English speaking day care for babies

CBM · Post by **CBM** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:36 pm

Hi there,

My husband and I might be moving to Finland this year with our baby boy and I have been trying to find out if there are any English speaking day care facilities for babies in the Helsinki area.

So far I have not been able to find any crèches that accept babies younger than 1 year old and a lot of them don't even seem to accept children below the age of three.

According to a Finnish friend of mine this is because maternity leave is 1 year so most families don't need day care for their babies before that time, but I would imagine expat families have different needs.

I would like to send our baby to a crèche (for one or two days a week) before he turns 1 so he can socialise with other babies and also so I can have some time to myself for Finnish lessons, doctors appointments, etc.

Thanks for your help!

CBM

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Amandine.K · Post by **Amandine.K** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:52 pm

You won't find an English speaking daycare that will take a child under 1. ICEC in Niitykumpu has a toddler group but they need to be 2 (see http://www.play-learn.fi/main/page_info ... dlers.html)

CBM · Post by **CBM** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:44 pm

Hi Amandine,

Thanks for your reply. If English speaking daycare is impossible to find, what do people do?

Do they find a nanny or an au pair? Do they send their little one to a Finnish creche?

As our baby is already being exposed to three languages (English, Dutch and French) at home I think it would be too much to add Finnish as well.

CH · Post by CH » Sat Jun 11, 2011 2:50 pm

Well... babies that age don't really need socializing, but anyway... Most here go with their babies to places like Open Daycares (avoin päiväkoti), but note, that is for kids to play and for adults to socialize. Although some may allow for you to leave your child there, many don't. There is also community play parks that arrange activities, different types of clubs like Muskari ("mommy and me" type of music play), etc etc. Check your municipality web pages for information.

And you can take your baby with you to doctor's appointments, etc. Finnish lessons might be harder, but you could try a baby sitter, like a MLL babysitter http://www.mll.fi/en/short_term_child_care_services/.

CBM · Post by **CBM** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 9:17 pm

CH, Thank you for your reply.

'Socialising' might have been the wrong word to use but I would like my little one to come into contact with other babies on a regular basis as he won't have cousins/nieces/nephews etc to play with.

And whilst I will definitely take him to mummy and baby playgroups I would also like him to learn how to play with other babies his age and older without me being present in a safe environment run by people who have been trained to look after babies and small children.

Since I last posted we might have found a solution until my little on is a year old so if anyone can recommend an English (or even French) speaking crèche that accepts babies as of the age of 1 I would be very grateful.

Thanks,

CBM

Sara · Post by **Sara** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 10:42 pm

Im a English Immersion kindergarten teacher (though Ive not worked for 3 years due to taking time off to have babies

)

English speaking daycares are for children 3+ in my experience

You can likely find care in Finnish speaking environments. No doubt you can find somewhere that has staff that speak English but the childrens language is likely Finnish. If you planning on living here longterm it is likely the best sort of environment.

Amandine.K · Post by **Amandine.K** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:00 am

Try Club des cinq for French, I think they do take children under 2. Though at the time I went there for an interview, their staff spoke Finnish with the very young ones.

Rosamunda · Post by **Rosamunda** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 11:00 am

No, they don't take babies at all, I think the minimum age is 3. There is always at least one member of staff who speaks French (the owner does not, IIRC she's a native Russian speaker) but most of the staff are Finnish. My youngest son went to Club des Cinq for one year (he was 5 years old at the time) and he was the only child there who could speak French with any degree of fluency.

The Ecole Jules Verne has a "maternelle" section, but I guess that starts at 3 years also.

Amandine.K · Post by **Amandine.K** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:58 pm

The club des cinq did have a babies section 2 years ago, they were just starting it.

Ecole Jules Verne will take children below 3, providing that they are potty trained and ready to attend "school".

Rosamunda · Post by **Rosamunda** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 9:17 pm

Aha, I didn't know that Club des Cinq was taking babies. I'm surprised since the facilities are quite small (unless they've moved). Maybe the number of 3-7 yr olds has diminished.

So, the Ecole Jules Verne is moving away from Lehtisaari during the summer?
http://www.ecolejulesverne.fi/practical ... e_fre.html

Amandine.K · Post by **Amandine.K** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 10:11 pm

She now has 2 daycares, one in Espoo and one in Helsinki (only that one taking babies).

Yes Jules Verne is moving to Ratakatu!

CBM · Post by **CBM** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:14 am

Thanks for all your replies!

I have to say I'm surprised that there are no English speaking crèches for babies in a big city like Helsinki. Perhaps I should start my own?

As we might only move to Finland for a few years I'm not sure sending my little one to a Finnish crèche is a good idea (added to the fact he already gets exposed to three other languages at home) but it looks like we might not have a choice.

Of course first we will need to decide to move to Finland!

Thanks again,

CBM

Rosamunda · Post by **Rosamunda** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 9:44 pm

If you only have ad-hoc child-minding needs then you could try the Mannerheim League. They have English-speaking babysitters and nannies who are trained and reliable. http://www.mll.fi/en/

Having a babysitter come to your home won't solve the "socialising with other babies" problem but I think you can find plenty of English-speaking mother and baby groups for that. Some even communicate though this forum.

CBM · Post by **CBM** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 4:42 pm

Thanks Penelope!

I'm sure we'll find a solution but it might take some time.

Hopefully we'll know soon whether we're moving or not!

sunlovemama · Post by **sunlovemama** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:01 pm

Hello CBM,

We had the same questions coming here (Dutch family, transferred from and kids born in the US), and we ended up opting for a nanny until we get a spot at a daycare. Our youngest is now 1 year old, and got a spot at a center that is logistically inconvenient (Suomenlinna island, and we live in souther Helsinki). Even the private Finnish and foreign-language daycare centers seem to all start at 3 years old.

Depending on the area you are in, you could also connect with other expat families and try to do nanny share.
Maybe there are mums out here in the forum who are interested

Best,
Jessica

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