Sending kids to playschool and nursery at the early age of three might be a fad, which majority of people copy and follow from the west with a view to have better development for their children.

However, psychologists at the two-day conference on Child Development: Multidimensional Approach at Gujarat University's Department of Psychology said children should only be sent to schools at the age of five for better development of their personality.

According to the psychologists who had come from across India, sending kids to schools early only burdens them with academic exercise as they are away from the secure atmosphere of their houses.

"In psychology theory, it is proved that kids who do not go to school at five years of age grow with a better personality than the ones who go to school at as an early age as two and half years or so. This is because kids do not feel secure at school - away from home - and sometimes also develops insecurity caused by ‘separation anxiety,’ said Dr Ravi Gunthe from Jaipur University.

Another expert from Kolkata, Dr Jayanti Basu, also said sending kids to schools at an early stage might not help their personality development as a school pressurises kids to perform good academically.

"Teaching the children only bookish knowledge does not commensurate with a child's psychology," she said. Overall personality development includes development of a combination of aspects like confidence, academic, social interaction and motivation, among others.

The experts also said that listening to stories with morals from the elder ones in the family and spending time with them - till the age of 5 -- strengthens a child’s mentally.