Disclaimer - I'm not a parent, I lurk on here because I absorb the wisdom of parents and apply it as a nanny/governess [grin[
"quality nursery care for young children doesn't exist. It is a fantasy of the glossy magazines."
That depends how young 'young' is. For under 1s, I would agree. The ratios are insane, you're running from one baby to another just trying to keep up with the basics and you'd love to have that one-to-one time to play, to explore, to cuddle but it's too rushed. Don't get me wrong, the nursery care is adequate - it's Winnicott's theory of "good enough" in practice - but it's not what I'd call quality care. For older children it absolutely exists!
Having worked in nurseries I'd say they are, generally, a good idea but not one which is always particularly well executed. A good nursery can be immeasurably beneficial for a child once they are old enough to thrive in a group environment and communicate their needs effectively. I, personally, don't feel they're the right place for very young children but accept that not all parents have a choice. A good nursery which really cares about the individual, has caring, attentive, mature, stable and qualified staff, good resource
The poster who said we need to make being a nursery worker a 'proper' job is absolutely right - there's not much career progression, limited extra training beyond the compulsory stuff and the pay is rubbish. And then people wonder why a lot of good nursery workers want to leave and become nannies! It's not just about pay though. It's the paperwork, the record keeping, the need to stick to planned activities, the lack of any kind of flexibility to respond to individual children....
The comments about intelligence/academic ability are interesting. My mother is hideously clever and by her own admission hates very young children (say, under 5s) because she finds them slow, irritating and boring so an academic person does not a good childcarer make! BUT I would argue for having at least a minimum standard of education before being put in charge of the early education of young children. When I worked in a nursery there was one trainee who was there because she failed all her GCSEs and the careers officer at school told her that seeing as she was too stupid to do anything else she'd better go into childcare. That kind of attitude needs to be challenged! 50% of the staff had fewer than 5 GCSEs (and of those who did I don't know whether they were A-Cs or not!), some struggled with reading children's books to the children and had to be walked through literacy/numercy and KUW activities before they could carry them out themselves. They were truly lovely people, very talented in caring for children but lacking an academic foundation that would really have benefited them. And then there was a level 3 qualified young woman who was excellent at planning, strong on theory, ticked all the right boxes but had no instinct for childcare - no spark, no spontanaeity.
In 'bad' nurseries staff turnover is really high which I believe has a negative impact on the atmosphere of the nursery as a whole as well as the children there. Having a stable key-worker is really important but the only way to retain staff is to give them incentives to stay which in too many places just don't exist.
But having said all that a nursery environment really can improve social skills and confidence and children access 'education' earlier. Obviously it's better for children to have a dedicated carer, preferably a parent but that's not a reality - I suppose the ideal compromise would be to have a higher staff:children ratio for under-3s - if it was 1:2 in the baby room children would be a lot better off.
I plan to put my own children into some form of group day-care (although hopefully not full time) from about the age of 2. I think it's an important part of growing up and learning.
I've seen the other extreme - children who've only ever had one-to-one care and never had to consider others, wait for what they want, learned how to learn from their peers. They might turn out aggressive because they never learned to talk their problems through with someone who isn't an adult with superior linguistic skills/reasoning/emotional control. They might turn out cold because they didn't learn how to make friends early enough. They might turn out sad due to a lack of peer attention rather than adult attention. Those children are going to have just as many social and emotional problems, potentially crippling social problems which could lead to emotional problems one day, as children who've been "stressed" in nurseries, they're just going to be different problems.
Nurseries are the most attractive option for a lot of parents, the only option for some, but as long as it's a good nursery and the time spent in a group is balanced by individual care, love and attention for the child when they are at home then there's no reason why the whole experience shouldn't be a positive one.