4. The child sickness/time off work issue mentioned above.

5. I like them being in their own home for sleeps etc when tiny, and having one person who is soley dedicated to looking after them. Not such an issue when they are bigger (say after 2) I dont think, but for my baby I wanted sole care and for them to still go along to the same groups/activities as they did with me.

6. A nanny does all nursery duties at home - cooking, children's washing, tidying up and mine have always been happy to take in parcels/pop for a pint of milk etc.

Re sociability - my nanny does playgroups/activities/playdates etc every day, so it doesnt worry me.

It is more expensive though if you have one child, but I had two close together and now its cheaper than two lots of nursery fees.

Just my view, hope it helps.

[sb]

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[womanofdulwich]

i had a nanny too _ and took strong advise to write into the nanny contract to have them babysit one night a week, or every other week ( not weekend ) so you can go out straight from work if needs be- just to have some "other " time.

Good luck- it may seem hard to begin, but it let me remain sane!

[sb]

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[redjam]

Have you thought about a nannyshare? Much cheaper and you also get the benefit of regular 'socialisation' with another child of a similar age, learning to share toys, eating together etc. But even if you don't go the share route any nanny worth his/her salt should take your child out and about to groups, activities etc - even just the playground! So your baby will get the chance to meet other kids.

For what it's worth I've used nannyshare arrangements for both my kids, then they started nursery at the age of two. I think my younger daughter could have gone to a nursery earlier as she's quite independent but the older one was shyer as a baby so I think she would have struggled. When they're little and can't communicate very well I do think the personal attention of a good nanny is preferable as she will really get to know your child individually, whereas even the best nursery won't be able to forge such strong personal bonds with a baby when they've got a few dozen other kids to look after at the same time.

It can be daunting to employ one but if you go on gumtree or simplychildcare.com you'll see dozens of ads (or even on our own dear EDF!) or you could of course place your own ad and wait for the nannies to come to you. One of the companies such as nannytax.co.uk will help you with the tax side of things for a fairly reasonable fee. Nannies aren't cheap but speaking personally I've found them to be the option that's worked for me - and as others have mentioned you have much more flexibility in the arrangements. Good luck with your search!

[Mellors]

I recommend Simply Childcare to help finding a nanny.

Look at their website - you put up a job ad saying exactly what you want (they will help you write it, in the nicest possible way), and then you can contact/be contacted by suitable nannies.

The do a great info pack, and a blank contract as well. I found them to br so helpful over the phone when I was in a fluster about what to do.

www.simplychildcare.com

This also works for anny shares etc as well.

(PS I am not in any way related to them - they were just a lifesaver when I had to do it, and have had positive reports from other friends who have used them as well).

[samstopit]

Finding a nanny was easier in my experience than finding a good nursery. There are lots of good nannies out there once you know where to look. There are good nurseries too but they have very long waiting lists. If you want your little one to go to nursery when he's older I would recommend you get him on a few waiting lists asap.

[Sqiggles]

Nanny - for all the reaosns above - until they are about 2. They need the one to one care in a home environment, and you need all the extra support that a nanny brings at home. If you can't do nanny, then I thikn a childminder (for the same home environment/one to noe care reasons) would be much better than a nursery.

And the babysitting idea is a great one - only just managed it (after over 6 years) and it makes such a differecne to know that one day a week we go out together straight from work. Even if you only go and grab something to eat and are home by 9, it still feels like such a treat!

[Smiler]

We went for a nursery. Have found the care good, but are now having serious problems because the nursery (Bojangles) has gone into liquidation and is being evicted. Stress.

[sb]

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