Labour's ASBO Generation

"Toddlers who spend three or more days a week in nursery are more likely to become anti-social, worried and upset, government research has found."

Surely this BBC headline comes as no surprise to anyone except the Labour party – perhaps especially to Gordon Brown, who has done so much to champion the growth of nurseries as part of his drive to get mothers into the workplace?

The government-backed study by Oxford University, the Institute of Fiscal Studies and the National Centre for Social Research reports that, "Attending centre-based provision had a number of less positive relationships with children’s behaviour. Children who attended for at least 30 hours and/or 3 days every week were rated as more anti-social, for example more likely to tease other children and call them names, prevent other children from carrying out routines or be bossy and need their own way." Among its conclusions, it states, "Although the age at which children started attending their Neighbourhood Nursery did not have an impact (either positive or negative) on their behaviour, duration of childcare during the early years was important: the longer children had been attending their Neighbourhood Nursery, the more likely they were to display anti-social behaviours."

No wonder the Association of Teachers and Lecturers warned yesterday that, as more and more mothers are being encouraged to return to work, babies are simply being "institutionalised" by the state.