Community Posts, Tips & Support on Childcare & Education

Honest, unfiltered, and in real-time: what women like you are talking about. Peanut group chats, support, and posts on Childcare & Education

When is the earliest you’ve gotten a babysitter for your child?

Unfortunately my fiancé and I don’t live around any friends or family however we’re really wanting to get out the house and have some time for ourselves! My child is only 7 months and so i’ve never had anyone look after him and get anxiety just thinking about it, when did you guys start and what did you look for in a babysitter?

Would you hire a male nanny or babysitter

Not talking about male daycare workers or teachers where they’re one in a handful of employees in a shared space. But as the sole childcare provider

Need childcare desperately 😮‍💨

I’m a single mom of 3 (13, 7 and 3) in the Mercer County PA area. I recently started working full time with inconsistent hours and have been struggling to find adequate childcare. I don’t have many family members here and little to no other support also I do not want to put so much my 13 yr old. Can anyone offer advice on reliable sources for care?

Pre school

Blaaaa I cannot even believeeeeee I am thinking about this right now but is anyone considering preschool 5 days a week next year?

Americans: what are diverse cities in America that are safe, good schools, great communities?

Particularly interested in the diversity part. I want my kids to go to school with different races and ethnicities and not be the only one of their background.

Child minder or Nursery

I am looking to start work and I’m not sure which childcare option would work best for my one year old. very clingy at the moment and find it difficult to socialise, so I’m wondering whether a nursery or childminder might be better. I would really appreciate hearing from other parents who have been in a similar situation. What worked best for your little one, and how did they settle?
Any advice or recommendations would be really appreciated!

Only happy at nursery, miserable at home

Is anyone’s child LOVE going to nursery and is happy there all the time with the nursery staff and other children?

I saw many posts about babies and toddlers struggled with settling in nurseries and separation anxiety. Mine gets meltdowns at home all the time and seems to hate being at home with me.

starting nursery

hi mummas!
my baby is 3 months old, i go back to work in may 2027 so she will be 11 months old. what age did you guys put your babies in nursery? how did your little ones cope with it?

Did school picture day ever go how you wanted for your kids?

I want a good photo but I feel like for some reason it’s not gonna be the best 🤣 it’s for the yearbook tomorrow and I’m so nervous. This is my first kid in school.

Homeschooling?

Starting homeschool in a couple of weeks in Polk county. Any tips? And any advice on where I can take my kiddos to play with other kids?

Homeschooling child with speech delay

Any parents planning to home school their little one instead of public school

I'm thinking of doing so as I feel my little one does so well with 121 support.

London mums – how much do you pay on top of the 30 funded hours for nusery?

Just curious what other London parents are paying. I want to understand what the norm is - Not sure if I’m being charged too much.

If your child gets the 30 funded hours and attends nursery around 3 full days a week, roughly how much do you still pay per month for extras/consumables such as meals and activities?

Would love to compare as it seems to vary so much between nurseries! Feel free to comment what your fee covers too.

What is everyone paying for a babysitter?

Let's say once a week for 4 hours how much are you giving per hour?
I'm in the process of hiring a new babysitter and am surprised with how many people asking for $25 an hour with no degree and little experience. My previous babysitter was happy with $10 an hour but unfortunately we moved. Is anyone paying $25+ for a babysitter??

School closure imminent?

My daughter just started reception, it was 2nd choice school as we only moved to area 3 days before term started!

The school only has 110 out of 210 (52%) capacity filled. For reception 2026, there are only 7 kids out of 30 capacity that they merged Y1 and reception. Y1 intake is 22 kids out of 30 capacity.

The stats of declining birth rates don't look good, we live in zone 3 London. Not sure how school can survive but currently daughter is enjoying it due to being a shy person and small class size.

Just got email this morning and got into 1st choice now! Opposite story, they have 90 kids in reception and 3 form entry!
What to do?!

Child maintenance

How can I get my BD to pay his maintenance?? He has missed the last two weeks payments . I rely on the money to buy food , formula and nappies etc for our 2 children.

Ugh

Anyone else regret not pursing a high paying career when they were younger?? Now I’m 28 with a baby realizing how important it is to be able to support your family and trying to go back to school to try and get a better paying job and ugh I’m just kicking myself for not doing it sooner. To be fair I never imagined I’d get this far in life so that has a lot to do with it but still. I’m scrambling now.

Help with decision :(!

Option one:
Return to old nursing school
-pros:
•Get to start off in second semester
•dont have to buy new uniform
•familiar with program

-cons:
•shady faculty (dont answer emails and falsify information)
•bare minimum learning structure
•a little bit further away

Options two:
•new start and possibly better cohort
•historically better program outcomes
•scholarship available with no stipulations once i graduate

Cons:
•entirely new campus
•unfamiliar with learning structure and teachers
•would have to start completely fresh
•dont know if i will even get in as they have only small number of seats this cohort