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In January 2025, the BBC published an article about the paediatric mental health crisis in England (see Triggle, 2025). Official figures show that one in five children and young people between the ages of 8 and 25 are thought to be suffering from a mental health condition such as depression, anxiety and/or stress (Children’s Commissioner, 2024, p. 3). What remains unclear is why so many children are facing these challenges.

Experts have offered several plausible explanations – ‘the pandemic, the cost of living, the rise of social media’, and young peoples’ low threshold for resilience, sometimes referred to as ‘the snowflake generation’ (Triggle, 2025). However, notably absent from this conversation is the significant rise in the use of nurseries for very young children and its potential long-term effects on wellbeing. The public discourse around nurseries – narrowly focused on operational issues such as fees, staff-to-child ratios, availability of places and staffing shortages – exists as a completely separate conversation from adolescent mental health, as though the two are entirely unrelated.

‘Notably absent from the conversation is the significant rise in the use of nurseries for very young children and its potential long-term effects on wellbeing.’

This issue is a controversial one. However, having spent the past year working across several nurseries in the south-east of England, I’ve developed a growing sense of unease about a potential connection. Even the best nurseries – with highly competent, qualified and caring staff – struggled to meet the emotional needs of infants and toddlers. In the majority of cases, however, the realities of nursery life were troubling – infants left in visible distress to cry-it-out, and toddlers who displayed developmentally appropriate behaviour were often labelled as ‘angry’, ‘attention-seeking’ or ‘needy’. A recent BBC article suggests that such practices may be widespread, citing interviews with more than 20 nursery workers who had witnessed poor care (see Hassall et al., 2025). It didn’t surprise me to later learn that studies on cortisol levels – a key indicator of stress – consistently show higher levels in children cared for in nurseries compared to those cared for at home (Ouellet-Morin et al., 2010).

I left these settings concerned about the long-term impacts such environments might have on the emotional life of children. These concerns are not unfounded. It is a ‘core tenet of psychology that in the early years we learn the most important lesson of our lives: how to love’, how to trust and how to feel secure within ourselves (Biddulph, 2006, p. 2). These lessons are embodied through attuned, responsive relationships, fostering the secure attachment that shapes emotional wellbeing (Biddulph, 2006). However, chronic stress or prolonged exposure to high cortisol levels during early childhood can disrupt this process, altering parts of the brain that deal with emotional regulation, stress management and social behaviour (Tottenham, 2014).

As we struggle to explain the numbers of young people grappling with resilience and mental health problems, we have to consider that this rise, may in part, be related to the type of care children receive in their earliest years. While the effects on any one child may be minimal, the real concern here is how these small effects accumulate at scale. This is a conversation that requires urgent attention, particularly in light of the government’s intention – up to 30 hours a week for children from nine months to school age. It’s a conversation that needs a broad range of voices at the table – parents, practitioners, developmental psychologists, neuroscientists, and among them. By fostering a more inclusive dialogue, we can better understand what is in the best interest for children and the long-term health of our society. Children are our future, and we all share a responsibility to prioritise their wellbeing.

References

Biddulph, S. (2006). Raising babies: Should under 3s go to nursery? HarperCollins Publishers.

Children’s Commissioner. (2024). Children’s mental health services 2022–23.

Gordon, M. (2018). Empathy as a strategy for reconnecting to our common humanity. In N. Way, A. Ali, C. Gilligan, & P. Noguera (Eds.), The crisis of connection: Roots, consequences, and solutions. New York University Press.

Hassall, H., Layhe, E., & Haslam, A. (2025, April 7). ‘We never imagined our daughter could be killed at nursery: We want greater safeguards.’ BBC News.

Ouellet-Morin, I., Tremblay, R. E., Boivin, M., Meaney, M., Kramer, M., & Côté ÌýS. M. (2010). Diurnal cortisol secretion at home and in child care: A prospective study of 2-year-old toddlers. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(3), 295–303.

Tottenham, N. (2014). The importance of early experiences for neuro-affective development. Current Topics in Behavioural Neurosciences, 16, 109–129.

Triggle, N. (2025, January 7). Child mental health crisis: Is better resilience the solution? BBC News. Ìý