Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Is Child Care Harmful to a Child?
As a professional child care provider, it makes me angry when I read articles or listen to people talk about how much children suffer by being in child care and how inadequate child care is part of the problems we now face in society. Unfortunately there may be a grain of truth in this. As with any other industry, in child care, there are businesses that are well run and those that do a poor job.
More is known today than ever before about the critical importance of good nurturance and care during the early years of life. Breakthroughs in research on human brain development show that the quality of caregiving relationships and environments have a lasting impact on the trajectory of children’s development—literally influencing later success in school and life. The research also clearly shows that a child’s brain development lags behind his peers when that child lacks a stable and appropriately stimulating caregiving environment. Children who are neglected develop brains that are 20% to 30% smaller than what is considered normal for their age.
Quality care, whether at home with a parent or family member or in a child care setting, provides the human stimulus and response necessary to develop and maintain critical neural connections for sight, language, and the emotional foundations upon which all future learning takes place.
Key Facts about Child Care in America:
As a professional child care provider, it makes me angry when I read articles or listen to people talk about how much children suffer by being in child care and how inadequate child care is part of the problems we now face in society. Unfortunately there may be a grain of truth in this. As with any other industry, in child care, there are businesses that are well run and those that do a poor job.
More is known today than ever before about the critical importance of good nurturance and care during the early years of life. Breakthroughs in research on human brain development show that the quality of caregiving relationships and environments have a lasting impact on the trajectory of children’s development—literally influencing later success in school and life. The research also clearly shows that a child’s brain development lags behind his peers when that child lacks a stable and appropriately stimulating caregiving environment. Children who are neglected develop brains that are 20% to 30% smaller than what is considered normal for their age.
Quality care, whether at home with a parent or family member or in a child care setting, provides the human stimulus and response necessary to develop and maintain critical neural connections for sight, language, and the emotional foundations upon which all future learning takes place.
Key Facts about Child Care in America:
- Families have changed dramatically in the last 40 years. Today, 70 percent of all families are headed by either two working parents or a single working parent. In 1960, it was the exact opposite -- 70 percent of families had a parent (usually a mom) at home with the children.
- Most children now spend time in child care. In 2001, 61 percent of children from birth to age six were in some form of child care. This includes over half of infants and toddlers and nearly three quarters of pre-school age children.
- Good quality child care helps children develop and prepares them for school. Research has shown that children in higher quality care for their first four and half years of life scored higher on tests of cognitive skills, language ability, vocabulary, and short-term memory and attention when compared with children in lower quality care.
- Too many children, especially low-income children, are in poor quality child care. A national study of family child care providers found that over one-third were rated inadequate, and less than half of states require family day care homes to be inspected each year. The problem is especially critical for low-income children.
- Child care costs more than many families can afford. It is a struggle for parents to pay for child care that can range from $4,000 to $10,000 a year per child. The cost is higher for infant care and for care for children with special needs.
- Lack of stable child care affects worker productivity. Quality child care arrangements help parents stay focused and productive on the job. In one study, 80 percent of employers report that child care problems force employees to lose work time.
- Child caregivers are underpaid, under trained, and receive minimal benefits. Salaries for child caregivers average a shockingly low $16,980 per year, and frequently they receive no benefits. In 30 states, teachers in child care centers are allowed to begin working with children before they receive any training in early child development.
- Our nation's investment in child care is minimal. The United States is the only industrialized country without a nationwide system of child care for working parents. The result: Our child care is of poor quality. Child care workers are underpaid and undertrained. Half a million families are on a waiting list to get child care assistance. Between seven and fifteen million children ages five to 14 are left home alone or unsupervised after school.
// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 6:44 PM 
