Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Early Child Care Linked To Increases In Vocabulary, Some Problem Behaviors In Fifth And Sixth Grades
If you have been following the news last week, you have probably noticed the huge media uproar over the release of a recent study concerning aggressive behavior and child care.
Here are a sampling of some of the articles:
"However, the researchers cautioned that the increase in vocabulary and problem behaviors was small, and that parenting quality was a much more important predictor of child development than was type, quantity, or quality, of child care. "Children who were cared for exclusively by their mothers did not develop differently than those who were also cared for by others."
Download the study HERE (NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development booklet. 52 page report)
The study examined how quality, quantity, and type of child care setting affected children's development.
Specific findings include:
before and just after school entry than children who experienced other non-maternal child care arrangements.
Parent and family characteristics were more strongly linked to child development than any aspect of child care. Researchers studied the quality of the family environment, parental attitudes, maternal
psychological adjustment, and mother's sensitivity.
The following characteristics predicted children's cognitive/language and social development: parents' education, family income, and two-parent family compared to single-parent family; mothers' psychological adjustment and sensitivity; and the social and cognitive quality of home environment.
Tomorrow, I'll share some thoughts and opinions about this study and the media hype and outrage that has ensued.
If you have been following the news last week, you have probably noticed the huge media uproar over the release of a recent study concerning aggressive behavior and child care.
Here are a sampling of some of the articles:
- http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070326095141.htm
- http://www.nationalacademies.org/headlines/20070404.html
- http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/04/04/31nichd_side.h26.html
"However, the researchers cautioned that the increase in vocabulary and problem behaviors was small, and that parenting quality was a much more important predictor of child development than was type, quantity, or quality, of child care. "Children who were cared for exclusively by their mothers did not develop differently than those who were also cared for by others."
Download the study HERE (NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development booklet. 52 page report)
The study examined how quality, quantity, and type of child care setting affected children's development.
Specific findings include:
- Higher quality care was associated with better outcomes.
- Children in higher quality child care had somewhat better language and cognitive development during the first 4½ years of life than those in lower quality care.
- They were also somewhat more cooperative than those who experienced lower quality care during the first 3 years of life.
- Amount of time in care mattered to some degree. Children with higher quantity (total combined number of hours) of experience in child care showed somewhat more behavior problems while in child care and in kindergarten classrooms than those who had experienced fewer hours in care.
before and just after school entry than children who experienced other non-maternal child care arrangements.
Parent and family characteristics were more strongly linked to child development than any aspect of child care. Researchers studied the quality of the family environment, parental attitudes, maternal
psychological adjustment, and mother's sensitivity.
The following characteristics predicted children's cognitive/language and social development: parents' education, family income, and two-parent family compared to single-parent family; mothers' psychological adjustment and sensitivity; and the social and cognitive quality of home environment.
Tomorrow, I'll share some thoughts and opinions about this study and the media hype and outrage that has ensued.
// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 4:02 PM 
