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While this article's title might attract some attention, the question it poses is an inappropriate one. Infant daycare is a fact of life for parents who have no choice but to work away from their child; for others, leaving their infant in another's care is their choice, and they're entitled to it. So asking whether this is a good idea really misses the point, because it's happening whether you think it's a good idea or not. More beneficial would be to focus on what we know about infant daycare in order to help parents make good decisions in this very important area of their family life.
In the mid 1980's, a prominent developmental psychologist reviewed the research on daycare and early child development. He concluded that an alarming pattern had emerged - infants experiencing more than 20 hours of nonparental care per week, beginning earlier than 6 months of age, were more likely to develop unhealthy, or insecure relationships with their mothers. Given that other research had shown these unhealthy relationships lead to difficulties throughout childhood, the conclusion concerning the effects of infant daycare indeed were troubling. And it's no surprise that controversy ensued.
One benefit of the controversy has been a concerted effort to more carefully and methodically study the effects of infant daycare. General information stemming from this effort might be of interest to parents facing decisions regarding infant daycare.
First, more current research shows that an infant's experience of daycare in and of itself is not likely
to harm that infant's development. However, the quality of the care setting is a very important element in the equation, in that infants who experience low-quality daycare do appear to suffer some ill effects.
Second, no matter how much time an infant spends in the care of persons other than his or her parents, what goes on between infant and parents remains very important to the infant's development. In fact, in one large-scale study of over 1,000 children, mother's behaviors toward their infants were shown to be much more important in predicting their children's development than were daycare experiences.
Third, the worst-case scenario for an infant appears to be one in which interactions with parents are of low quality, and the infant is placed in a low-quality care arrangement.
In sum, while it is inappropriate to suggest that parents shouldn't leave their infants in the care of others, it appears wise to recognize that decisions surrounding infant daycare are quite important. There are many good reasons for placing an infant in the care of persons other than their parents, but the decision to do so should not be taken lightly. Once this decision is made, the quality of the care is extremely important, and parents should do their homework to assure that their infant's physical, social, and emotional needs will be met in the most appropriate manner possible. Finally, parents should know that in all likelihood, it is the care they provide their infant which will be of primary importance in guiding their infant's development.(Article Russell Isabella, PhD) |
