Podcast: The good, the bad and other effects of childcare
Written by Pat Bartlett & Donna Davis
Reviewed by Kate Fogarty
Results from a recent study of almost 15,000 children– from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, —reveal both positive and negative effects of organized childcare and preschool, both immediate and long-term.
According to the study, day care has a positive effect on intellectual development. The children benefit from their exposure to mathematics, vocabulary and memory skills, and those acquired skills persist at least into the third grade. Benefits were greatest among children from the poorest families.
However, children in day care lag behind children with stay-at-home moms, when it comes to social development. Children with a lot of time in day care centers also have more problems with mother-child conflict and school conduct.
Yet aggressive behavior, including conflict, that had been found in previous studies of young children who received full-time care outside the home turned out to be temporary, fading by the time the children reached the third grade. Another surprising result was a difference between the daycare and non-daycare groups which doesn’t show up for years: In the third grade it was found that children who spent the most time in day care had poor school work habits compared to their peers in stay-at-home or part-time day care.
In making the decision when and where to put a child in a childcare setting, parents must understand the potential impacts of childcare. By being informed of the pros and cons as well as short and long-term outcomes, parents can better prepare for their child’s next important leap into kindergarten and elementary school.
Listening, learning and living together, it’s the science of life. “Family Album” is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences and of WUFT-FM. If you’d like to learn more, please visit our website at familyalbumradio.com .
References
Jacobson, Linda. Studies find payoff, drawbacks persist for pupils in preschool and child care. EdWeek, Nov. 2, 2005.
