Top 5 Tips for Choosing a Suitable Nursery

Well, what a crazy few weeks it has been. Why does everything seem to happen at once? I have finally found work, coincidentally for the same company as Adam. With only being on minimum wage, you have to take everything into account. Nursery costs, travel costs, parking etc. They are all things that eat away at the pennies you finally get to bring home. Luckily, the store I will be working in is just ten minutes drive away, and Teddy's nursery is on the way. Perfect. The only way we could make the wage work, however, is how I had expected. One of our weekend family days has had to be sacrificed just to ensure I actually bring home a wage.

Nursery. I have to say, I am so pleasantly surprised at how well the whole finding a nursery, and Teddy settling in has gone. We chose the nursery based on a friends recommendation. For me the most important piece of information you could gain when choosing a nursery. It is such a lovely setting. Clean, bright, welcoming, all the staff are lovely and the children always seem so happy there. Teddy has a wonderful Key Worker who genuinely seems to love her job and care for the children. It's all you could ask for as a worrying parent. The nursery we chose also have an amazing settling in plan for the children who start there. So far, Teddy has been on three 2 hour visits (planned whilst the other children are napping so he has one-to-one care whilst getting used to his surroundings), 4 hours today, 6 hours tomorrow building up to a full day Thursday. We had tears Friday and today, but they reassured me after a few minutes he was fine and happily went to play with the other children. When we go to pick him up, he is absolutely full of beans with a huge smile on his face. It's a huge weight off my mind knowing he is in a safe place, being well looked after and having fun to boot. Phew!

My guide to choosing a suitable Nursery:

1. First and for most - Ask friends and family

Friends and families recommendations and advice are priceless. Asking the people you trust the most and have experience with nursery settings will narrow your search down. Ask them as much information about the staff, and their experience of the nursery as you can.

2. Check Ofsted report dates

Many nurseries now have huge banners outside boasting about their Outstanding Ofsted reports. Yes, those reports are invaluable to get an idea of how they follow the EYFS guidelines (Early Years Foundation Stage is the learning and development guidelines for all Under 5 Year Olds). However, Ofsted visits only happen once every 3/4 years, in which time the nursery could be under new management and could be a totally different place to how it was when the report was produced - So check the dates!

3. Have a tour round

Take the opportunity to take a tour around the nursery, with your child. Make sure to visit when the children are awake and playing to get a good feel for how the nursery work for the children already there. Is it clean? Secure? Are the staff welcoming? How do they interact with the children? Is there evidence of the children's artwork on the walls? It's your chance to have a really good nosy around and get a good feel for the place.

4. Ask questions.

Find out as much as you can. Ask about meal, snack and nap times. How will they track their development? What information will they relay to you, and in what format? What will their daily routine look like? If you forget anything, don't be afraid to ring and ask. The more information you have, the more comfortable you will feel to leave your child in their care.

5. Be positive!

It's so difficult to hand your child over to, essentially, strangers. You need to 100% comfortable with the nursery you have chosen. If you worry, and make a fuss when your child starts, they will pick up on it straight away and make the whole experience into a negative one. Be happy, talk about it, get them excited and be excited for them! They are about to start a whole new adventure outside the bubble that is your home, make new friends and learn new things. If your not happy, don't be afraid to consider changing nurseries. Just take into account notice periods are usually around 4 weeks.

Working parents... how do you do it?!

Childcare. Two words come to mind; expensive and scary. Finding a job that fits around our family life and pays enough to cover childcare is proving to be extremely difficult. 

When Teddy came along, we had planned for me to stay at home, which I have always wanted to do. My background is all in retail management, which means erratic hours and weekends, and with Adam working away a lot it's no longer viable as I would be the one responsible for getting Teddy to and from nursery. So my career went on the back burner (fine by me!). Sadly, bills need to be paid, so staying at home with my bear is no longer an option (insert cry emoji here!). For weeks now I've been given the task of finding a job that not only works around us, but also pays well. The elusive 9 to 5 job with a good wage for someone with only a retail background is living up to its name. How do people do it? How do families go out to work, pay for childcare and still come out with a decent wage at the end of the month? Minimum wage doesn't even come close. But that's the harsh reality of it. 

Nowadays, employers want one or two years experience of the role they are advertising for, to even be considered for the position. Do transferable skills account for anything? Not unless it's down on paper. 

Flexibility. Employers need you to be fully available for any 'shift' and cover sickness and holidays. When you have children, that luxury goes out the window. Especially when you are trying to cut down on childcare costs.

Working life just doesn't seem to be very supportive of families or working parents. I'd love to know how other families make it work, or have come across other hurdles. How do you do it?!

Autumn Walks and Fireworks

As I'm writing this, I am laying all snuggy and warm in bed after a lovely two hour nap, waiting for Teddy to wake from his.

Before Teddy, any opportunity to sneak a little snooze in, I'd take it. I love sleep. Adam has always said "You were born tired, hungry and cold!". But as any other parent in the world now knows, sleep goes out the window once you have children. I can only imagine it gets less and less the more children you have! Usually when Teddy goes down for his nap (which can be over two hours in the afternoon), it's a mad dash to get whatever housework or ironing done. Today I said Sod it and jumped into bed as soon as Teddy went down.

In an update from my last post, I'm pleased (and relieved) to say we are coming out the other side of the horrendous few weeks of lack of sleep and general bad tempered-ness we were experiencing. Teddy's finally sleeping through again and the meltdowns have subsided (not altogether... I still have a toddler remember!). Isn't it strange how when you look back on things, they don't seem as bad as when it was all happening? I can now look back and laugh at him screaming facedown on the floor because I dared to give him the wrong coloured cup. I can now smile back at the time he kicked off and threw all his toys on the floor because I wouldn't let him throw building blocks at me. A few weeks ago I wanted to be the one facedown on the fooor, balling my eyes out.

In an attempt to stop the tantrums and meltdowns, we have tried to keep Teddy busy. I think sometimes he gets bored with it being just the two of us through the week. So walks and visiting people have worked a treat!

On Saturday, it was of course Bonfire Night. We have never been quiet around Teddy (we fitted a brand new bathroom whilst he was napping in his room and it never woke him up) so we thought he would probably be fine, but you never know do you. Well he was totally mesmerised by the fireworks and wasn't at all phased by the really loud ones. I think I missed most of them just watching his reaction!