Care for the Family also said childcare costs were "prohibitive" and for many families it was just as expensive to send their child to nursery than it would be for one parent to give up work and look after them at home.
They made the remarks after another charity, the Pre-School Learning Alliance, released research saying one in five children could miss out on a free nursery school place because of a lack of government funding, of around 20%.
The Pre-School Learning Alliance has called nursery education "chronically underfunded."
Katharine Hill, from Care for the Family, told Premier: "Many parents rely on that free nursery provision, and there are many parents who just have to go out to work to make ends meet.
"But the cost of childcare is prohibitive. For many parents, financially, there's little difference between them spending time at home and having kids at nursery. Those early years are so important.
"There was a lot said at the beginning of this present government. David Cameron said we were going to be one of the most family friendly countries in Europe, but I think there's still a big gap and a lot that could be done.
"The actual cost of family breakdown in the UK is £46 billion - it's unbelievably huge. It's much better to put money in the early years like this than picking up the pieces when family breakdown has happened."
A spokesman for the Department of Education said: "It is nonsense to suggest that childcare has been underfunded.
"The cost of childcare is falling in real terms and we have increased annual funding for early education by over £1bn since 2010.
"As a result of our plan for education more families than ever before are now eligible for free childcare."
