A study that is going to published in the March-April issue of the journal Child Development has shown that children put in day care centers for long periods exhibit minor behavioral problems, such as aggression and disobedience, up to sixth grade (about 12 years old). This was compared to no such behavioral problems when the child is left at a nanny or family child-care homes. This was reported in a Wall Street Journal article(subscription needed for full article). In addition, a Wall Street Journal blogger has given her comments in this post.
Thankfully, the study shows that if the children have been given high-quality care, they will have better vocabulary skills, which results in mathematics and reading gains.
Personally, Matthew has been placed in an infant care center since he was about two and a half months and I can see that he has benefited much from being in day care without the minor behavioral problems. To me, his speech and vocabulary skills seems to be quite good for any kid who is less than 2 years old. Of course, he throws the occasional tantrum, but I believe that’s normal for a child. Actually, if he doesn’t, I’ll be a little worried because that’s not too normal. But he can be pacified most of the time.
I believe that choosing a good day care center is critical as the teachers play a big role in the development of the child together with the parents. Though my wife and I didn’t exactly do a really good study of the centers around our place, we were lucky and managed to find a really good center for Matthew. Most of the center’s teachers really care about the children placed there. But most importantly, Matthew likes and enjoys his time there.
Technorati Tags: education, parenting, child care
Related posts: