CHOOSING-CHILDCARE-SAMPLE-v1a

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Choosing ChildCARE Will childcare be good for my child? Every parent wants what’s best for their child, but evidence around whether childcare is ‘good’ for children is often contradictory. Every few months a new study hits the headlines, claiming that spending time in non-parental care helps prepare children for school, or raises their stress levels, or gives them better social skills, or makes them more aggressive and disruptive, and so on, and so on. The stories about the positive impact of childcare are reassuring, and those about possible harmful effects make parents feel understandably anxious. It’s always worth reading beyond the headlines to understand whether the research is actually relevant to you and your child. Studies carried out overseas may not reflect children’s experiences in the UK, as childcare funding, carers’ training, regulations, adult:child ratios, and parental leave arrangements vary enormously around the world. Studies that ignore some types of care give an incomplete picture. Journalists love to use emotive language, but ‘double the risk’ of something, may just mean an increase from 0.1 to 0.2 per cent. Bear in mind, too, that some studies are carried out by researchers seeking self-publicity or working for a commercial organisation with an ulterior motive. Mass use of paid childcare is still a fairly recent phenomenon, and one seen in relatively few cultures around the world, so we are still learning about its long-term impact. There are, however, a few points that childcare researchers generally agree on: • A child’s family background and home environment influence their intellectual and social development far more than any childcare, even for those whose parents work full time. Warm and loving family relationships and attentive parents are beneficial; an unstable and deprived home-life is not. Simple activities with mum or dad, such as reading stories, singing songs and rhymes, painting and drawing, playing letter and number games, going on outings and playing with friends, will help to give your child a good start in life. • There is good and bad in all kinds of childcare, including parental 24
Returning to work or study care. What matters most is not the type of care, but its quality. • Spending time in group daycare seems to have a slightly beneficial impact on very young children’s language and social skills and cognitive development by the time they reach school age. It also seems to have a slightly negative impact on their behaviour and emotional development, particularly if children are in centre-based daycare from a very young age. Positive effects are seen equally in children in part-time and full-time childcare. Negative effects tend to be more pronounced in those who spend a lot of time in daycare (over 30 or 35 hours a week, according to some studies). • High quality childcare and early education are certainly good for children over the age of three, helping to develop social, communication and academic skills, and eventually easing the transition to school. • Quality childcare is also undoubtedly beneficial to young children of all ages who have deprived or troubled home lives. • Several international studies have found that babies and children in group childcare experience raised levels of cortisol (often called the ‘stress hormone’), and different patterns of cortisol production, compared with their counterparts cared for by parents at home. The effect seems to be most pronounced for very young children who spend long periods in large, busy group settings that provide poor quality care. Some experts have expressed concern about the effect this might have on youngsters' behaviour and brain development; others say it's a normal response and may promote children's resilience in the long term. The truth is that there is much we still don't understand and more research is needed. • When mothers want to work, and have access to reliable, affordable, good quality childcare to enable them to do so, they benefit financially, socially and psychologically – which advantages their children too. If you’re interested in finding out more about the impact of childcare on young children’s development, you might want to read: Child Care Today: What we know and what we need to know by Dr Penelope Leach (Polity Press, 2009) 25
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CHOOSING-CHILDCARE-SAMPLE-v1a

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