Nido environments were created to meet the needs of working parents, parents who could not avail themselves of a nanny or a family member to care for their child.  

There are basically two reasons there are few nidi (plural of nido). 

There is a low adult to infant ratio (1 adult for 3 infants) with a limited group size of 9-12 infants. This makes for a very expensive programme. For many schools the Nido is “subsidised” by the school programmes that have a larger group size and often create a bit of surplus income. For parents the cost can sometimes be unaffordable.

A second reason is that there are not that many trained adults at the 0-3 level.

It is important to remember that Infants do not need a nido – parents need a nido. A nido programme is the best type of infant care if care outside the home is a necessity. The adults are well-trained to understand and meet the various needs of all the children, to be loving but not need to be loved, to be supportive of parents who often do not have a choice of where to provide care for their infants. Especially for parents who have been with their babies from in-utero existence until they must return to work; there is a grieving process that many parents go through which requires understanding. It is a very rewarding profession, but many schools do not have the financial possibility to offer such a programme.