Alas, working moms, we have been vindicated. A new study out of England says that toddlers who start attending nursery school (or day care) before their third birthday will score better and do better at primary school.

Phew.

The Telegraph UK said that last month Oliver James, the well-known psychologist, wrote that being cared for in groups rather than by a loving parent can be “highly stressful” for some under-threes. This week an expert in educational psychology at Oxford University, Kathy Sylva, rebutted his philosophy claiming that mothers worry “unnecessarily about the potential risks of taking babies under two years old to day care."

Don't we ever.

In the new report, the Office for National Statistics commissioned the National Institute of Economic and Social Research to assess the benefits of pre-school education, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage. Click here to read the full article.

It found: “Statistically significant differences were found in terms of the age children started early years education.

“Compared to children who were aged three when they started early years education, children who started before their third birthday had a higher FSP score, by around 1.5 points on average.

“Children who started after their fourth birthday had a lower FSP score by three points on average.”

Needless to say, drop off at day care tomorrow will feel so much better.

See Also:

-French Fries Won't Kill Your Kid!

-The iPhone 4: A Parenting Dream Come True

-Balancing Work and Motherhood