DD recently started swimming lessons and in chatting to one of the other mums about her DD's preschool i started getting some serious childcare envy!

DD has been at the same childcare since she was 15m, and thought it is small, a bit old and not very impressive to the outside eye the teachers have always been wonderful and kind and she has generally been quite happy there. It took us 3 goes with different centres to find one we were comfortable with so have stuck through some periods where we weren't entirely happy. At the moment though, DD is in the 2-3y old group and is 3y 7m. She is unlikely to move up to the 3-5y old group until Jan next year when the older children start school and they have places for her, so she will be 3y 10m at that time. I am really not happy about this, but haven't pushed for her to be moved as i didn't want her to be separated from her best friend (one month younger), and i also didn't want to mix things up too much for her just as DS was born. Now that he is here though and everything has settled down i think i am ready to start pushing that she be moved up (though i don't think it will happen anytime soon unless another child leaves). I do think her current teachers do a great job with her and are doing everything that they can to make sure she is doing the right activities for her age group, and i don't mind her and her best friend being the oldest in the group and being the 'leaders', but there is quite a developmental gap between them and the next oldest children in her group.

So, the mum at swimming i was chatting to was telling me about how her preschool does french lessons, gymnastics and music and movement classes and this is when the childcare envy started kicking in! I realised that though they are doing a good job with her, there is so much more she could be doing! I don't want to move her to this same preschool, as it has short hours and doesn't take under two's (won't work for me when i go back to work, and i don't want to do two different drop-off's for childcare), but i have been having a look around at other centres and found another one that i think would be really lovely and might be more suitable. They also offer a transition year (or a prep year), which i am quite interested in as well.

So, is it just a case of childcare envy, or am i justified in thinking about moving her? Would you move your child?