Creche vs childminder?

shamama

Just wondering what people's thoughts are of which is best? My 1 year old has already started in a creche that seems ok, only a few tears so far, but it feels sometimes a bit impersonal and I wonder if they're getting enough attention...but then I wonder if it's only because I hate leaving him

lostinnappies

my preference is a creche, just because not only do you introduce them to lots of children, helping prepare them for school, but also because creches are more closely monitored where as a childminder is there on their own and having known a few childminders myself who used to shout ALOT at the children, i feel safer leaving them in a creche.

shamama

Thanks, it's kinda the answer I wanted to hear

Dopey

We have our little girl (14 months) in the creche and we contemplated moving her to a childminder. She is not settling in very well after the first month. We thought that the one to one attention from a childminder might be better.

We are paying 900 Euro in the creche and guessed that it would be a bit cheaper with a child minder.

A child minder can earn up to 15000 per annum tax free. My wife did some web searching over the weekend and found an article saying that it costs on average 50 euro per day. That works out at 1150 Euro on a 31 day month. Pretty expensive!

A friend that has tried both suggested we stick with the creche. He said that the childminder had left the tv on all day. The child was coming home every day talking about "Deal or no Deal". This could happen in a creche too but as the other poster said that may be more closely monitored.

nesf

I'm not sure for under 2's but our son (2 years old) is at a Naoinra (a pre-school run through Irish) and loves it. I think at that age, interacting with other children is very good for a child and in our case, he has no cousins at all and would get very little exposure to other children if we kept him at home (i.e. it would be different if he had neighbours or cousins around the same age to play with or whatever). All he does when he comes home is talk about the other kids at the Naoinra who are near his age.

I'd favour creches over childminders when I didn't personally know the childminder simply because creches have tighter regulations, are monitored more closely and there's strength in numbers (i.e. the more kids who use the service the quicker any problems will be spotted by the parents). That said, if I knew a childminder personally and liked them a lot/thought they'd do a good job, I'd probably pick the childminder.

abi2007

Crech definatly, they get well looked after, good food and lots of kids to play with. Most creches have a montisori which prepares them for school and they're also used to being in a group of kids so by the time they go to school they'll be well used to it. Also there is more than one adult present, and children are never left unattended.

I can't imagine a childminder spending all day playing with your child, I would say the majority clean their houses and go out their usual routine while minding kids.

Dfens

We were wondering the same with our dd who is 3 now & in creche care since 4 months.
At the time we debated childminder or creche like you. While we felt a childminder might provide more individual attention, we felt that dd would have more interaction with kids/adults in creche & there would always be something going on to hold her interest.
As other posters have said, unless you really know a childminder anything could be happening during the day, visitors to the childminders house/even trips to the shops etc that you mightn't have been told about.
Saying that we have had a few issues with the 2 creches our dd has been to - windows left open on young babies in wintertime, major discrepancies between the menu & the food they were actually getting, basic H&S issues with door hinges/slides etc.
If we felt it was something unsafe or going to have a big impact on dd, we went in to the manager to complain to make sure something was done about it. No place if ever ideal & even if you keep them at home until school age that has other drawbacks perhaps such as shyness, keeping interest at home with activities, social interaction with others etc.

Sulukie

My little boy is one and has been in a creche since he was five months old. Like you I was concerned at first that it may be a little impersonal and that it was too organised, but I'm really happy now. There are three girls in the baby room and I honestly believe they all really love him. They are very affectionate and he has no problem climbing on to a knee for a cuddle. He loves all of the activity and is ready for a quiet hour cuddling up with me and a book when he gets home which suits me after a long day at work. I never have to worry about a childminder being sick or have to arrange my holidays around someone elses as the creche doesn't close except for a few days at Christmas. The food is fabulous my mouth waters in the evening to the smell of scones or banana bread cooking for the morning. The other thing I really like is the fact that there are cameras in each room so if I am ever concerned about how he got a bump or a bruise I can get the girls to show me on screen. I realise not all creches are the same and we have probably been very lucky but I'm very glad with our choice.

Sulukie

oh well , okay

I'll buck the trend and say child minder - I find it much more personal and more flexible . Our minder will take our chap early or late , she'll take him if he's sick or still in his pjs' , she's helping to toilet train him and at the end of the day we talk directly to the person who's been minding him all day so we know exactly how he fared during the day . She's been a child minder all her life and at one point was a special needs carer . In 18 months she's never been sick and has helped us a out a few times in emergency situations .

We had checked crèches' locally and while most were fine we thought them to be a tad impersonal and found some of the rules a bit of a mickey take - still paying for bank holidays - paying while the crèche was closed - still paying when we were on holidays - unrefundable deposits - no runny noses with "green discharge" and you had to take your child out to toilet train them - and still pay !

Everything has it's pros and cons I suppose but thought someone better sing the praises of the childminders out there .

SarahMc

I really don't know where to start...

Most creches do not have montessori
Average national Childminder cost is less that 30e per day
babies do not peer play, and one to one interaction is much much more important than having other babies around
Most childminders are not shouty-junk food providers
If you think you should be informed of a trip to the shops - steer clear of a Childminder
If a creche has cameras in every room, yet still bakes banana bread, I'll eat my hat
20 children of the same age competing for attention v 4 mixed age children in a family replication hhmmm which is better?


Bottom line...

A good Childminder is much much better than a good creche
A bad creche is better than a bad Childminder

(p.s. the vast majority, i.e. >80% of Irish children are with a childminder, we are not a stupid race)

larbis

Just browsing and felt I had to add something to this as I feel a bit maligned!

I mind a 2 year old in my home (had her since 4 months) and her 5 month old sister (since she was 6 weeks). I also have a 3 year old son.

Childminders provide fleibility of hours, often babysit too when needed and we mostly treat the children like one of our own family. We go to the beach, playground, swimming etc..

Don't think that we all plonk them in front of telly and ignore them all day.

Dfens

oh well , okay wrote: »

I'll buck the trend and say child minder - I find it much more personal and more flexible . Our minder will take our chap early or late , she'll take him if he's sick or still in his pjs' , she's helping to toilet train him and at the end of the day we talk directly to the person who's been minding him all day so we know exactly how he fared during the day . She's been a child minder all her life and at one point was a special needs carer . In 18 months she's never been sick and has helped us a out a few times in emergency situations .

We had checked crèches' locally and while most were fine we thought them to be a tad impersonal and found some of the rules a bit of a mickey take - still paying for bank holidays - paying while the crèche was closed - still paying when we were on holidays - unrefundable deposits - no runny noses with "green discharge" and you had to take your child out to toilet train them - and still pay !

Everything has it's pros and cons I suppose but thought someone better sing the praises of the childminders out there .

Judging from my friends & aquitances various experiences with childminders (both good & not so good), it sounds like you have found one of the better & more flexible childminders, particularly in relation to the flexibility of hours & holidays - hold onto him/her......

noby

Sarah is spot on with her post. We have been blessed with a great childminder who has minded all three of our kids.
Yes there are visitors to the house, usually other childminders, and trips to the shops, but we don't see either as a negative. Quite the opposite in fact. These are day-to-day things that happen in 'normal' home life.

I'm not dissing creches, just our preference.

beth-lou

We have done both the creche thing and currently have a childminder who comes to our house. Both have worked out very well.

We had our first in a creche from the age of 1 and a half and she loved it, she was very well stimulated, made lots of friends, never complained about it, never a tear going in there, in fact she ran in. Over time thought the quality of food and the staff turnover did become a problem, but that was after three years. So if you find a good creche, with good staff and good food and you are happy with it, then I wouldn't worry too much. Lots of kids go to creche and are very happy and well balanced youngsters.

When number two came along, our first girl was going to school. It just made more sense to get someone in to mind them. Trying to get to a creche and then the school would have been a nightmare, plus it would mean going into work late everyday. We wanted to keep them together to create as normal a home life as possible. We did a lot of interviews, some of them disasterous, and some of the girls were really brilliant. It is something that you have to do meticulously, but I would highly recommend it. The kids are at home, they get one to one attention, my eldest comes home from school and can have friends over, they get out to the park. There are so many advantages to it and I think that if you check references and trust your gut you can find lovely people who will care for your kids just as much as they would in a creche.

I had a good experience with both so far. There are pro's and con's in each. If you are happy with the crech then maybe stick with it. I can't tell you which is better, but the childminder coming in has made my life so much easier, and she is great.

Sulukie

SarahMc wrote: »

If a creche has cameras in every room, yet still bakes banana bread, I'll eat my hat

Bottom line...

A good Childminder is much much better than a good creche
A bad creche is better than a bad Childminder

(p.s. the vast majority, i.e. >80% of Irish children are with a childminder, we are not a stupid race)

Hope your hat tastes good SarahMc

I have no reason to lie to you - just giving our experience of our little ones creche.

I do agree that a good childminder is worth her weight in gold, but they are hard to find. We had about ten childminders recommended to us by friends and I would have been happy to have any one of them mind my son. Unfortunately most of them were full up at the time we needed someone last February though two did say they would have a place in September. One didn't work Mondays, one didn't start until 9, I start work at 8.30.
I got a list of registered childminders from the HSE and couldn't believe how few names were on it. Of the ten recommended to us only one was on it! I really didn't want to entrust my child to someone I got from an ad in the paper without any recommendation and I decided to check out creches which as I've already said worked out really well for us.

I guess what I'm saying is if you are minding children register with your local HSE and make it easier for parents to find you, and if you are looking for childcare check out a creche or two you may be pleasantly surprised.

Sulukie

Inquitus

Creches are souless baby factories, impersonal and staffed by people without their own children in the main. Clearly alot of risk is mitigated by using a creche rather than a childminder, but a childminder, if well chosen, will be more loving / caring etc, they will form a bond with the child which will not occur in a creche.

Would you rather your child minded at a 7/1 (or whatever the legal minimum is) ratio in a sterile creche, or by a mother/father looking for a few extra pound?

Anyways I am old-fashioned I think kids should be cherished above all else and if I or my wife could not care for them until well into school age I would reconsider having them.

Child in Creche - 10 hours per day - 50 hours a week (Fulltime working parents assumed 8am - 6pm in creche)
Child in parents waking company - 44 hours a week (assuming 4 hours a night plus 12 a day at weekends) of those 4 hours a night, parents are tired and have to cook dinner, maintain house etc.

So yes lets have kids and put them in a minding institution where they spend more time with someone else per week than with the parents. What a great society we have created.

takola

Inquitus wrote: »

So yes lets have kids and put them in a minding institution where they spend more time with someone else per week than with the parents. What a great society we have created.

I think you're being very harsh with that comment. In a lot of cases parents have no choice but to work. It's not like everyone chooses to have children and leave them for 10 hours a day.

I work as a childminder. I don't have any kids of my own. I mind 2 kids, one is 7 and the other is 2 next week. They're my best friends kids and have known me all their lives and the guys know I can be trusted. Yes, I am flexible with my time. I have to be, the guys can work anything from 8am to 9pm and won't make it home until close to 10pm sometimes although that is very rare. I can and do take them out regularly.

I am encouraging the guys to get the 2 year old into playschool for a few hours a day though. I do think that having kids get used to other kids their own age is important. It teaches them how to interact with other kids. It helps with their speech too. It gets them used to a school environment and being away from their parents/childminder which I think that is quite important too.

So while I do think think it's good for kids to have the one on one aspect of a childminder, in my opinion it's also important to give them a chance to get used to being in a creche/playschool where they'll spend time with kids their own age and will be used to not always having constant one on one attention. They're not going to always have the teachers attention in school.

Inquitus

takola wrote: »

It's not like everyone chooses to have children and leave them for 10 hours a day.

Therein lies the conundrum of Modern life as we have created it. The majority of people of optimum childbearing age cannot afford to have kids and mind them themselves, and minding them themselves we have to admit is what nature intended. Creche minding has become the only way for most people to be able to manage the finances of having children.

EU populations in general are ageing and it is getting worse not better. People are disincentivised from having kids. The Gov should financially support Parents and the natural act of parenting, at the very least by subsidising creches, and imo by subsidising having children - much higher tax incentives for parents with only one spouse working, and one at home minding the children...be they father or mother.

We need to also note that there exists a breakeven point on creche care, with joint assessment and creche fees a parent needs to earn 30k+ a year to breakeven on working once 2 kids creche care is required.....hit 3 or 4 kids and unless you are a very high flyer the working and creche option disappears. There has to be something wrong with this model.

SarahMc

Sulukie wrote: »

Hope your hat tastes good SarahMc

I have no reason to lie to you - just giving our experience of our little ones creche.

I got a list of registered childminders from the HSE and couldn't believe how few names were on it. Of the ten recommended to us only one was on it! Sulukie

I still don't believe the banana bread was baked on the premises..

Only Childminders who are minding 3 or more children need to register with the HSE. I would not advise smaller scale Childminders to register (unless they want to post cleaning rotas on their kitchen wall, install 2 sinks, get rid of curtains and cushions etc.)

Register with your County Childcare Committee instead.

ncit9933

We are new parents and was just wonder what is the average cost of creches?
Is it something like €1,000 per month and if you earning about 1,800 monthly, would it be more worthwhile taking a part-time job and minding the baby yourself?

Lizzykins

I think the conundrum people face is either you leave the workforce and have a damn hard time getting back in at a reasonable salary, or suffer the years of paying everything you earn to the creche.
I gave up a well paid bank job in the early 90s when I had child number two. I was never able to go back on any kind of decent salary so I temped part time and then went in a different direction. Mind you I wouldn't change it as I hated the bank. I feel sorry for anyone who enjoys their job AND wants two or three kids.