Nursery World - Babies need home care, say experts

Childcare experts are calling for an 'urgent national debate' to ensure children under three with working mothers receive the most appropriate care. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, Sir Richard Bowlby, president of the Centre for Child Mental Health, and seven other signatories, including authors and psychologists Sue Gerhardt, Steve Biddulph and Sue Palmer, said that although nurseries strive to provide 'continuity in personalised care-giving', many 'fall short'.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, Sir Richard Bowlby, president of the Centre for Child Mental Health, and seven other signatories, including authors and psychologists Sue Gerhardt, Steve Biddulph and Sue Palmer, said that although nurseries strive to provide 'continuity in personalised care-giving', many 'fall short'.

In a research paper released on the same day, Sir Richard, whose father pioneered attachment theory, suggests we risk storing up behavioural difficulties in children who spend long periods in circumstances that may not meet their emotional needs. He says parents should be able to use allowances to pay relatives to care for children or to 'stay at home themselves'.

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