The Government funds nursery places for 3-4 year olds in the UK, which suggests that this is the right age to start children at nursery.

But, as most parents understand, the question is not as simple as that – your child’s personality and your family circumstances have a big part to play too.

What’s Best For Your Child?

Some children are ready to start nursery at a younger age than others. There are many factors influencing this – often younger siblings will start at a younger age than their big brother or sister did. Your youngest probably gets his or her share of children’s TV and easy-grip crayons…but if you’ve got older children too, your youngest is bound to be challenged and stimulated by a wider variety of experiences and make the decision to enrol them before they are three.

Some parents see children as young as two start to gain independence at music groups or dance classes, for example – starting your toddler at nursery is an ideal way to help them explore this independence in a safe setting.

On the other hand, some children are only just becoming ready for nursery as they turn three. If your child does “cling” then rushing them into nursery can actually make them feel less secure and even more clingy. Circumstances permitting, it’s better to wait until children with higher emotional needs are three and their confidence is increasing before starting nursery – it will be a much more enjoyable experience for you and your child.

If you’re seeing your child start to respond positively to more challenges, it might be time to begin nursery, even if they’re not yet three. On the other hand, if you’re all happy at home, that’s great too – don’t feel pressured by the decisions other families make.

Your Unique Situation

Of course, many children do start nursery far younger than three, not because it’s a fun new challenge for them but out of necessity. For working families, nursery is an absolute godsend.

If you’re a parent who has had to return to work immediately after paid leave, the most important thing is not to feel guilty for putting your baby into nursery. You need to hold down your job in order to provide for your precious family and starting your baby at nursery is not a decision you will have taken lightly. There are many excellent nurseries (like us!) providing an appropriate environment for the babies in our care and we all work very hard to ensure the care we offer is as close as possible to the care they’d receive at home.

You may like to read this post on day nursery guilt to help put things in perspective.

Also in the balance are the benefits received by the baby or child from being at nursery. Nursery is a great environment to learn to socialise and interact with other children. It also offers opportunities to try new games, foods and experiences, as well as paving the way for starting school.

Finally, it’s important to remember that parents also need time off too. A few hours to yourself to get on with vital jobs, go to the gym or meet up with grown up friends, will restore your energy levels and you’ll be a better parent for it.

There isn’t really a right age to start your child at nursery – all children are different and we love them for it! Whatever the age of your child, and whatever your circumstances, your child will receive excellent care at nursery and pick up useful life skills too.

If you’ve got any questions, stories or words of wisdom about your child starting nursery, just pop them in the comment box below! We’d love to hear them…and they’d be very helpful for other parents too.