|
Cries in the Night: Nightmares and Night Terrors |
|
|
|
Written by Bright Horizons e.family news
|
|
Monday, 22 May 2006 |
Every few months, my mother calls me about research she heard about on TV that says child care will make her grandchild either aggressive or insecure - a bully or a baby! Guilt, guilt, guilt!
This month, a study called "How Much is Too Much? The Influence of Preschool Centers on Children's Development Nationwide" was released by Stanford University and University of California-Berkeley. A few months ago, a study in the UK by child care authority Penelope Leach and colleagues at the University of Oxford and the University of London reported on "the effects of different kinds of care on children's development" in the first five years of life. In the U.S., the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) released a similar longitudinal study reporting on the effects of child care on children's social behavior as they age through elementary school.
Media coverage of child care research is often reported in a sensational manner, For those of us already prone to bouts of child care guilt, media sensationalism about the research doesn't help.
What the Research Appears to Indicate: - Quality child care centers can have positive effects on language and cognitive development, particularly for low-income children.
- Long hours in mediocre-quality child care can have negative effects on some social development in some children.
Facts to Consider When Any Research is Reported: - Any reported effects of child care have to be considered in light of the fact that no study makes a sophisticated distinction between high-quality child care and mediocre or poor child care.
- There is widespread agreement that most of the available child care options are not very good. Less than 8% of centers in the United States are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Accreditation and regulation of family child care is even rarer.
Is There Any Consensus?
Probably all child development researchers and professionals would agree with the following statements: - The best arrangement for a child under the age of three is to be home with a parent who is eager to be at home and feels the choice is best for the family.
- The worst arrangement is for a child to be in all-day group care of low quality due to inexperience, indifference, ignorance, organizational mediocrity, or lack of resources.
- Everything in between these poles is the area of contention about positive and negative effects of day-long care.
What's a Parent to Do? - Relax. Stay informed about quality child care and the experiences of your children. What is important is whether your child is thriving overall, and whether your child is getting the attention from the adults in her life in a way that fits her individual developmental goals and challenges.
- Child care in centers and homes is part of the fabric of society and it is here to stay. The question for parents is most likely not whether to use child care, but how to identify and find good child care.
- Ask yourself what makes the most sense for your family and for your children. Our job is to balance all our family needs and concerns, to know our children, and to make the best quality child care arrangements we can.
- No study can tell us anything about our own individual child's growth and development that we and our child's caregivers don't already know.
- It is important to recognize that our child may thrive where others don't, and may find difficult situations where others are at ease.
As parents navigating the ever changing waters of raising children, it is important to remember that what matters most is the entirety of our children's lives: the people, the pace, the expectations. How does the child spend the 80 or 90 hours that she is awake during the week? Children need a day that has lots of stimulation that interests them, lots of slow time, lots of conversation, and time with people with whom they have a mutually caring relationship. Good child care and good homes can both provide that.
|
