I’ve put 2 children through 4 years each of nursery and I don’t really notice any stories of abuse personally. No more than anywhere else.
Both of mine were in nearly full time from 9 and 11 months respectively and it was nothing but a positive experience for us. I still keep in touch with some of their key workers. We’ve moved across the country and my dd in secondary school still keeps in touch with her best friend from nursery 10 years later!
Realistically, bad things can happen anywhere. In fact, it’s hard to get your head around but statistically speaking, there is already someone close to you and your child who abuses children. We all know someone in our families, our neighbours, a friend’s partner or sibling or stepdad or whoever. In our family, the two trusted family members we would have asked to look after our dc if they hadn’t gone to nursery, ended up marrying child sexual abusers. 🤷🏻♀️ If we hadn’t used a nursery, there is a good chance one or both of our children would have been abused. It’s the sad reality. But neither of them would have ever been hired by a nursery because of DBS checks. Obviously safeguarding and DBS doesn’t prevent everything, but there is a very good reason why most abuse happens in the family and not in childcare settings.
All that grim stuff aside, nursery was bloody great for mine. They got to do so much more stuff than I would have been able to do with them. They made lovely friends. There was always someone to cuddle (not the case, for example, with a childminder). And it meant I could focus on building financial security for us. We have a very good life because I went back to work and it means now that they’re in school, both Dh and I can work PT and one or both of us is always around before and after school.