The babysitting point is a good one too! Unfortunately many parents don't do this before the age of one but it does really help if the child has spent time away from mom and dad. Some parents don't have the luxury of family babysitters or the money to pay for a babysitter while on mat leave so I do understand why some haven't done this.

I would likely say something like " your child will benefit from spending short periods of time away from you before starting daycare, perhaps with other family members or babysitters. This will greatly benefit them and allow the introduction to daycare with no parent present to go smoother and they will adapt to daycare quicker"