Defense of Early-Life Daycare in Today\'s Economy,

¶ … Defense of Early-Life Daycare

In today's economy, it is increasingly commonplace for families to budget based on the income of two breadwinners. The result is an increased need for daycare services for children of an increasingly younger age. This pattern has incited alarm among parenting advocacy groups, many of which have expressed concern that this trend could have negative psychological and sociological consequence as well as a deleterious impact on the family unit as a whole. Such concerns raise the question as to whether or not it is appropriate or healthy to place children under the age of five in daycare settings. Much of the research which we have encountered suggests that in fact it is healthy -- and in the right environment, even for very young children -- to experience this level of socialization prior to formal schooling.

According to the Directgov (2011), the government makes entitlements for daycare beginning at the age of three. Here, it is reported that "All three and four-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours of free early years education for 38 weeks of the year. This applies until they reach compulsory school age (the term following their fifth birthday). Free early years education can take place in nurseries, playgroups, preschools or at their childminders." (Directgov, p. 1)

This underscores the premise that there is both a familial necessity and a psychological appropriateness to placing children younger than five in positive and healthy daycare contexts. The government's position is further reinforced by research which finds that children can thrive at an early age in expanding social schema. Ochshorn (2010) reports that 57% of new mothers must return to the workforce before their children reach one year of age. This has prompted continuous research into the impact that such early separation between mother and child can have on the emotional development of the infant. Ochshorn finds that contrary to concerns expressed by parenting advocacy groups, "an ongoing study conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Development reported that childcare doesn't threaten the bond between infants and their mothers, as long as a baby is getting sensitive care at home. Most experts agree, too, that infants can thrive in childcare under the right conditions, which include plenty of attention, affection, rich language experiences, and playful interaction with caregivers" (p. 1)

This denotes that the daycare environment itself plays a significant part in the developmental impact rendered. Finding a properly nurturing environment in which individual attention is warm, meaningful and frequent is absolutely essential to ensuring continuity between a positive home life and a positive socialization. This underlines the key argument of the proposed research, which is that for children under five years of age, the well-chosen daycare center can help to produce a positive balance between a family life and a social life that can prepare the child better for the first years of school and for life beyond.