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by
Diane W. Bales, Ph.D.
Human Development Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
The University of Georgia
Are children who spend more than 30 hours per week
in child care more aggressive than children who spend
little or no time in out-of-home care? Recent news
coverage of the NICHD national child care study has
suggested this. But parents who place their children
in child care may not need to feel as guilty as the
reports have suggested. The news is not all bad. In
fact, there are some clear positive effects of high-quality
child care program in this study.
As
sometimes happens, the details of this research study
have gotten lost in the translation by popular media.
Here are some of the major findings from this study,
as well as more detail on the results related to aggression.
Child
Care Quality Matters
The quality of child care does make a difference.
Children in high-quality care are less likely to be
aggressive than are children in lower-quality care.
Children in high-quality programs also tend to develop
better language and thinking skills. Parents can find
high-quality child care settings by looking for things
like small adult-to-child ratios; well-trained, sensitive,
and responsive caregivers; and a setting that provides
stimulation and teaches children how to solve problems
and resolve conflicts.
Hearing
Language Helps Build Language
Children who hear more reading and talking in their
child care settings tend to do better on language
tests at ages 4 and 5. Parents and caregivers can
help children learn language by asking questions,
responding to and expanding on what children say,
and reading and singing with children. And limit the
amount of time children watch TV. Children who spend
more time watching TV tend to have smaller vocabularies.
Parents
Matter, Too
Children who receive loving care at home are less
likely to show problem behaviors, even if they are
in full-time child care. Children need parents who
are warm and responsive to their needs, who spend
regular time interacting with them, and who set consistent,
age-appropriate limits.
What
Does the Study Really Say About Aggression?
"Aggression" is a hot topic for parents and society
as a whole these days. Several high-publicity school
shootings have led parents to worry about violent
teens. And it's true that the roots of violence often
can be traced back to early childhood. What many parents
don't understand is that this study does not prove
that long hours in child care cause children to be
more aggressive. The study found that somewhat more
children in full-time child care showed aggressive
behaviors than did children in child care fewer than
10 hours per week. But even among children in full-time
child care, only 17% - fewer than 1 in 5 children
- showed aggressive behaviors. And the percentage
of children in full-time care who were aggressive
is the same as the percentage of all children who
are aggressive. So children in full-time child care
do not show abnormally high levels of aggression,
compared to children in general.
It
is also important not to misinterpret the relation
between time in child care and aggression. Although
the study did show a link between hours in child care
and aggression, this does not mean spending time in
child care causes children to be more aggressive.
Several other explanations are possible. It is possible,
for example, that children who spend more time in
out-of-home care were more aggressive even before
they entered child care.
Consider
also that social skills are as important in preparing
for kindergarten as are thinking and language skills.
Too many adults think that children who can count
and recite the alphabet are ready for school. But
children in school must also get along with others,
negotiate, and resolve conflicts. Children who learn
problem solving and conflict management in early childhood
will be better prepared to handle the social world
of kindergarten and will be less likely to handle
their problems aggressively.
The
bottom line is that warm, loving adults who talk with,
listen to, and care about children do help those children
succeed. Parents and child care providers need to
work together to be sure that children have the high-quality
care they need, whether at home or elsewhere.
Reference:
New Research Demonstrates Unique Effects of Quantity,
Quality, and Type of Child Care Experienced from Birth
Through Age 4.5,Press Release by the Society for Research
in Child Development, 4/19/01. - Reprinted with permission
from the National
Network for Child Care - NNCC. Bales, D. (2001).
What do we really know about child care and aggression?
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