2 years old and havent sent to nursery yet. is it bad?

[Honeyjo87]

Hi all, I got a 2 year old who is very active and good with people. Both me and my husband share the childcare, so we never had to sent her to nursery. She is very good with interacting with people and it takes less time for her to adjust with any new environment. I also noticed at one time she was playing with a couple of kids who are elder than her and one of them took the toy she was playing with but she didn't even bother that its been snatched from her hand and continue playing with another toy. She was even giving her other toy to this kid. She is either with myself or my husband all day. we don't have any family or friends nearby and the days I am free, there are no kids classes anywhere near us. so I am worried if her social skills will be affected if we don't sent her to nursery, or will she be ok? TIA xx

I didn’t let any of mine go until they were at least two and a half and then it was limited hours/days. I think it’s better to wait until they are developmentally ready for socialising.

I agree, nursery isn't really about early learning and education, it is more to do with finding out how to socialise and co-operate with other children in a group, and to follow simple rules and instructions from whoever is the leader.

She obviously shares nicely already and waits her turn, but she will find that most some other children don't always do that, and there will be times she needs to assert herself or be able to let an adult know if another child has been mean to her.

Plenty of time for that though, do you have friends with dc of a similar age that you could maybe see more often?

@Strongmummy

I’m not just talking about softplay. I’m talking about children having a whole real-world experience to develop a wide range of social skills with a wide range of children and adults, instead of believing they can do it all at a nursery with about a dozen or so other children of the same age and a handful of adults (probably all of whom are women.)

Perhaps read @bookmum08 's latest post for a couple of examples.

Children did learn to socialise before sending your child to nursery became common.

Both of mine started just after they turned 3. Until then they were at home with me. They were absolutely fine, took to nursery and socialising more like ducks to water. They’re 4 and 6 well and love nursery and school and are doing brilliantly in all areas. Your DC will be fine

In my experience children get the most from each others company from three onwards.

There are other pro and con for sending them younger but if it’s just peer play and interaction then starting from preschool is fine.