Do you send your child to nursery if you’re a SAHM?

[Eggplant19]

I always thought I wouldn’t send my toddler to nursery being a SAHM - he’s only a baby at the mo. I’d send him to pre-school when 3 yrs old for the ‘educational’ side but I’m just wondering if there are benefits to sending your toddler to nursery that they can’t get at home? I guess it’s more to provide a break for Mum / Dad if you’ve no family nearby? Things could change but currently I wouldn’t want anyone else napping him or changing his nappy… I’m just wondering in terms of ‘child development’ is nursery beneficial? Can you send your child to nursery for a couple hours ie if you need to run an errand or get your hair / nails done? Such a stupid question but I’m genuinely curious or if you needed to run an errand would you get a babysitter? although again, currently I wouldn’t trust anyone other than family but I’m wondering what the scenario will look like in 18 months

For the child there's no benefit until around 3.

Yep! First born when she was 2 and 2 months. Second at 18 months. Completely disagree with no benefit till 3, they get SO much out of it. We do tons of classes at home but they still get so much from nursery. We also don’t have any family help and my husband works long hours so I’d loose my mind if it wasn’t for nursery!

I put mine in a childminders at 23 months and he did get a lot out of it. He's nearly 4 now but had to stop going as his additional needs were getting too much for the childminder to handle. I wouldn't have put him in a nursery because I felt that it would be too overwhelming for him with that amount of children and he did get more of a bond with the childminder because of there being fewer children

I only sent mine at 3 to pre-school. It all worked out well.

Most of my SAHM friends sent their children to nursery from babyhood at least a couple of days a week. I think the only ones who didn't had family nearby who took the babies to give them a break. We do live in a fairly affluent area though

Toddler will go to playgroup for a couple of hours a few times a week just before they turn 3 as that’s when they yearly intake starts.
I don’t really care what others do but the reason I’m not working is specifically to be a SAHM so I wouldn’t have had the need or want to have them in childcare younger than that.

Deoends on home environment . If the sahp is struggling at home eg mh issues or pays no attention to the child at all then nursery may well be beneficial for child

Mine went at 2.5, three mornings. They loved it and so did I. Having a few hours to myself made me a much better and more patient parent.

I had friends who kept their older DC in nursery (18m) when on mat leave and put the baby in for two days a week at about 9 months despite not going back to work because they wanted free time. I found that a bit rich.

It depends, I can't see the point in going round judging people for different decisions. We don't live their lives

I stayed at home with mine when they were tiny as I loved every minute but many of my SAHM friends really wanted a break and found putting the children in nursery a couple of days a week meant they could sort the house and go shopping /to the gym/get their hair done /watch TV in peace

I was also lucky to have a job I knew I could easily go back to, otherwise it might have been hard to take a career break

I wouldn’t because I’d want to save the money if I was at home, but I disagree that they don’t get anything out of it until 3. Mine always loved it. They did so many things, learnt to play with other kids, learnt to have time away from you and be fine. I had a nice balance of working part time so I to spend time with them, keep myself employed, plus give the children the experience of nursery.

Ds1 went 2 days a week from 2.5 years old. Ds2 is disabled and had a lot of appointments so it was good for ds1 to have a break from all that.

Ds2 went to preschool from age 2.5. He started off doing 3 hours a week and built up gradually so he was doing 9 hours a week by the time he started school.

The preschool had moved to the other side of town by the time ds3 was old enough to go so he didn't go anywhere until school at 4y 9m.

Ds4 went to preschool from aged 2y 3m. 3 hours a week for the first year and 6 hours a week for the 2nd year.

Ds5 went to preschool aged 2y 3m too. 3 hours a week for the first year. The second year he went every morning as he missed the company of ds4 when he was at school.

I have a just turned 3 year old she has been going to preschool since she turned 2 1 morning a week initially increasing to a full day a few months ago when I had my 2nd. It's a small village preschool and Shes been going to their weekly toddler group since she was 9months so we know and trust the staff who have been there for a very long time. Shes enjoyed being there tremendously and is a much more adventurous eater and has learnt a lot. It gives me a short break to get things done

No, I was a SAHM and mine went to pre school at 3yo.

No. I had no family help. Took mine to toddler playground, was out every day with dogs to walk, baby either in carrier or pushchair.

DS did his free 15 hours from the term after he was 3, at the local Infant school nursery.

At 14, he still goes to school with lots of those children.

I did from 18months for DD1, 2yo for DD2.
DD1... i was pregnant, DH in Afghanistan... those 2 3hr sessions was mmy time for appointments, cleaning, breathing etc.

With DD2... one session was same preschool for DD1, the other session was when DD1 was at home so she had some 1-2-1 time.

Thry had fun. It was different to home. I dont think it was better or worse.

I only sent mine to pre-school (from the term after DC turned three when it was free). Started as three mornings a week and increased to three full days as DC requested it!

It was definitely beneficial at that age for my DC. I did look in to sending them for one or two mornings before they were 3, as DC was starting to really engage with other children, but three half days was the minimum they allowed and we couldn't justify the cost.

Personally I don't think nursery is necessary before 3, assuming you're an engaged Mum. I used to have a great little routine with something to do every day! Sometimes I miss that.

No benefit until 3

Yes I did. It was my day off and I enjoyed every minute of that day.

My DS went from 2yo after having 2 full years at home with me. He only did 3 mornings to start with and once he turned 3 that became 3 full days. I believe in not sending them until they're 2 if you can, I've worked in nurseries so formed that opinion from that. I wouldn't do less than 2 sessions a week though otherwise they might struggle to settle in.

Both me and him needed to learn to be without eachother a little bit but nice and gradually as we were very attached! I've loved doing it this way as it feels kind building up to long school days. He settled in great and absolutely loves it. His speech and social skills came on so much from nursery, I did playdates and classes but it just wasn't enough.

We have no family support at all so it's our only childcare. It's allowed me to work flexibly, go to appointments etc. I'd do it this way again for baby no.2.

Yes, my eldest started at 2.5 for a few mornings a week. I did have another baby a couple of weeks after he started so having my toddler in nursery was super helpful. He’s learnt so much and made friends which he wouldn’t have done if he was with me everyday. I did take him to a few classes each week but they don’t really get a chance to properly play with other kids, so he didn’t actually develop relationships with kids his age until he started nursery.
I really appreciate now when the baby is napping and my toddler is at nursery that I can either sit down by myself for an hour, or get a load of jobs done around the house, and I know my child is safe, having fun and learning new things.

I never did this with any of my 4. They just went to playschool for mornings a year before they went to school. I can understand if people are struggling and really need at break but it isn't really necessary. People are saying 3 but mine went at 4 but they were all autumn born.

I did. I initially went back to work two days a week but that didn’t work out so I quit. My son was settled at nursery and i knew we wouldn’t be able to get his place back in future if he left.

People cite studies saying there’s no benefit until they’re 3, but that wasn’t our experience. He picked up walking and talking so much more quickly once he was surrounded by other same-age children. I do think it helped his social skills, being around other children and learning to listen to other adults who did things differently to us. And he had loads of experiences that I just couldn’t provide at home due to space limitations.

We don’t have any village around us so it was also the only way to have any free time without him. I didn’t know any other SAHMs with similar age kids, so his only other socialising was the hour or two at a baby class or group. And we had no family to babysit or look after him if we needed to get big jobs or appointments done etc.

3x mornings a week from 2yo.

I had another baby when DC1 was 16 months and I was drowning.

if I could do it again, I would have kept him home for another 6 months.

DC2 joined at 2 and just absolutely loved it.

Different kids, different personalities, different circumstances!

Both of mine went to nursery/preschool from age 2.5. I saw clear benefits for them and they clearly learned lots of social skills in a way that wouldn't have happened in a parent & child type setting (which we did lots of from 4 months until 2.5). They were potty trained and verbal before starting and I was happier waiting until they had those skills first.

The nurseries my dcs went to would not have offered just a couple of hours of childcare, they did half days (3 hours) or full days. For us it was always more about early years education and not for just running errands. We don't have family around to help but we managed with just me and DH, and I took dc with me for any errands/appointments where it wasn't prohibited (some Dr/dental appointments would not allow a child to be present and DH would take leave to look after dcs). I just did my own hair and nails for a couple of years.

There’s plenty of benefits. Socialisation, communication skills improve, some nurses follow an education curriculum. My 2 year old can now count to ten, knows his phonics and the alphabet, can form sentences, has made friends which is important! He does art therapy, music sessions, dance therapy and baking.

I only work 3 days a week, sometimes my shifts fall over a weekend but I’ll still send him if I’m at home and I’m currently on maternity leave and send him.

His little personality really shines with other children and his development has been amazing