Childcare in ED

[Spangles30]

I used Bright Horizons at the Sainsbury Dog Kennel Hill for my first, and it is darn expensive and has a horrible location (car park at Sainsburys!) and in retrospect I would go for a childminder for my second (when I go back to work). I have met some lovely childminders out and about, and research suggests that young kids benefit more from this type of care than nurseries.

Go to some of the toddler hang outs e.g. 1 0 clock club, Peckham Soft Play, toddler groups and you will meet many childminders.

Have met quite a few sullen faced, possibly Eastern Euopean au pairs, and would not really have one of the, although they are cheap (I am told).

[Ganapati]

> a few sullen faced, possibly Eastern Euopean au pairs,

Nice to know prejudice is alive and well in ED. And there everyone was complaining how things had gotten so ferociously pc.

[Ganapati]

BigJim--I would consider sharing a nanny with another family. True, daycares are usually cheaper, but if you can squeeze the extra cash--especially feasible with a nanny share--there are a lot of benefits to them. Aside from small babies benefitting from one on one (or smaller ratio) care, having a nanny come to your house can take the stress out of the morning of getting the baby ready and off to nursery, or if you're running late etc. Plus, you get a little bit more control/flexibility over what they eat, what activities they do, etc--for instance, the nanny can take them to learn swimming at peckham pulse, not something you can do in daycare. If you find a nanny whom your family really clicks with, its great as your child has another person they learn to trust/care for. We've been lucky in that regard. Split with another family, nanny pay can be as competitive as some of the nurseries in ed. The tricky part of course is finding that person, and managing that person, and if you opt for a nanny share, maintaining your relationship with the other family and working out the ins and outs of the share. The best advice there is to find a family with a similar aged baby so your baby will have a companion and the two children can amuse one another, keep everything up front, air all concerns before they become issues, and even consider a contract with the other family so there are no surprises. I've had good luck with Simply Child Care. Good luck, it's one of the hardest decisions you can make with no obvious or easy answers, and congrats on the baby.

[Spangles30]

Ganapati, spot on. I am definitely not a PC type. Anyway, how often does one actually see a smiling, cheerful Eastern European au pair? They're paid about ?20 a week; little wonder most look as if they've had a red hot poker stuck up their derrieres.:(

[heath]

We use a local childminder with a dedicated home setup for a good half dozen or more kids (not sure if she would want me posting here details here so I won't) and that's been great for us. Mrs H is full time looking after #1 and puts her in for childminding one day a week to get a modicum of rest. Many others have their little uns in for various times from 1 to 5 days per week with the same lady.

East dulwich is a very kid friendly area so while there are many many parents and kids around there are also a lot of services. Look outside the obvious places, ask people and get recomendations and I'm sure you'll find something. Now school places... That is a whole different issue.

[Ganapati]

spangles--you've clearly misunderstood me. But never mind, it's pointless to try to make you see why its offensive to single out Eastern Europeans as the "sullen" ones.

[dulwichmum]

An Au pair is not an appropriate child care option for a young baby. They are only permitted to work up to 25 hours per week, that is five hours per day, and they are not supposed to be left in sole charge of a child under two and a half. Most people who have au pairs get them to help out with the school run (from say 7am to 9) and after school care from 3 til 6). They are usually paid around ?85 per week and for that they expect their own room and all meals, and they are basically another member of your family. They go to English School each day and spend a year in London having fun and making friends. It can work out very well if the family get on with the student, but on the down side it can be very disruptive for the children as au pairs do not necessarily have any English when they arrive and so they may not be able to read to children or help them with homework. I know lots and lots of lovely nannies and they are a great option, but expect to pay around ?30K before national insurance etc, and can work out substantially more expensive than a nursery.

[huncamunca]

Spangles30 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I used Bright Horizons at the Sainsbury Dog Kennel

> Hill for my first, and it is darn expensive and

> has a horrible location (car park at Sainsburys!)

> and in retrospect I would go for a childminder for

> my second (when I go back to work). I have met

> some lovely childminders out and about, and

> research suggests that young kids benefit more

> from this type of care than nurseries.

> Go to some of the toddler hang outs e.g. 1 0 clock

> club, Peckham Soft Play, toddler groups and you

> will meet many childminders.

>

> Have met quite a few sullen faced, possibly

> Eastern Euopean au pairs, and would not really

> have one of the, although they are cheap (I am

> told).

Oh what snobby xenophobia!!! Au pairs provide a great flexible dovetail childcare solution. By dovetail, I mean before and after nursery - plus additional ad-hoc childcare. We've had 4 excellent aupairs (all East European), initially because we did not want our baby in nursery for 10 hours a day. With the aupair, he could breakfast leisurely at home and start nursery at 10 finishing at 4 with a trip to the park and a home cooked supper at a sensible time before bed. No rush, rush, rush, no long days, and if you got held up (by work or trains) the aupair can do bathtime and bedtime. Now that our children are older, we've got before and afterschool care, babysitting on call and a chauffeur service to all the after-school activities.

True, aupairs are not nannies and should not be viewed as a cheap alternative. However, they are a superb resource that nicely complements nursery and provide the added benefit of stepping in when needed, which is a god-send if you have no family members close by.

[ratty]

Asquith had their open day today at their peckham rye nursery. Very impressed. So much so in fact that Jack starts with them in January!

[franster]

Hello - just moved to the area and looking for a recomendation - I can see you odont want the name for the childminder on here but would you mind email it? I am so keen to find a really fab place for my little girl in November, thanks for your help, Fran

[Asset]

don't want to be doom and gloom, but most nurseries round here have waiting lists of at least a year and sometimes two. Your best bet if you have no luck with a nursery is to try a childminder. Southwark council wil send you a list of all the registered childminders on request.

[Hest]

hi

maybe we have just been lucky but we too were scared by tales of year-long waiting lists and having to sign up the second you conceive etc etc but as it turned out we put our daughter down for Kings Nursery last August for 3 days a week and she had a place confirmed within a month. Then we had to change nurseries (due to my husbands job) and applied to Bojangles on Upland Road in January and had a place confirmed for 3 days a week by March for our daughter to start last month. as for the nurseries themselves: Kings has 3 nurseries in 3 locations, the two that are on the Maudseley side of the road I really didn't like - one didn't even have windows, but the one actually on the Kings side of the road was v nice. We felt our daughter was well loved and happy there and was a great first step for socialising her. However, since moving to Bojangles I have to say that Bojangles is about 100 times better - activities are far more structured (in 6 months at Kings my daughter bought home 2 paintings, she has brought home 4 in her first 3 weeks at Bojangles), she has just had Sports Day, the layout, space and cleanliness of the place is really good - creative corner, music corner, reading corner, home corner etc and more emphasis on learning generally - we are really impressed with it. Their most recent Ofsted report is available online and while it's good, I don't think it does the place justice. anyway, i'm rambling now but your best bet is to call all the places convenient to you, go and see them, get your name down and see what happens, i think you might be surprised by the options you get. good luck.

[edanna]

Have you seen Heidihi's post here?