Few children do not attend nursery school at the age of 3 and a half, but all do not have the same experience of it, because the time spent with the teacher only represents part of the day outside the home.

"Non-school” activities extend children's time spent in a group, whether they attend the canteen, recreation facility or physical activities or art courses on Wednesdays or at the weekend. Many children attend at least one of these services from a young age: half of children aged 3 and a half eat at the canteen every day, a quarter attend a recreation facility daily, a third pursue an after-school activity on Wednesday afternoons or an extracurricular activity at a club, association or elsewhere. Children from working class backgrounds or those having one parent who is not employed have lower attendance. In the poorest 20% of families, a quarter of children only attend school in the morning. Their day lacks the enrichment offered by this form of socialisation.

There are few regional disparities in children’s daily access to the canteen and recreation facility, except in the case of large agglomerations. Conversely, children living outside urban units have 20% to 40% less opportunities to pursue an extracurricular activity in the week than those living in an urban unit excluding the Paris agglomeration. Learning a specific activity at a club or association is not undertaken equally across the social classes, as this tends to be associated with educational expectations specific to highly-qualified parents. Attendance at a recreation facility on Wednesdays tends to take place as a result of material living conditions associated with family and professional status.

In addition to this more frequent contact with education providers, children of the most highly-qualified, wealthiest parents more often consult a paediatrician.