starting nursery age @3 ?

[mylifestory]

my little girl was 2 in december so will be 3 at the end of 2012. iive been offered a place at the private nursery i like from this september but think this may be too soon? isnt it more normal to start at the january after? its not a case of funding either but i am a stay at home mum. i'm torn thinking is shouldnt be sending her for 3 mornings if i dont need to but i also dont want to hold her back.

please discuss

Hi, I think children enjoy nursery - by the time they are two and half, they need more stimulation, more educational play and it will good for her to get used to the nursery teachers and some time away from home. Don't feel guilty. If you you feel you have chosen a loving, fun, spacious nursery with good staff and teachers...you have nothing to fear.

Hiya, I'm a stay at home mum also and my little lady turns 3 in September. I'm also putting her in to a private nursery from September as I feel this will benefit her and will also benefit me. Yes it will cost so we have put her in for 2 afternoon sessions until january when we will receive the funding to send her for 3 afternoon sessions, they are 5 hours each. I also thought well i'm at home all day so does she need it but I think they get to a stage when they need that interaction with others and they can get used to you not being there all the time. If you don't feel she is ready then start her in january but if you think she will benefit then why not. My daughter is my only child so in a way I'm quite looking forward to a few hours a week to be able to get on with things, the tesco shop without a toddler for a start! Obviously nothing exciting in that time but I think it's the right thing for us. I know how torn you must be as I also felt why should I send her when I'm at home I also looked at her and thought she's so young but when we viewed the nursery she ran off to play with all the other children and could have happily stayed there, she didn't even notice when we went in to the office for a chat!
My mum was a stay at home mum too and she sent all of us to what was called playschool from age 3 and we loved it too!
Are you able to accept the placement but if you feel the time isn't right then defer the start date?
I would follow your daughters lead and what you think she would like to do as well.
Hope this makes some sense and helps a bit!

my DS went to cm -some of the time but started pre-school 2 mornings a week at 2 y 9 mo - he then went 5 mornings a week once he was 3 - it worked well -he was ready for it -

thank you all so much! it is hard to decide now what will be good for her in september. we hope to take her along for a few mins this weds & have to decide by friday, they are being very understanding over it. the mornings are 9-12.15, 3x the first year & 5x the next year but you can add a whole day + if you need. we'll think about that when we get there eh?! We do music at the moment & she doesnt really want to go to it anymore & prefers playgroup where i stay with her but we're only doing that once a week at the minute .... fingers scrossed she loves it herself this week!

I know what you mean about what will be good for them in 7 months time, they change so much so quickly. I think you need to go with your gut instinct, if you like the place then go for it. Hope it all works out!