2 year old unaccompanied - too young?

[hunhun_l]

In other places such as Japan, US, etc, kids go to daycare earlier (even before 1 year old), they are fine; just in HK, the earliest time seems to be around 2 yo. The kids will be taken care of (whether they can talk or not), assuming the teachers are good. I think kids can cope with it, but it's good or not for their long-term developments is up to each parent to decide.

[sharrie_t]

My daughter went to daycare 2x a wk, 4 hrs per session, when she was just over 12 months. She cried for a few minutes for the first few times. She was fine for a few months. When she moved up a class, she started crying again but this time it went on for a few weeks. Looking back, it might be the carers who were not able to provide enough attention to the younger ones in the class. It might be the low number of adults to the number of children they cared for. So, you have to look out for the signs.

She's 28 months now and has been going to a new nursery for 3 months. She's loving it. It's a small nursery and the carers are far more attentive and ...caring.

It's really about finding a nursery that you and your child are comfortable with. And managing separation anxiety. I feel that it's good for the child to socialize with other children knowing the parent isn't around to support or back them up. It encourages independence from a young age.