CHILD Flashcards
Key question
What issues must parents take into account when deciding about daycare for their child?
AO1
Daycare is when a child is looked after by a childminder or daycare provider, throughout the day, usually whilst parents are at work. In the UK organised nursery provision is increasingly used by families in which both parents work. Bowlby would predict that daycare is a form of short term deprivation as the child experiences short term separation from the primary caregiver, which can therefore damage the attachment formed between them, and potentially cause lasting effects.
78% of families in the UK with children aged 0-14 reported using childcare when asked about their recent term time week. In England 63% of families had used daycare, and parents with children aged 3-4 were most likely to have used formal daycare.
Issue for society
This is an issue for society as parents may feel guilty about sending their child to daycare, if they feel it is not good for the child, meaning they may stay home from work to look after their child, therefore this causes issues for the family as they are earning less money, and for the child as they may not develop properly socially as they aren’t interacting with other children their age, which could led to problems in their future
Quality of care
One factor affecting daycare is the quality of care. For example, good child to staff ratio and low staff turnover as well as qualifications of the workers. Li et al found that high quality daycare led to better short term memory skills which lasted until the end of the preschool period. Therefore, attending a high quality daycare can have positive impacts on the child’s cognitive development.
Effect on attachment
One negative factor of daycare is the effect it has on attachment. Bowlby stated that an attachment between a child and a primary caregiver was necessary for a child’s development. Belsky and Rovine found that children who spent over 20 hours a week in non maternal care had higher incidents of type A (insecure avoidant) than those who spent less than 20 hours. Therefore, more hours spent at daycare could lead the attachment between the child and primary caregiver to be insecure avoidant or led to maternal deprivation, potentially causing behavioural problems in the child’s future.
Age at which children start
Another factor of daycare is the age at which children start attending daycare. Andersson studied 119 children up to 8 years in Sweden, and found that children who started daycare early were rated by their teachers as more socially advanced, than those who started late. Therefore, starting daycare at an early age can lead to improved social skills, such as making more friends which could be beneficial to the child’s mental health.
However Andersson
However, Andersson only carried out his study in one area of Sweden. Different countries can be affected by cultural differences and ideals on child rearing. This leads to different attachment types in different cultures and within the same culture. Therefore, we cannot generalise Andersson’s findings to different cultures or countries as the results are ethnocentric to Sweden.
NICHD American children
The NICHD studied the social and cognitive development of 1200 American children in daycare. They found that the children who attended daycare performed better academically than those who didn’t attend. Therefore, daycare can be said to improve academic and cognitive abilities of the child, such as aiding learning development.
However NICHD
However, the NICHD also found that children who spent more time in daycare were more likely to have behavioural problems such as aggression and disobedience, compared to those who spent less time. Therefore, we must take into account the potential negative impacts of a child spending extensive periods of time in daycare, and parents must consider the duration of daycare.
In conclusion
In conclusion, there are several factors parents need to take into account when deciding on daycare for their child, such as duration and quality of care. There is clear evidence that daycare can improve social and cognitive development, however there is also research to suggest that daycare can lead to negative outcomes, such as aggression or insecure avoidant attachment. Therefore, parents should consider all these factors, including the economic impact on their family and well being.
