nursery or a nanny, what would YOU recommend

I think you need both as they get sick very often once they are at nursery. I love seeing my son playing in the nursery now with other children. He even made friends, so I don`t think a nanny is enough. My child was send to nursery when he was 18 months old, but be prepared that the maid does`t have time for something else once they start crawling.

We've chosen both. My daughter goes is in an all year programme in the mornings (she started at 5 months) and is then with our nanny in the afternoon. I pick her up at lunchtime. We feel she benefits from the interaction and more independent environment of nursery and our nanny is brilliant with her as well so I don't feel so bad about working.

My dd is at Hummingbird at the DIFC, our ds will start there in January too.

I work full time and had to go back to work at 4 months, our dd went to nursery from 4 months and is there full time. The nursery is open all year round, only closes when we also have public holidays. A few months after I went back to work we employed a full time helper (she is like a housekeeper, helps us so much) who lives with us, she is great with our daughter but we still feel that we are more comfortable with our dd being at nursery during the day. It is such a difficult decision and you will get so many differing opinions, you will have to go with what you feel is right for you and your family. Good luck with the decision. Hi Alimart - may I know what is the name of the nursery? I am finding it hard to find a daycare or nursery that is open all year round. They all have term breaks and I will not be able to take time off work to look after my 6 months old daughter. Thanks edited by BLady on 20/11/2011 <em>edited by BLady on 20/11/2011</em>

After reading so many threads on nurseries and nannies I would like to hear your personal experience on which of the 2 you prefer. My son is now 4 months and I am thinking to slowly get back to work so by the time he is 6 months I would either have him in nursery or have hired a full time nanny. Both have pro's and con's but I would like to hear your opinions on this matter. I would say Nanny while your child is this age. Of course she will have to be someone who you trust implicitly.

Agree . My girlfriend who works as a teacher is able to tell wich child went to the nursery before attending the school ( high level of vocabulary...) The must would be to have a day care at the nursery and a nanny during holidays , evening.... It really depends on what you are looking for. I know that this is very costly and I can understand that a lot of families cant afford it . I wasn't suggesting that nursery means that children's vocabulary is more advanced. One of my good friends is head of Early Years at her school, and she says that in her opinion, children that are cared for by registered childminders, and who go out to groups to get their social interaction often integrate better at school. However, we don't have the option of a qualified, native English-speaking childminder here in Dubai, so considering that children are absolute sponges when it comes to learning, you have to think about what each of our options provide, depending on what your situation and priorities are - which are obviously different for everyone. For me, language is very important and I expect my children to (eventually) be able to communicate clearly, correctly and with a wide vocabulary. Our timescale here is now not so long, so being able to integrate back into a UK system is also important. I've been the odd foreigner with the funny accent before and know how damaging that can be to a child growing up, so accent is also important. However, I know my own limitations too, and quite frankly, I don't do half the activities I should do with my children, so they get that stimulation from groups and nursery. We'd not be able to afford for me to be a sahm in the UK, but that was part of deciding to come here. Sure, if I were working here too, we'd be laughing all the way to the bank, but there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that the financial hit is worth every fil.

I work full time and had to go back to work at 4 months, our dd went to nursery from 4 months and is there full time. The nursery is open all year round, only closes when we also have public holidays. A few months after I went back to work we employed a full time helper (she is like a housekeeper, helps us so much) who lives with us, she is great with our daughter but we still feel that we are more comfortable with our dd being at nursery during the day. It is such a difficult decision and you will get so many differing opinions, you will have to go with what you feel is right for you and your family. Good luck with the decision.

lemondrops wrote : Even in the best of nurseries, you're looking at a carer to baby ratio of 3 to 1, instead of a 1 to 1 ratio you would get with a nanny. I personally find that in the first year all your LO needs is love and attention; it doesn't matter if he/she gets it from a masters degree holder or a maid with just a highschool education. In fact, most of the caretakers in nurseries are teaching assistants from India or the philipines with a two year diploma and a pediatric first aid course. You'd be surprised how many degree holders from those countries take up jobs as maids or nannies to support their families back home. But at the end of the day, the one on one attention is unbeatable particularly for a baby under two. If you're worried about your LO's health and safety, you can always arrange for your helper to attend a pediatric first aid course. 1 to 1 ratio with a nanny : that means that she cares of the child full time but as far as I know mostly of the families have a nanny working as a maid as well ( in charge of cooking, ironing, cleaning ...) . Even if she is a super nanny all this cant be done during the nap of the child so what happens when the nanny is busy cooking in the kitchen ? Hello Kitty replied : I was once in Hong Kong, where there's the same maid/nanny culture and an American friend of mine told me a story. She had taken her two children (2 and 4) to the GP and after a few minutes he commented that it was nice to see a mum who didn't have a nanny. She hadn't said anything so asked him how he knew. He told her that he could tell by the way her children spoke. Children raised by nannies didn't speak as well as those who weren't. Agree . My girlfriend who works as a teacher is able to tell wich child went to the nursery before attending the school ( high level of vocabulary...) The must would be to have a day care at the nursery and a nanny during holidays , evening.... It really depends on what you are looking for. I know that this is very costly and I can understand that a lot of families cant afford it .

We hired a nanny and she has been a Godsend. I considered the nursery route, but ultimately decided that we needed varied levels of support. For example, some days I do more work in the evening than during the day, so I can hang out with the baby earlier in the day and the nanny does a later shift. So, the flexibility of having a nanny (a good nanny, that is:) is wonderful. It really depends on what you are looking for. If you want some support in the evenings, weekends, or holidays, then this is where the nanny is superior to the nursery. The nice thing about hiring the nanny is that I had a few months with her before returning to work, so I was very hands-on in training her how to manage my child. I put her through a basic pediatric first-aid course, and will put her through more intensive first aid training in a few weeks. I have had some time to grow comfortable with her and make sure that she is comfortable handling my child. I honestly cannot tell you what a wonderful blessing it has been. Having said that, if I had not found a good nanny, or a nanny with whom I felt comfortable, my baby would have been in nursery faster than you can blink!

I would choose a 'good' Nursery over a Nanny anytime! With qualified staff - a qualified nurse, trained first aiders. A nursery offers far more peace of mind!

Yasmine, I'm a working mum and went back to work when she was 6 months. I went from thinking nursery to nanny to nursery to nanny. I think she was around 4 months old I hired a full time live out nanny. Nanny came to me at 7:30am and finished at 6:00pm and she worked 5 days a week. I personally felt she was just a bit too young for nursery. DD started nursery at 17months old and did 3 days a week 8 til 3 and two days at home with the nanny which for me I felt was a happy balance. Have to say it is completely true the first six months of DD starting nursery she was constantly ill with something. I have a friend who even though they have live in maid/nanny chooses to put them their child into nursery at 6 months. Not sure where you live but there are a few nurseries around which cater for the working parents. Blossom is one of them as that is where DD is now. They give you the option of early drop offs and late pick ups and I think is only closed 4 weeks of the year. Good luck on whatever you choose to do. x <em>edited by Babyrat on 11/01/2011</em>

I didnt even think about the fact that nurseries close during all holidays, for some reason that doesnt make sense does it... In my country I would leave my son with a registered day care professional, they have not more than 3 babies at their own house. Is that an option here in Dubai? Are there any ladies who provide this kind of service? The holiday thing was the main reason we decided that I would not return to work for the moment. For us, a nanny just wasn't an option. Accountability is a big thing for me - a registered day care professional (childminder in the UK) or a nursery have to fulfil certain obligations and their livelihood depends on their performance. It seems far, far easier for a maid/nanny to get a fresh start after a job that went wrong. I was once in Hong Kong, where there's the same maid/nanny culture and an American friend of mine told me a story. She had taken her two children (2 and 4) to the GP and after a few minutes he commented that it was nice to see a mum who didn't have a nanny. She hadn't said anything so asked him how he knew. He told her that he could tell by the way her children spoke. Children raised by nannies didn't speak as well as those who weren't.

As a working mother who initially did the nursery route and then had to go the nanny route, I found nurseries a completely impractical solution when trying to juggle DD's care and a job for the following reasons: *Nurseries are closed for every other holiday in addition to term breaks, half term break. I found myself having to take days off to look after DD during those days. *DD picked up every other bug on the planet during her brief stay in nursery, including a severe bout of bronchiolitis. I still think this is the reason why she developed asthma later on. But at the time, it also meant having to take more days off work to look after a sick DD. Again not practical when there are deliverables and deadlines that need to be met. *Even in the best of nurseries, you're looking at a carer to baby ratio of 3 to 1, instead of a 1 to 1 ratio you would get with a nanny. I personally find that in the first year all your LO needs is love and attention; it doesn't matter if he/she gets it from a masters degree holder or a maid with just a highschool education. In fact, most of the caretakers in nurseries are teaching assistants from India or the philipines with a two year diploma and a pediatric first aid course. You'd be surprised how many degree holders from those countries take up jobs as maids or nannies to support their families back home. But at the end of the day, the one on one attention is unbeatable particularly for a baby under two. If you're worried about your LO's health and safety, you can always arrange for your helper to attend a pediatric first aid course. *Nurseries provide no real advantage in terms of socialisation or education for children under the age of two. All studies conducted on nurseries show that the environment of socialisation and play is of no benefit to a child under the age two. In fact some studies have shown that there were some adverse effects when subjecting that age bracket to as many as 10 hours of nursery per week. *A nanny is a much more affordable, reliable and economic option than nurseries considering the number of days nurseries have off and particularly if you're on a part time job which doesn't pay very well.

For me, here, nursery every time. In the UK, for small babies, I'd say a registered childminder for the 1-on-1, but that doesn't exist here. Nurseries: - qualified, supported and supervised staff - not a huge staff turnaround - wide variety of toys and activities - social aspect - qualified nurse often on hand - different environment - often adhere to methodologies close the the parent's own - fully accountable Personally I don't feel that the convenience of having someone present 24/7 makes up for the fact that that someone is quite often completely unqualified or unprepared to do the job properly. Not saying that no nanny is good at her job, but from the ones I've seen, er... no. After all, anyone with a pair of pliers can pull a tooth out, but you'd far rather go to a qualified dentist, wouldn't you? I'm with Hello Kitty on this one. I left LO in a very good nursery (although not in DubaI) when he was four months old and went back to work. I had complete confidence in the staff there because they were qualified and had a nurse there all the time. With a nanny I would personally worry all the time.

If you have the time to look around and interview a lot of girls AND pay a decent amount, there are quite a few maids out there with lots of childcare experience who could become an invaluable part of your family support network. The terms maid and nanny get used interchangeably in Dubai but it's worth keeping in mind that maids almost always are NOT nannies and have no training in early childhood education, first aid, nutrition etc. If you can't find a really good maid (good at childcare) you can pay a premium for a trained nanny, or use any one of the very good nurseries that do exist in Dubai. No matter the choice you end up making, letting someone else take care of our children is a VERY VERY hard thing to come to terms with. All you can do is make the best decision you can for your circumstances. Good luck!!

I'd say nanny until the baby is 1, but only if it is a nanny who has been with your family for a long time that you know you can really really trust, if not then nursery. There are actually some really lovely ones here that take babies, it wasn't that long ago I was looking at them all for my LO's and I saw a couple that I would've actually left a baby at. And before I never thought I would be comfortable leaving a really young one in a nursery, if that makes sense!

For me, here, nursery every time. In the UK, for small babies, I'd say a registered childminder for the 1-on-1, but that doesn't exist here. Nurseries: - qualified, supported and supervised staff - not a huge staff turnaround - wide variety of toys and activities - social aspect - qualified nurse often on hand - different environment - often adhere to methodologies close the the parent's own - fully accountable Personally I don't feel that the convenience of having someone present 24/7 makes up for the fact that that someone is quite often completely unqualified or unprepared to do the job properly. Not saying that no nanny is good at her job, but from the ones I've seen, er... no. After all, anyone with a pair of pliers can pull a tooth out, but you'd far rather go to a qualified dentist, wouldn't you?

I am the only one in my group of friends that has a full time nanny for my family. What was the decider for us was: a) You always have someone there 24/7. It not only gives your little one the one on one attention but it allows you and DH to have time together and get out also. I got so sick one night also that we had to go to the hospital when DD was 18months old. I managed to get a freinds maid to come over to look after DD, it was very distressing to see DD crying when i was being rushed to hospital. DH had to make sure he stayed home from work to look after DD for a week while i was in hospital and also wasnt really able to come see me. A maid is a constant in the childs life. Unless you have family here you dont have that, even with a terrific group of friends. b) My maid has taught things to my daughter that i didnt even think off, like ABC's, 123's and days of the week. Now with DD2, she again has been invaluable helping with both girls. c) The maid can still look after a child when there sick. You cant send a sick child to nursery. d) With a child that young i think having a nanny is better in a nursery they have a constant change of staff ect which i would imagine could be quite distressing for a LO. Just my personal oppinion. The hospital thing was a big one, i do have an AMAZING group of friends, but they cannot come over to look after DD when they have kids and families of there own and if DD was sick, and they have kids they cant look after her while your off at work. I am SO lucky to have an amazing nanny too. Thats also half the battle. Best of luck with your decision. edited to add: there have been many threads also of parents having to take excessive time off work as there children are sick, can you or hubby afford to do that? Another thing to take into consideration. Xx <em>edited by Leshell on 10/01/2011</em>