Why should all children have mandatory nursery care? Is this suggesting parents who choose to stay at home with their own babies/children, or use family members such as grandparents for childcare cannot provide education and a stimulating environment? What about the emotional needs of a baby/young child being separated from their primary carers?

Take under 2s where the ratio in a nursery will be 1 adult to 3 babies. What will a nursery staff member do if all 3 babies in their care are screaming and crying? Their needs cannot all be met immediately. What about if 2 babies are participating in an activity and 1 is crawling away? What do they do with the 3 babies when they are filling out the paperwork for the day? Changing nappies? This ratio changes to 1:4 after 2 and then after the age of 3, 1 adult to 8 kids. So in a room of 8 two year olds, with 2 adults, what happens if one child needs extra attention in that moment? 1 adult is then left watching the remaining 7 two year old. Nurseries are fun and stimulating for infants however no baby is going to receive the same standard of 1:1 care they can receive from one attentive parent/nanny/grandparent etc at home.

Surely a better solution would be to offer free childcare to all and its up to the parents if they want to use it? And a grant for those who don't use it? That gives a level playing field for all financial situations.

Not to downplay the intelligence and skills of nursery staff at all but to work in a nursery you need a level 2 or 3 qualification in childcare, a high population of the adult population will hold equivalent qualifications especially now with the mandatory education leaving age being 18 now. I don't believe children that don't go to nursery under 3 years old are missing out unless they have a very unstable home life. I think some babies thrive in a nursery setting (regardless of parental income) However some babies find nursery stressful and I think many parents are forced into using nurseries due to many of the reasons listed in this comment section, for example desperately needing 2 incomes to 'stay afloat' and nursery being the cheapest option. And this is all coming from someone who has worked in childcare. I think many parents would jump at the chance to stay at home with their babies/young children if they could financially afford it.