The Worst Age to Start Daycare: What the Research Shows

We found no study that shows any age to be the worst for starting daycare. In a large US study that followed more than 1,300 children, the age a baby started care, up to 15 months, was not linked on its own to how securely the baby was attached to their mother at 15 months. The study's later papers linked how children did to the hours they spent in care, the quality of that care and, more strongly than either, parenting.

The hard part is real. In the studies we read, it showed up in the first days and weeks in care, when stress rises and settling in takes time. Below is what the studies found for each common worry, what Canadian parental leave means for timing, and how many of the daycares listed on KinderPage take babies compared with toddlers.

The research section applies wherever you live. The parental leave section is Canadian, and the daycare rules and figures are from Ontario. If you live in Australia, the United States or elsewhere, check your own country's leave and child care rules.

Is there a worst age to start daycare?

Not one that the studies we read could find. Here is what each one found, in plain terms.

Sources: the NICHD study's own page (more than 1,300 children, started in 1991) and its published papers on attachment (1997), hours in care (2003) and effects to grade 6 (2007); Ahnert and colleagues in Child Development (2004); Côté and colleagues in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (2010).

Some parents single out the months when separation anxiety is strongest as the worst time to start. There is no clean window that avoids it. A paediatrician writing on the American Academy of Pediatrics parent site (updated May 2026) notes that some babies show separation anxiety as early as 4 to 5 months, that most develop strong separation anxiety at around 9 months, and that many toddlers who skipped it as babies start at 15 or 18 months. The NHS (reviewed June 2026) says separation anxiety is common between 6 months and 3 years, calls it a normal part of development, and says that leaving your baby with another caregiver will not damage them. It also advises getting advice if the anxiety causes your child a lot of distress, if they stay upset long after you leave, or if it goes on for more than a few weeks. In Canada, that means your family doctor or paediatrician.

These studies describe groups of children, and they show links rather than proof of cause. The attachment study covered babies who started care before 15 months; only the Quebec study looked at a start after three, and only for infections. The NICHD study began in 1991, and child care has changed since. None of the studies found an age to avoid.

What about starting daycare at three or later?

None of the studies we read looked at how a start at three affects attachment or behaviour, and we found none showing harm. In the Quebec study, children cared for at home had more respiratory and ear infections in the early school years than children who started large group care before two and a half, and the authors concluded that children catch infections around the time they start large group activities. Children this age still need time to settle in. The paediatrician writing for the American Academy of Pediatrics notes that by 3, most children clearly understand the effect their pleas at drop-off have on a parent, and advises being consistent and coming back when you said you would.

When do Canadian families usually start daycare?

For many families, parental benefits set the date. Outside Quebec, federal Employment Insurance pays maternity and parental benefits, and the Government of Canada (page dated June 2026) sets two options:

• Standard parental benefits must be taken within 52 weeks (12 months) of the birth. One parent can receive up to 35 weeks, and parents who share can receive up to 40 weeks between them, at 55% of earnings up to a weekly maximum.
• Extended parental benefits must be taken within 78 weeks (18 months). One parent can receive up to 61 weeks, and parents who share up to 69 weeks, at 33% of earnings up to a lower maximum.
• Maternity benefits of up to 15 weeks, for the person who gave birth, can come before either option.

Quebec runs its own plan, the Québec Parental Insurance Plan.

So many Canadian families start daycare at about 12 months, or about 18 months on extended benefits. A start at 12 months falls inside the ages the NICHD attachment study covered; none of the studies we read compared a start at 18 months with other ages. Both ages fall inside the years of separation anxiety. What you can still shape is the number of hours, how gradual the start is, and the quality of the place.

How many daycares take babies?

In Ontario, licensed child care centres group children by age. An infant is younger than 18 months and a toddler is 18 to 30 months. Infant rooms need 3 staff for every 10 infants, toddler rooms 1 for every 5, and preschool rooms 1 for every 8 (Ontario's Child Care Centre Licensing Manual, updated 14 April 2025).

Fewer daycares take infants than older children. These are five KinderPage city guides in Ontario, as listed on KinderPage in October 2026. Scarborough and Etobicoke are parts of Toronto. KinderPage's infant group is also under 18 months.

A daycare can take more than one age group, so the columns do not add up to the total. These are the age groups each daycare lists, not open spaces: a daycare that takes infants may still have a waitlist. All five areas are in the Greater Toronto Area, and other regions may differ.

What this means in practice: if your leave ends when your child is 12 months old, you are looking in the age group that the fewest listed daycares take. If you can start at 18 months instead, nearly twice as many of the listed daycares take toddlers.

How do you make the start easier at any age?

• Settle in gradually. In the Berlin study of 15-month-olds, attachments stayed or became secure when mothers spent more days settling their babies in before leaving them. Ask the daycare how its settling-in period works, and plan time off for it.
• Keep weekly hours reasonable, if you have the choice. The NICHD study linked more total time in care over the first four and a half years with more acting-out behaviour.
• Practise short separations first. The NHS suggests leaving your baby with someone they know well for a few minutes, then building up to longer separations and less familiar places.
• Keep goodbyes short and the same every day. The paediatrician writing for the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests a quick goodbye ritual, and coming back when you said you would.

When is this article the wrong guide?

If your baby was born early, has a medical condition or gets sick often, ask your doctor about timing. The studies here describe groups of children, and none of them can tell you about yours.

If you have no choice about the date, because your leave or your budget sets it, take some comfort from the studies: the studies we read did not find a starting age that, on its own, was linked to worse outcomes, and the things they did link to how children did are ones you can still work on.

And if you live outside Canada, the leave rules and the Ontario figures here do not apply to you, although the study findings above were not specific to Canada.

Finding a daycare that takes your child's age

KinderPage lists daycares across Canada and shows the age groups each one lists. A listing shows the information we hold, which comes from the daycare itself or from public directories, so confirm ages, spaces and fees with the daycare before you enrol. For what daycare costs under the Canada-wide program, see is daycare really $10 a day in Canada. You can start with daycares near you.