nanny vs creche

Ai, memo!
I hear you. Joshua has been at a daycare since 9months and it worked out well until I also felt that its getting a bit out of hand (more kids than before).
Last week 2 of th eteachers were sick and when I fetched Joshua, the chaos!!!!!!!!!! All the children running free. Teachers and helpers trying to get the kids orderly...

Needless to say, I'm now in the process of finding an alternate school with more structure! I visited 2 montesori schools today and it's way better than our current situation. Tomorrow and Thursday I have two other schools to visit.

I guess, what also makes it somewhat easier is the fact that Joshua will be 2 in three weeks and schools are generally more inclined to accept a 2yr old than a younger child.
P.S. Both Montesori schools have smaller groups for the toddlers. So a big bonus.

Memo toddlers need fewer caregivers than babies and as far as I know this is one of the laws for registered schools.

Sounds as if he is going to be fine!

Dylan gets up early and we feed him a yoghurt and then a small sarmie and then he has food at school so he also eats alot in the mornings.

Hey Rakker your spot sounds sublime!!!
I thought the ratio of the kids:teacher was 6-1 but today when I fetched him it was more like 14 to one... Now what! I'm so dissappointed but I know this is it really.. Why would the toddler class be so much bigger?

hanks for the responses guys! Much appreciated!
I dropped Jude today and was very happy to see not even a snot nose in the house! It is also a lady and a man running the creche and then each class has a teacher. I havent gotten a call yet so I'm hoping it will go well.
I'm a little conserned about how little Jude got served for breakie today. My child eats ALOT of breakfast and most days he gets two big bowls.
I'm also a little worried about fish fingers and mac and cheese or mince lunches as we try to give Jude only free range meats and organic fruits (where possible) so I'm gonna attempt to pack my own lunches.. eish
He also sleeps for 2 hours in the arvy (11am-) and they all sleep from 12h30 After lunch.. I hope he conforms. As he will also be waking up earlier from next week too
Joybaby, I'm so happy that you have found a strong support system for our lovely K! (our cos all the moomies always have that sweet little angel in their prayers!)
I'm sure this past year has been super rough on you guys.

Let's make this short and sweet .

I had to drop my baby off somewhere when he was 3 months old. I had to find a place in a day's time as I had to start working at a new job immediately. I went to a day mother, was horified and then went to Infanticare baby school (although kids up to 5 years attend). I paid the deposit the same day as I was impressed.

I have never looked back. It's expensive, yes, but my kids (LG also started there at 3 months) thrive. Their ratio for the babies is 4:1. They do a lot of sensory stimulation, also for the babies, and my LG gets a baby massage every day. My son, who is naturally shy, gets along so well with all people, from babies to adults. All thanks to him being exposed to other people every day. He loves his friends, especially those who have been with him at creche for the past 2 years and 4 months. And I have made some new friends as well, the mommies of those kiddies. They have CCTV and you can view the recordings if you want to. I have never had the need to do that, but it might be good that the staff know they are being monitored.

Of course they get sick more often in the beginning, but I have seen that, especially with my son, it actually strengthened his immunity. These days he hardly ever gets any kind of cold or other illness. I realise that other creches might not be as nice, so I just thank my lucky stars that I found this place.

Memo good luck!!!

Here's my experience so far!
I didnt even bother looking at creche's, after some were 'full' and others had 1 space left, which would make their baby & toddler class 16 kids!

I found a lovely daymom in durbanville, who had about 8 kids. She was in the process of registering due to new legislation, and adding proper toddler toilets etc. It was just her and her retired husband which while lovely, their age concerned me a bit.
Cost of R1250/month which included breakfast and lunch. But as most places, milk, nappies, wipes, bum cream etc must be provided.

Then I got a job closer to home so the option wouldnt work for me, and I had K stay with a friend and their boy & nanny. But the kiddies were making each other sick and we decided to end the arrangement.

A side note, Kaylee was 9 months old when I started working, and she'd never had as much as a cold until this point. We had weekly play dates, and spent time in shopping malls / out with friends etc (all in summer / autum of course).
In June we found the perfect daymom about 1km from our house. Cheaper even, 5 other kids between ages of 15m and 3yrs old, so Kaylee was the youngest. They fell in love with her, and really give her lots of love and attention and she is like family to them, as are the other kids. As a rule, they dont allow sick kids to come to school, and when a fever starts we are called right away. Snotty noses are allowed though.
But since she's been at daycare, she has gotten sick every 3-4 weeks with either bronchitis or an ear infection and throat infection. It's been a very rough ride for us. We have spent thousands on medication and doctor's visits. And we spent 2 weeks in hospital, treating her double pneumonia in August and got grommets. She spent her 1st birthday in hospital And not 2 weeks after discharge she got bronchitis again, and now she is fighting an ear infection too.
I have taken unpaid leave to be at home with her, and had to work crazy overtime to catch up with work to keep my new boss happy. It's been really very tough.

But reality is I cant afford a nanny. I would have to worry about picking her up and dropping her off, I would need her here by 7:30am and only be able to relieve her at 5:30pm which for most makes it a 12hr+ day given their travel times; and I dont know if it would be good for Kaylee to be home with a nanny. She is so at home where she is, and even at her age is very comfortable around her friends. She loves attention, and is a very social child and I find she struggles on weekends when its just us and her, and so I think that she is overall happier at the daymom.

At our daymom she only takes them until the age of 3. The following year the kids must move on. She takes most as babies and they grow up with her which is lovely.

I would suggest you get references from mom's whose kids are there, and also find out how long they've been going there. Find out about 'sick' policy, and holiday closures etc too.

Good luck!

Good luck Memo - Good luck Jude!

Memo - it's usually harder for the mommies than it is for the children. He will probably cry the first few days but no doubt he will love all the new friends soon enough.