Nanny, Day Mom or Creche (Part 3- A Creche)

If you haven't read part one and two of this series you can find them here.

In this series I explored my personal pros and cons in relation to choosing between a day mom, nanny or creche having experienced all 3 with my kids.

In this part 3 my final piece I discuss putting your child into a creche.

Loghan was in crèche from 15 months, Gabriel from 6 months and Jesse from 4 months. We have had many bad experiences with crèches however personally this is still the option I would choose.

 Pros

-          Your child has peer interaction

-          A crèche or day care is more likely than note to have a lesson plan implemented or some sort of learning system whereby your child is encouraged to learn and grow based on what they should be doing at their age, this means that the transition into grade R is so much easier.

-          All meals are usually provided, all toys and educational products you only need to provide nappies and such

-          There are usually camera systems in place should you want to see what happened with an incident

-          There are more carers in place and more eyes on each carer

-          There are usually nice outdoor playgrounds and the kids have a fixed daily schedule which is early prep for school and also nice for your child to go outdoors and have that time everyday

-          A crèche usually has outside activities made available to the kids during the day such as gymnastics, ballet, playball etc

-          If a teacher is ill the crèche is still open

Cons

-          Usually more expensive

-          Crèche syndrome is a given for the first year

-          Those cameras do not always ‘work’ I speak from experience, please request and check that the cameras are in working order when you apply or go on a tour.

-          More children equals less individual attention for your child

-          Your child may be around older children which can be a bad thing most crèches separate the kids until just before home time though.

-          If your child has allergies they can be exposed to the allergen via another child

Personally we have had some really horrid crèche experiences but we have also had some really great ones I have found that the most expensive la di da places are not always the right or the best place for your child in fact the most expensive well reputed crèche we attended turned out to be really terrible, it was where Gabriel was smacked and where we were first pushed to medicate Loghan and then kicked out without notice when they changed teachers without notice and caused Loghan to have a freak out, this after they told us they were equipped to handle a special needs child, their cameras were also on and off and another mom was allowed to verbally assault me after she said Loghan hurt her child when it turned out Loghan was not even in the room at the time, one or two of the teachers had terrible tempers and would shout at the kids and put them in the toilet when they misbehaved (Loghan was terrified of the toilet for months afterwards) and the owner only cared about money not the kids, so that was a very bad experience, another crèche we attended in the end I reported and took my kids out because the owner lost interest was misusing funds and not paying teachers who would then not show up and leave the kids unattended, the kids were not being fed properly etc so another bad experience.

Having said that the first crèche Loghan attended was really lovely and we had a great experience there, the crèche Jesse is currently in is also wonderful, the teachers care and so does the owner, the children are well looked after and happy and we are very happy there, Gabriel’s aftercare is also really lovely and we are happy there so I would honestly say that at the end of the day you need to choose what is best for your family and run with it.

I personally like the peer interaction of a crèche however a day mom in my opinion can also be great given the right place and surroundings.

If you are unsure my suggestion is going to take look at all the places or options in your area and then shortlisting until you find a place you are completely happy with and where your child is comfortable, if you are at any point unhappy take it up with the owner and if you or your child is still unhappy LEAVE, do not leave it trust me, if you are looking at a nanny interview 50 if you need to until you find the right person and then have them there on a trial basis whilst you are there to see how your child interacts with them then do a half day if you are happy and then a full day, this is your child and no amount of research or time is too much .