YOUNG children who are looked after by their mothers up to the age of 3 do significantly better in developmental tests than those cared for by nurseries, nannies, childminders or relatives, according to a long-term study of 1,200 children led by Penelope Leach, the childcare expert.

Toddlers in nurseries fared the worst and grandparents produced worse results than nannies or childminders.

Children cared for by anyone other than their mothers tended to show higher levels of aggression or were inclined to become more withdrawn, compliant and unhappy.

Tests included the ability to do a series of set tasks and the level of eye contact maintained with adults.

Ms Leach, the childcare expert who is one of the study’s authors, will reveal details of the its findings today at a conference organised by the National Childminding Association, of which she is president.

She will say that the study, one of the longest and most detailed, concludes that the development of children cared for by someone other than their mother is “definitely less good”.

Ms Leach, whose “baby knows best” approach includes advising mothers never to leave babies to cry, said: “The study does not mean every child in a large nursery will become a monster. Nevertheless, it shows a small but significant difference in a large group of children.”

She insisted that her findings should not be interpreted as yet another stick with which to beat working mothers.Families from North London and Oxfordshire took part in the study of 1,200 children, which began in 1998. Ms Leach and her fellow authors Kathy Sylva and Alan Stein led a team of researchers who interviewed mothers when their babies were 3 months, 10 months, 18 months, 36 months and 51 months.

About half of the women taking part looked after their children full-time, a third returned to work before their babies were seven months old and about 8 per cent returned to work when their babies were under three months. The study accused most of the mothers returning to work of not investing enough time or thought in finding childcare. Many did not take up references, a finding Ms Leach described as “staggering”. She said: “There were mothers happy to leave a baby with an au pair, after one phone call conducted through an interpreter.”

Nurseries were also scrutinised and found to be inadequate in many cases.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries’ Association, said: “Seventy-eight per cent of working mothers say a nursery is their ‘ideal childcare’.”

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