In an ideal world - When is best age to start nursery?

[MovingHome22]

If work / money / childcare were no issue, what do you think would be the ideal age for a child to start attending nursery for the first time (either part-time or full time)?

To phrase the question in another way, purely thinking about the child's needs and not the mum / parents circumstances, when do you think children are most ready and would benefit from attending nursery?

As per a PP I recall reading a few studies some time a go and I believe it’s 3 years.

It’s not to say there aren’t benefits from younger but that the costs outweigh the benefits.

My oldest went from 1 as I went back to work. I could definitely see the benefits but it was undoubtedly quite a stressful experience for him and he really benefitted from me removing him at 2.5. He then went again at over 3 when it was a more formal school setting (pre school attached to the school he would then be going to).
Because I’ve been able to my 2nd child will only be going when it’s the pre-school bit.

3 years old and part time. Then full time hours when they go to school.
There is a lot of research to say that nursery isn't more beneficial than staying at home until the child is around 3

I'd agree with a lot of other posters around 2.5-3years is when its actually beneficial.

Most kids are fine going before that too.

Part time at 1

Just jumping on to say how helpful this thread is - I'm a SAHM to a just turned 2yo and have been wondering about when to put her into nursery part time. We're out and about a lot at various groups/parks/shops etc so I'm happier leaving it until after 3yo but sometimes worry about leaving it too late when it could be beneficial!

Interesting question OP. 3 years is what I feel like I've read everywhere. However, I think it also depends a lot on the individual child. Our eldest struggles a bit socially (possible ASD) and so in hindsight I am glad that he went to nursery from a year old even though I found it emotionally difficult myself at the time. They gain so many experiences that we could never have replicated at home. To me the main thing is to make it part-time rather than full-time

My child started at 16 months due to covid delays and it’s the best thing I’ve done for them. Loved it since they started and has really helped them - especially being in lockdown since they were 5 months old.

Sorry I can see this is old but I recently looked into this and it was such an interesting question.

When I asked other mums, the conclusion today seems to be that nursery is necessary and very beneficial. I know several who will pay for nursery even when they don't need it and don't get free hours. But when I tried to look at the research on it (proper research), it was much less clear.

Someone here referenced the SEED study and that it said that nursery was good for all children but when I looked at that study, it isn't what it said anymore at ages 5 and 7. Actually at age 5, it seemed from reading the report properly, that"non-disadvantaged" children who had been in nurseries before reception had no academic benefit and had worse verbal skills and behaviour (including socially) than children who had been looked after by grandparents/nannies/friends. They didn't find many children who were not in some childcare though and also they did find that children from more disadvantaged backgrounds did benefit somewhat from nurseries. (www.gov.uk/government/collections/study-of-early-education-and-development-seed). The authors also seem very positive about nurseries anyway, maybe because their previous research showed great benefits. However personally I would go with the latest research making this choice. Also though, the differences were very small and the main influence was the child's family, even when they were in nursery. And they did find that good-quality daycare/early education also meant better results later eg age 7 but again actually looking at the results the "non-disadvantaged" children at home/with informal care did just as well in school as the children who had been in nursery. And again nursery increased behavioural problems at age 5.

The problem I found looking into this was that it is so political and mums get very defensive about their choices. So it is really hard for a parent to choose, IF they are lucky enough to choose at all.

Personally I would probably send to preschool only after age 3, maybe a few mornings a week and use family for childcare before then, if possible, or else a childminder. And try and start that later, after age 2. But it really depends on the family and what allows them to function the best (because in the end they showed the family has the biggest influence on outcomes). Still, definitely no need to listen to the push to send to nursery if it doesn't feel right, however much people might tell you your child needs to "learn social skills".