Childminder and nursery

[kirsty3282]

I've booked my dd into nursery for 3 days a week starting in sept when she will be 1yo. I quite like the idea of a childminder though and have found someone I like with availability one of the days I'm working - has anyone split care between the two for a 1yo, and has it worked well? I would do two days in nursery and 1 with cm. I don't want her to be confused by too many different settings

[elspethmcgillicuddy]

I did for a year when DS was 2. The cm was in the wrong direction from work though so that was a pain. Other than that it worked well. There were a long and boring list of reasons why we did it like that. We did cm one day, nursery two days, gps 2 days.

[tooknackeredtoosleep]

Hi kisty. I've been a childminder for over 10 years. In my experience it works really well to split childcare between a nursery and minder. I have a few children that attend my setting and a nursery. They have best of both worlds-
1.. With myself- being in a home enviroment and forging close relationships with the other mindees as well as my own (teens) children. Having days that can be individually tailored to how we all feel. I.e. Spontaneous outings to park, visiting other minders, toddler groups for busy full of energy days. Alternatively if one of the children is tired or under the weather we can have a calm snuggly day.
Lots of individual attention and close relationship and continuity.

2..nursery- larger setting, always open so no worries about covering sickness or holidays.

Only word of warning dont use more than 2 forms of childcare as it is much harder for a child to settle if they are with different people each day. So if you have familyor friends lined up to provide regular care for your child i would recommend that you choose between nursery and a childminder.

Best of luck

[kirsty3282]

Thanks for your comments, its good to know it can work

[Benang]

Hello there, just wondering how you're getting on with CM and nursery? I am thinking of doing the same with my DS (1.5): two full days with CM and 3 half days at nursery.

[kirsty3282]

I've not started back at work yet but have confirmed 2 days with the cm and 1 with the nursery - the plan is to do 3 days with cm once she has full availability. I'm happy with the nursery but it wasn't my first choice and the childminder is lovely - I like the idea of dd getting out and about in the day.