Chloe, I am not sure about same sex friendships or anything. Poor Charlie only has female sisters and cousins and friends.......

In terms of childcare, Charlie took a few sessions to warm up to it. He started at around 12 months and started on half days, then just before Lexie arrived, he moved to a full day (9am - 4.30pm), just once a week.

The first few times I left him, I cried and he cried. But then I dropped Olivia off into her room and returned to "spy" on Charlie and he was always having a ball!!

Now when I drop him he stretches his arms out for the child care teacher: his face is all grins and excitement. He seemed to take around a month to warm up to the whole thing, and now he loves it.

Personally, I am a fan of childcare for my children. Each to their own, of course, but for me and my children it works well. They get to do a whole range of things that we don't do at home, they seem to learn different things, they certainly learn about concepts such as sharing early on. And quite simply it makes me a better Mummy for the break. (I know this is certainly not the case for everyone, but it works very well for me.). I feel SO refreshed after a Friday (when Olivia and Charlie both go to child-care for the day).

I think the key is to be 100% sure you are happy with the centre, then give it a month. Really watch his behaviour: both at home and in the child-car eenvironment. (When Charlie went to full days, I would sneak in after having gone to do my droceries to "spy" on him, and I really believe he is happy there.) Can you do something like that? To give you a true idea?

HTH