Do you think starring nursery early has a big impact

[Sunshinepimms]

Do you think children that start a private nursery from a young age have a stronger start in school. Compared to children who start at pre school age and only do the funded hours? Just curious to know what people's thoughts are?

Nope.

No actual real benefits of going to Nursery until around the age of three.

Certainly by going to Nursery very young definitely doesn’t mean a stronger start in School for a child.

I say that as an ex Nursery Manager

No I don’t think it gives them an advantage- I don’t think going to pre school does eitger. I think we have become obsessed with doing things ever earlier to prepare children for the next stage.

The only exception is children who grow up in massively disrupted chaotic environments where I think it can be of benefit.

I’m not saying don’t send your children to a nursery at 6 months or whatever- do what works for you but don’t do it for educational reasons.

I sent my son to nursery at 11 months. It weren't for educational reasons. It was because I had to go back to work. I was curious to what other people thought as I just read something about the vocabulary gap and wondered if the early years had any impact on this too.

I don't actually think you can get a better start than one-on-one attention and lots of chit-chat from a devoted and dedicated parent, and lots of outings and new experiences - though obviously most of us can't or don't want to offer that seven days a week.
I also think it's very beneficial for a child of say 3+ to spend some limited time independent of the parent and get used to managing his/herself amongst other children in preparation for school, but think two or three mornings a week forcthe last year before school would be sufficient for that.
Wise words from @kittymckitty, that there are exceptions for children who grow up in chaotic environments where nursery can provide stability - and that 21st century parenting is obsessed with doing things ever earlier - it's almost like we've lost trust in our own ability to parent and feel a professional can do a better job, (even when stretched between multiple kids in a nursery setting). There is no need to know letters or be able to read before Reception! It's not a competition!

No, I don't.

If you can, start them at three at the state run nursery attached to a primary school (better trained, qualified teachers).
If I had my choice, I would only send my kids to the local state run nursery for their 15 hours per week. They are superior, in my own experience, to private day nurseries. And from 3-4, your child gets way more out of the experience. 2 is very young. Sometimes you don't have a choice but to slot them in early. But if you do have the choice, I'd wait and I'd avoid private/fee paying nurseries.

I don't think we've all lost the ability to parent , some of us just don't have the options. My little one went into nursery at 9 months and it was the best thing for him. If you have other options that's great but don't make others feel rubbish for their own choices.

The vocabulary gap has to do with the home environment, not nursery. Children from higher income families with more highly educated parents will hear several million more words by age 2 than children from more disadvantaged backgrounds. Nursery from age 2 can make a difference for disadvantaged children for this reason, but in general starting before pre-school age is no advantage.

From a purely personal and anecdotal perspective, I think children who have done at least 15 hrs at preschool, or at a busy Childminder’s, from age 3 do have an easier start to school. But this has everything to do with the ability to socially manage their emotions and navigate relationships in a group of children (very important in a happy start to school) and nothing to do with academics.

I chose to go back to work ft when DT’s were babies. They went to a lovely nursery and for my DT’s they benefited as this was their only exposure to English as we speak French and Flemish at home.

All children are different so you can’t set a standard age when children will benefit from nursery.

For our child there have been huge benefits of her going to nursery part time from 13 months (she's now 2.5 years). She has learnt lots of things based on the Early Years programme that I wouldn't have necessarily thought to teach her myself, formed strong friendships with other children, been looked after by well trained and experienced staff and understands really well the concepts of sharing and being kind due to being part of a group. She also does messy and water play so there's no need to do it at home At this age, it is mostly play-based (although they do teach letters and numbers etc) so I'm not sure it necessarily helps her education. But i had a positive experience, as have many other parents at the nursery, and think it has given her the best start in life.

When it comes to acquiring vocabulary it's to do with how much interaction the DC has with it's caregiver, how much they talk and play together. So if the caregiver is constantly on his/her phone, not talking to the DC, then that DC would be better off with a different caregiver who talks to them. That would be at home or at nursery - depends on the home setting.

My son has thrived with a small amount of private nursery from as early as 6mo but building up over the 3-4 years.
However I don’t think it’s because he went early. It’s just that going early has been part of our balance in life.

Depends on child and home environment as others have said. Personally in my experience I think 2-3 is a good age for kids to go to nursery/playgroup to socialise with other children of their own age. I've done it both ways, DS1 in childcare since 6 months old (full time and then moved to part time funded hours) and DS2 only started nursery at 2.5 with his funded hours. I'd say the main difference is purely social skills rather than academic.

no. all of mine went to nursery (full time). dont think it makes a jot of difference in terms of reading/writing. maybe they would have found the social side easier but most kids go to a playgroup of some sort.

I guess my curiosity is also because people would consider me from a disadvantaged place. Although my background and upbringing was not. I got good grades and have a professional part time job. I'm a single parent with a low income so this "vocabulary gap" would maybe apply to us. I wondered if nursery would help with this. But it's more likely to help with the social side than educational.

Depends how early and on so many other details but in general there are some advantages from 2 onwards if it's a high quality nursery that suits the child well. In reality some children get loads of time and opportunities to socialise at home.

sunshinepimms many studies have shown that the best thing you can do is talk to your child, have books in the house, and read to them as much as possible. If you got good grades, your vocabulary is probably good, and you have a curiousity for learning that you’ll pass on.

If you are in a disadvantaged area, moving your child to a state funded preschool (with staff with qualifications in education) as soon as you can, would likely be an advantage. Private nurseries are only as good as their staff. If the staff have a limited vocabulary and are nervous about learning and education (if they struggled themselves) there’s a limit to what they can pass on to the children in their care. For example, I witnessed one nursery worker repeatedly tell a child an animal was a duck. It was very clearly a goose, but she continued to talk about ducks. The same with calling using a scooter ‘cycling’ repeatedly, and many other examples. The children’s vocabulary wasn’t being stretched with variety, and in some cases they were being told the wrong thing. A kind setting yes, educational, not so much.

No.

We live in a country with a multi tiered secondary education system, and the children in my older 2's primary classes who got the grades required for the grammar school under their own steam (without being tutored and their parents talking as though it's normal to stand over your kids making them do extra work) are without exception ones who started kindergarten at 3+ without having been in childcare or nursery previously. The nursery ones split between hot housed kids with pushy parents and kids who aren't academic or aren't meeting their potential if they are.

Also of my own kids the ones who did the minimum hours between 3-6 years old (8:30am - 12 noon) did far better in early primary than my youngest who started full time 8-17:00 at 3.5 when I went back to work, which I feel bad about.

Obviously that's all anecdotal and could be entirely coincidental.

The thing I find weird are the parents determined to put their child's progress in every area entirely down to sending them to nursery. Parents say things like "My 2 year old has come on so much in the 6 months since she started nursery, it's been so good for her" it must require such determination to block out the fact that all children develop in leaps and bounds between 18 months and 2 and change almost beyond recognition, regardless of whether they're with a parent or at nursery. Development just is fast in young children by default, unless they have a delay or are being abused or neglected.
It's not down to nursery, it's because the child is 6 months older

The vocabulary gap is down to parents not talking to or reading to their children. Nursery then compensates.

If you talk to and read to your child you don't benefit because there's nothing to compensate for.

Studies show nursery usually benefits children with mothers without any formal qualifications.

Nursery is of no benefit to children with a degree educated mother.

It is the mother who's level of education the studies always focus on, because of the assumption that the mother spends most time with the children.

A good nursery will do no harm. There's nothing wrong with needing to use nursery.

It just won't do any good either if parents are educated and talk to their kids. It's neutral unless parenting is substandard.

Ultimately lots of children go to nursery in order that their parents can work. The nursery my DTD's attended from 13 months was somewhere which was full of love, warmth and affection. They built wonderful bonds with the staff and were happy and secure. Personally I'd prefer a private nursery over a state nursery which they would attend for a few hours but as per a previous poster it's a personal choice.

DD went to nursery one day a week from 18 months for social skills more than anything as she was with a sole childminder or DH at other times. I must say whilst the nursery care and nurturing environment was great the grammar of the staff was atrocious and confused the life out of DD as at age 2 she was hearing from grown adults things like ‘I wented to the shops’ or ‘I woked up this morning’. It was certainly a lesson in learning it wasn’t appropriate to correct someone’s grammar who was older than you! We put DD in a pre-reception class with qualified teachers plus a childminder that didn’t cost more than a nursery from 3.5 and she thrived so much more in that environment. Each child will be different and some experiences even if not the best will still be learning opportunities.

My understanding is similar to a few of the above posters:

Studies show that on average children do better at nursery. However, nearly all these gains are for children with a lack of input at home. For children with an average home environment there is little difference and for children with a good home environment it is actually better for them to be at home.

As I recall, all of the above children got a bit more “school readiness” by going to nursery early, but this was picked up very quickly by the late arrivals.

Disadvantaged has not so much to do with where you live: it’s far more to do with quality of your job, your education and earnings as well as your ability to lead a standard life - not chaotic, drugs, alcohol etc. Therefore op, I think you are well placed to be a fantastic Mum. Just keep talking, reading books and encouraging your Dc to be interested in everything.

I think there is a difference between nursery schools and day care. Nursery schools are teacher led and if they are excellent in my experience can accelerate progress in the early years foundation stage. DD had learned to read quite fluently by the end of nursery school and was confident counting to 20 and doing basic number bonds. She enjoyed learning so it suited her. But formal learning at 3 years old might put some dc off learning alltogether, so I guess it really depends on the child, and on the quality of the nursery school and whether they manage to instil a love of learning.

Educationally, not really. Socially, absolutely 100%

No. I think large nurseries are second-best to staying at home with an interested parent for a couple of years. Outings and talking with a parent is super valuable. Obviously this isn't possible for most these days and nurseries do their best.

I am absolutely not criticising the use of them btw- DS went to one from 20 months and DD to a childminder from 9 months. I absolutely preferred the childminder though.

I agree with the person who said nurseries attached to schools are good- dd went to one before school and the teachers were outstanding. DS starts in September