Quality Childcare Now, More Involvement with School and Teachers Later

Most employed parents of young children would agree that it can sometimes be difficult to put their sons and daughters in the care of others during the workday. Feeling confident about the quality of these daycare arrangements can make all the difference to parents’ peace of mind.

Of course, good-quality childcare has other benefits, too. In fact, new research in the journal Child Development suggests that good childcare may also increase mothers’ involvement with children’s schools further down the road.

About 1500 children and their mothers were tracked from birth to age 5. Over the years, researchers visited the children’s childcare settings to rate their quality. Then, once the children began kindergarten, teachers and mothers themselves rated how involved and active mothers were with the child’s schooling.

Mothers of children who had attended high-quality daycare in the first 5 years of life were significantly more involved with their kindergarten child’s school experience. What made the difference? When children’s early caregivers were sensitive and responsive and provided stimulating learning activities, parents provided more enriching home environments and children developed stronger academic skills. The pay-off was stronger school-to-parent ties once the child was in elementary school. Importantly, this was true regardless of the family’s income or the mother’s level of education.

These findings provide yet more evidence of the importance of children’s early learning environments. In this case, ensuring that all children have access to quality childcare arrangements can strengthen ties between schools and parents and support children’s development during the elementary years.

Course: Carol Church, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

The Good, the Bad, and Other Effects Of Childcare

Results from a recent study of almost 15,000 children from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development reveal both positive and negative effects of organized childcare and preschool, both immediate and long-term.

According to the study, day care has a positive effect on intellectual development. The children benefit from their exposure to mathematics, vocabulary, and memory skills, and those acquired skills persist at least into the third grade. Benefits were greatest among children from the poorest families.

However, children in day care lag behind children with stay-at-home moms when it comes to social development. Children with a lot of time in day care centers also have more problems with mother-child conflict and school conduct (Jacobson, 2005).

Yet, aggressive behavior, including conflict, that had been found in previous studies of young children who received full-time care outside the home turned out to be temporary, fading by the time the children reached the third grade. Another surprising result was a difference between the daycare and non-daycare groups, which doesn't show up for years. In the third grade it was found that children who spent the most time in day care had poor school work habits compared to their peers in stay-at-home or part-time day care.

In making the decision when and where to put a child in a childcare setting, parents must understand the potential impacts of childcare. By being informed of the pros and cons as well as short and long-term outcomes, parents can better prepare for their child's next important leap into kindergarten and elementary school

Source: Patricia Bartlett and Donna Davis, Family Album Radio, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

Quality Childcare Now, More Involvement with School and Teachers Later

Most employed parents of young children would agree that it can sometimes be difficult to put their sons and daughters in the care of others during the workday. Feeling confident about the quality of these daycare arrangements can make all the difference to parents’ peace of mind.

Of course, good-quality childcare has other benefits, too. In fact, new research in the journal Child Development suggests that good childcare may also increase mothers’ involvement with children’s schools further down the road.

About 1500 children and their mothers were tracked from birth to age 5. Over the years, researchers visited the children’s childcare settings to rate their quality. Then, once the children began kindergarten, teachers and mothers themselves rated how involved and active mothers were with the child’s schooling.

Mothers of children who had attended high-quality daycare in the first 5 years of life were significantly more involved with their kindergarten child’s school experience. What made the difference? When children’s early caregivers were sensitive and responsive and provided stimulating learning activities, parents provided more enriching home environments and children developed stronger academic skills. The pay-off was stronger school-to-parent ties once the child was in elementary school. Importantly, this was true regardless of the family’s income or the mother’s level of education.

These findings provide yet more evidence of the importance of children’s early learning environments. In this case, ensuring that all children have access to quality childcare arrangements can strengthen ties between schools and parents and support children’s development during the elementary years.

Source: Family Album Radio, Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida

Choosing a Child Care Center

Being part of a child care center can be a wonderful experience for both you and your child. Research shows that attending a high quality child care center can benefit a child’s social, language, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive development. Choosing a child care center is exciting, but can also be confusing. When considering a specific child care center, be sure to arrange to have a tour of the center. During this tour, do not hesitate to ask questions about the center and their practices. Here are some specific things that you can look for in a child care center and some specific questions you can ask to get this information:

Caregivers and teachers should be trained or educated in early childhood education or development and should be provided with adequate compensation.

Staff turnover should be minimal. It should be expected that in a twelve month period the child remains with at least one of the same caregivers she began with. Do not hesitate to ask the child care center administration about turnover and expect a concrete answer. Lower turnover (the number of teachers who have left in a year divided by the total number of teachers) is better. A turnover rate of 50% or more is extremely high.

Your children will fare the best if they are able to interact with a consistent set

of caregivers throughout the day. In most child care centers, two teachers work in a

classroom at any given time. It is important, then, to find out how the center handles

teacher breaks or absences. The more teachers who are assigned to a specific classroom, the more likely it is your child will interact with the same set of teachers throughout the day.

Smaller teacher-child ratios (how many teachers per children in the classroom) and

appropriate group sizes (how many total children in the classroom) should be maintained in order to ensure that each child gets the individual attention he needs and that the classroom is not too chaotic and noisy.

A clean, fun and safe environment where children can be easily supervised, but still

have the freedom to explore is important. Make sure to look for activity areas which

incorporate various interests and encourage creative learning, such as areas for building blocks, arts and crafts, music, dress up, and books. Space for physical activities, either indoor or outdoor, is important as well.

The teachers should be warm, friendly,  and should care about the child and the parents. Ask to visit some classrooms and stay long enough to observe how the teachers act around the children, and with you.

Touring a center and asking questions such as these should give you a good sense of the quality of care that the center provides. While no center may be able to meet all of these standards, knowing what the key indicators of quality care are will help you choose a center that can benefit your family for the long-term. The most important factor is your own personal feeling about the center and whether it meets your child’s individual needs. While choosing a child care center can be daunting, it is an exciting process as well. Your child’s experience in care can be enriching and lay the foundation for a lifetime of wonderful experiences, not only for the child but for your entire family.

Who's Watching the Kids?

When my children were young, dealing with childcare was one of the most difficult tasks we faced. Making the decision of who would watch our children when we were at work was extraordinarily difficult. Even today, a scene from the 1980s movie, "Baby Boom" strikes close to home, as when Diane Keaton interviewed potential nannies. Those interviews can be an exercise in patience, frustration, humor, and hope. Fortunately, we were lucky enough to end up finding some wonderful women to watch our children, and they remain our friends today.

According to the U.S. Census, almost 13 million of the 18 million children under five years of age in the U.S. (2002) are in some form of regular childcare during a typical week. In a study of childcare arrangements published in 2005, the Census Bureau reported that 40% of preschoolers are cared for by a relative, 23% of whom are cared for by their grandparents, and 14% of whom are cared for by their father (when dad is not considered the primary or secondary caregiver). Siblings cared for 3%, and less than 1% (or 39,000) were found in self-care situations.

Almost one-quarter of children 5 and under are in non-relative care, including day care centers, nursery or preschools, and family day care.

Working parents are choosing from a variety of child care options. As my children reach the age now where they begin families of their own, I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be watching the kids….