The day care wars….

For many years now, there has been an on-going debate, commonly referred to as the “day-care wars”, regarding what is best for the child. There has been much research and clear evidence in support of the child being cared for at home by their mother (provided that the mother is involved with stimulating the child and doesn’t leave the TV to baby-sit). Although disturbing for working moms, the evidence did suggest if the child was in a suitable day-care facility with adequate care and stimulation and the parents spent quality time with their child, without feeling guilty, then the child was not negatively effected by day-care. Now there are new findings, which I am sure many of you would find interesting. “A much-anticipated report from the largest and longest-running study of American child care has found that keeping a preschooler in a day care center for a year or more increased the likelihood that the child would become disruptive in class — and that the effect persisted through the sixth grade.” And these “findings held up regardless of the child’s sex or family income, and regardless of the quality of the day care center.” Visit this url for more information. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/us/26center.html?ex=1332561600&en=756a343aec2c044e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Obviously not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to stay at home with their child or have a family member care for him/her, but never the less it would seem that is what we, as informed parents, should try and aim for.

Tagged as: baby, parents, TV