Putting baby in nursery?

Question

how many days a week do you think would be good to put a seven month old in nursery for? we put ours in for one half day a week she seems to really enjoy it just wondering how manys best for her development

Answer 1

i work in a nursery and i went back to work, taking my dd with me when she was 6 mths, 3 days a week,(9-4), she was not with me as i look after the preschoolers, she really enjoyed it and has never had any problems going, she is almost 3 and goes by herself now as i am on maternity leave and she loves it, it has done her any harm, she stopped going when i finished work, but missed it so much i took her back (i have a very understanding boss).

she is ahead of her peers, and at her 2 yr check was saying 3 times as many words as the average 2 yr old,and knows  quite a few letter sounds/names and can count well, and is doing average things of a 4 yr old! yes i do alot at home with her, but i truly believe it is because she has been in nursery since 6 mths. it isn't for all children, i see alot that really don't cope, but sometimes this can be done to the parents.

if your dd is happy as things are then i see no need to change at the moment, maybe increase when she around 12/15 mths and then again when she is 2 yrs, if she is happy, it will not do her any harm, just prepare her for school.

if you are not working then she doesn't need to go full time, this really annoys me when parents do this, they do need to be at home with their parents/siblings but they also need a little independence, otherwise when she starts school you will have a very clingy 4 yr old.

EDIT- to daisyhill as i said all children are different, i have seen alot of very clingy children, who start nursery later or go nowhere til school, i am glad to hear daughter enjoys it and is not clingy, i am just giving my opinion

Answer 2

It's not beneficial to a child under the age of three or four. They need to be with you...they do need to socialize but its proven that they do best when taken by a parent to a supervised playgroup for an hour or so a couple of times a week. They dont need to leave you till they are old enough to make friends...until the age of around 3 they only play NEAR each other...they cannot actually relate to each other as untll they are older ALL their play is based on THEM and their concept of things. EDIT....Why give thumbs down? It's my own experience...MY 4 year old can do all the things the person below listed...those skills are nothing to do withy daycare...it is the child's learning capabilities...it is not reading at 4 that matters but the ingrown confidence that comes of the security of being with their parent in their most vulnerable years. WHY would you give your most precious thing to a stranger to look after? EDIT..in response to CJ..my child has started full time nursery now and she isnt clingy at all...she loves it.

Answer 3

Sorry but I don't think its right putting a baby in a nursery, mother & toddlers is good enough for them to play with other children, when they are about 3-4 years old they should go to nursery school to prepare for school, I was a mother in the days when you didnt work you stayed at home to rear your children.

Answer 4

None if you can afford not to.  Take them to toddler and baby groups, swimming, to the library, to parks etc to meet other children, what's the point of paying other people to look after her when you could do it yourself?

Answer 5

My child was in full time nursery from 7am till 6pm 5 days a week from 7 months old.

It has done her no harm at all and we have a fantastic mother and daughter bond she is now 4.

Some of the children who were part time would often be quite misserable and alwyas crying for their mums.

I would have prefered for her to be there less hours but as i work from 7.30 till five i had no option. Idealy i would have put her in at 9am and picked her up at 3pm ( like school hours)

Just to let you know though and i'm not bragging but my daughter is quite a away in front of her peers at school. She can write, she knows the complete alphabet, she can count to 50 on her own and to 100 with a bit of help. she knows every coulor of the rainbow basically she has learnt everthing she is supposed to learn in the first year of school and dosn't even start till September.

I would recomend Day Care to anyone as long as you can find a nursery which was as good as the one my daughter went to. It does give your child a head start and i know my child loves it. For example her Dad is on holiday this week and i asked this morning if she wanted to stay at home with him or go to the holiday club? she chose the club..