Day Care Dr. Blakemore PSY 235

Preliminary Remarks Introductions The view in psychology – empirical evidence Time spent with children by parents in recent decades The impact of family versus non-family caregivers (day caregivers, sitters, etc.) Family is more important than anything else

What was the “old” question? The old question was “Does day care harm children?” More subtle perhaps: “Is parental (read maternal) care better for children than out of family care?” When the majority of children receive some nonparental care, this doesn’t make sense to ask any more.

The answer to the old question It depends On who does the care in both places What they do How they teach How they interact Some “day care” is “better” for some children than some care by some parents For example, disadvantaged children typically benefit from educational, quality day care The issue is quality of care This has been established by decades of research

Indiana regulations https://childcareta.acf.hhs.gov/licensing/state/IN Basically, to operate a child care home, one needs to be 21, pass a TB and background check (spouse too) Ratio of 6:1 infants/toddler (24 mos.) to 12:1 children over 3 years To be a director of a center, there are education requirements (minimal is usually associate degree in early childhood education), but caregivers need only to be 18 and high school graduates (with TB and background checks)

The new question Most mothers employed (60-70% under school age) What is associated with good quality day care? That is likely to vary by children’s ages Infants need different things than 4-year-olds need In the US, it’s hard to find good quality day care in general – much American day care is of modest quality, and some is very low quality But it’s extremely difficult to get good quality day care for infants I am going to focus primarily here on children older than 2 years

Types of care Caregiver in one’s own home (e.g., babysitter, nanny) Day care homes – the babysitter’s house Day care centers For profit centers Not for profit centers Ministries (typically not-for-profit, but less regulated than other centers except for safety codes)

Caregiver in the child’s home Typically (but not always) the most expensive care Can be trained professional nannies, more common in large cities, and for wealthier families Sometimes college students, who may also have backgrounds in child development or early childhood education, work in such positions Sometimes an immigrant non-native English speaker Often an older woman who raised her own children With some exceptions, often have the least training of any child care givers available in child development No legal responsibilities for continuing education, regulation, inspections, etc.

Day care homes Some licensed, some not Licensure usually involves physical health and safety issues Some states (not Indiana) require annual continuing education in child development or other issues related to child care Typically the caregiver is a woman in her 30s also caring for her own children Some have had training in child development, but many have not Various ages of children present Rarely have an educational program The television is often on at day care homes This is not true of all day care homes

Aside about television The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that children under the age of 2 years not be exposed to television You can look up some research on this on the web (make sure you look at credible sources) I will mention three findings briefly Just having television on reduces the play complexity of 9 to12-month-olds Some evidence of brain changes as a result of television exposure Children watching “Baby Einstein” showed poorer language development

Day care centers They vary The highest quality are usually not-for-profit centers run by educational institutions, businesses, hospitals, etc., where the institution subsidizes the cost of the care High quality care may be found in some government subsidized centers for poorer families, for the same reason Typically have teachers with some training in early childhood education or child development Have age-graded groups Have an educational program Have child-sized materials and furnishings The focus is on the children – they are built to serve the children

What are the big expenses? Staff – the biggest!! Materials and food How could you cut costs? Cheaper staff Higher ratios (fewer staff) Cheaper staff have a higher turnover Thus, operating for profit is likely to reduce caregiver quality

What impacts children’s outcomes? First, some evidence that the sheer number of children present does stress some children (not all), and slightly increases stress hormones and peer aggression Thus, day care centers with larger groups have been identified with these “problematic” issues

More on outcome The findings for language and cognitive development are quite consistent The most important factor that impacts children’s outcome in child care is the education of the caregiver in child development or early childhood education Such caregivers interact more developmentally appropriately with children The children’s cognitive and intellectual development is enhanced And effects can be seen for some years after children have entered elementary school

Other factors Higher quality care is more likely to be found when Groups are smaller Groups are age-graded Educational programs are present Caregivers are stable – not constantly changing Found most often in not-for-profit centers