Effects of Day Care on Children's Development

Introduction

The outcomes of children are greatly influenced by the various environments they encounter, most importantly family and child care settings. This is why there has been increasing research interest in the consequences of child care experiences on children's development. The experiences at day care not only promote school readiness skills in children, but the quality of child care experiences also influences cognitive and social skills during the preschool years, through the transition to school, and into the elementary school years (Peisner-Feinberg, 2004).

Such concerns hold significant importance because children who fail to acquire basic skills at an early age are less capable of navigating life effectively as adults. These children find fewer opportunities for advancement because they are not prepared for the world of work. Researchers suggest that children who do not succeed in mastering basic skills by 4th grade are more likely to face a number of problems in later life, including "dropping out of school, abusing substances, and becoming pregnant while still in their teens" (Finn-Stevenson & Zigler, 1999). Without a doubt, the experiences at home or at a day care facility — where children spend a considerable portion of their early lives — influence their acquisition of the basic skills significant for later achievement and success in school.

In reality, the majority of children do not learn to read or write until they are enrolled in school. However, they begin learning and understanding the world from the moment of birth. With the passage of time, they become progressively more competent at organizing their knowledge. It is during these early years that they also acquire remarkable social and language skills that later serve as the foundation for their ability to benefit from formal education (Finn-Stevenson & Zigler, 1999).

What Is Day Care?

Child or day care can be described as care for young children provided by adults who are not their parents. Relatives, nannies, or home care providers offer informal child care, usually in a home setting, whereas formal child care is provided by trained and untrained caregivers typically in school or care center environments (McCartney, 2004).

Currently, child care is a common part of children's lives in the majority of Western countries. During their first year of life, most preschoolers are placed in some type of child care for a minimum of ten hours per week. A large proportion of families with young children rely on day care as a support for maternal employment. Early childhood education is also a component of formal child care; indeed, it is frequently difficult to distinguish between child care, nursery school, and preschool curriculum and activities.

Over the last three decades, there has been a rapid increase in maternal employment, which has consequently resulted in greater dependency on child care for young children aged 0–5 years. This increase represents a remarkable shift in child-rearing practices and has prompted considerable concern regarding the risks that child care may pose to healthy child development (McCartney, 2004).

Parental Concerns About Day Care

Parents have always been greatly concerned about the benefits and disadvantages of sending their children to formal day care. The first issue is whether removing children from parental care for several hours each day results in long-term emotional consequences, or whether interaction with other children and caregivers improves social skills and confidence. The second issue concerns school outcomes for children who attend day care. Parents are understandably concerned about whether exposure to pre-school learning leads to improved, unchanged, or poorer educational results in later school years.

A pre-school program is typically characterized by indicators such as "early literacy, ability to follow instructions, and conformity to adult expectations" (Goldschmied & Jackson, 2003). It is important to understand that the child develops as a unique individual with his or her own dynamic capacity to learn and grow, and needs adults as supporters rather than as lecturers (Goldschmied & Jackson, 2003).

Effects of Day Care on Child Development

As noted above, the majority of preschool children in the Western world spend at least some time in settings where they are cared for by someone other than their parents. The increase in maternal employment is the primary reason why children of this generation have different early experiences than previous generations. Although fathers are now more involved in child care than they were a generation ago, this involvement does not fully compensate for the reduced availability of care by working mothers. Some families rely on relatives — including grandparents, aunts, and older siblings — for the daily care of young children. However, the trend toward smaller families across Western societies has clearly increased the need for child care services outside the family. As a consequence, the number of preschool children in day care has roughly doubled over recent decades. The fact that so many children spend so much time in day care facilities has raised concerns about the effects of these non-parental settings on children's well-being and development (Clarke-Stewart, Gruber, & Fitzgerald, 1994).

Many people fear that day care is harmful to children. Those holding such beliefs paint a troubling picture, suggesting that children in day care might suffer a fate similar to those raised in asylums or orphanages — deprived of maternal love and adequate stimulation. However, the contemporary situation cannot be compared with historical institutional care. Children in day care are loved by their mothers and continue to experience that love at the end of each day. The question still centers on the nature of the attention caregivers offer and the impact of daily separations from mothers. According to research, children do experience negative effects from prolonged separations from parents, and such separations affect their immediate and lasting emotional health (Clarke-Stewart, Gruber, & Fitzgerald, 1994).

There are certainly many ways in which spending time in day care differs from life at home with a mother. Differences exist in the number of children in the environment, the level and content of caregiver education, and the frequency of structured learning activities. These differences are reflected in the children's knowledge, skills, and behavior across the two settings. Studies show that children in day care spend more time interacting with other children and have less frequent conversation with adults than children at home. Compared to mothers, day care providers were found to be less demanding and authoritarian, less critical, more helpful, and more likely to "suggest activities, make tasks into games, respond to children's initiation of play, and mediate interactions with other children" (Clarke-Stewart, Gruber, & Fitzgerald, 1994).

Research also shows that children with experience in day care during the preschool years have more advanced cognitive and language development than children who never attended day care and remained at home. Furthermore, the intellectual development of children who attend high-quality day care centers during their preschool years is significantly superior to that of children who do not attend such facilities or early childhood programs. Other studies reveal that children who attend day care programs are noticeably different in their social behavior. Such children are "more self-confident, outgoing, assertive, verbally expressive, self-sufficient, and comfortable, and less distressed, timid, and fearful in new situations" (Clarke-Stewart, Gruber, & Fitzgerald, 1994). They are found to be more independent of their mothers in social situations, capable of moving farther away and spending time more comfortably in their mother's absence. They demonstrate stronger socialization skills and are more likely to initiate play with unfamiliar children. They also possess greater knowledge of social rules (Clarke-Stewart, Gruber, & Fitzgerald, 1994).

In addition to these positive traits, children who attend day care are frequently found to be "less polite, agreeable, and compliant with their mother's or caregiver's requests; louder and more boisterous, more irritable and rebellious, more likely to swear and have temper tantrums, and more likely to have behavior problems" (Clarke-Stewart, Gruber, & Fitzgerald, 1994) compared to children who do not attend day care. Similarly, they show greater levels of aggression and more negative interactions with peers than children who do not attend day care (Clarke-Stewart, Gruber, & Fitzgerald, 1994).

When specific elements of the day care environment were studied, it was found that children's behavior and development are connected to various features of the physical setting. Children performed better in day care settings that were orderly, hygienic, safe, and well-organized. The availability of age-appropriate educational materials and toys, combined with supportive teacher behavior, encourages children's advanced development and ultimately helps them perform better once enrolled in school (Clarke-Stewart, Gruber, & Fitzgerald, 1994).

Research also shows that children in classes with mixed age groups demonstrate more competent behavior than children who interact exclusively with same-age peers. When preschool children attend day care classes with heterogeneous age groups, they "exhibit fewer dominance activities (hitting, kicking, demanding objects), more language (asking questions, conversing, imitating), more cooperation (offering objects), and more altruism (helping, giving), and tend to increase in persistence, flexibility, intelligence, and positive response to a stranger" (Clarke-Stewart, Gruber, & Fitzgerald, 1994).

Conclusion

The effects of child care are multifaceted and vary primarily as a function of the quality of care provided. In simple terms, it is entirely dependent on the quality of care whether child care acts as a risk for children, a shelter, or an encourager of excellent developmental outcomes. The above discussion reveals that quality child care programs promote intellectual, language, and social competence in children even before they begin formal schooling (McCartney, 2004).

It is critically important for day care staff to recognize and understand the educational significance of their role, so that the experiences of the young children in their care are not only fulfilling and rewarding, but also "foster the qualities, such as curiosity, creativity, concentration and persistence in the face of difficulties, which will stand them in good stead in later years at school" (Goldschmied & Jackson, 2003).

Parents also need to understand that choosing a child care arrangement is an important responsibility. They should invest time in finding the right caregiver and approach the process with patience. The early years are the most formative, and it is the responsibility of parents to lay the foundation for their children's healthy development. The caregiver a parent selects will have a significant impact on the development of the child's personality and capabilities. Therefore, finding the right caregiver is among the most consequential decisions a parent can make during a child's early years.

Clarke-Stewart, K. A., Gruber, I. C., & Fitzgerald, L. M. (1994). Children at Home and in Day Care. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Finn-Stevenson, M., & Zigler, E. (1999). Schools of the 21st Century: Linking Child Care and Education. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Goldschmied, E., & Jackson, S. (2003). People under Three: Young People in Day Care. New York: Routledge.

McCartney, K. (2004, February). Current research on child care effects. Retrieved from http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/documents/McCartneyANGxp.pdf

Peisner-Feinberg, E. S. (2004, February). Child care and its impact on young children's development. Retrieved from http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/documents/Peisner-FeinbergANGxp.pdf