Career moms: Nurseries 'good for kids'
Mothers who find more satisfaction in their jobs than staying at home fulltime looking after kids should not at all feel guilty about leaving their little ones in a nursery, say psychologists.
Mothers who find more satisfaction in their jobs than staying at home fulltime looking after kids should not at all feel guilty about leaving their little ones in a nursery, say psychologists.
A new study by Oxford University has found that kids, even under the age of two, may actually benefit from spending hours each day away from home in a daycare -- these children will be able to form better relationships at primary school.
"A lot of parents worry unnecessarily about this issue but my research shows that the vast majority of children are not impaired on any measure by attending nursery under the age of two," Prof Kathy Sylva, who led the study, was quoted by The Sunday Times as saying.
According to Prof Slyvia, early nursery increases children's levels of aggression and impairs social skills.
"I get parents weeping down the line. They say that they both have to work and that they need both incomes but they worry that one of them should stay home to look after their 15-month-old rather than use a nursery.
"I tell them that the research shows that the vast majority of children under two in nurseries are fine. And I tell them there are many things parents can do to make sure that their child is part of that majority.
"They can check the quality of the nursery care, speak to other parents, visit the nursery unexpectedly, make sure staff turnover isn't high and talk to the people actually caring for their child, not just the director."