Within this assignment I will be discussing the implications of day care for young children and giving both the positive and the negative aspects of this.
A study was done in the united states by Kagen (1978), the study was done on children whose mothers worked, in which case the children were put into day care centres compared to home –reared children. Kagen found little difference between the children placed in day care centres and those raised at home either in the amount of protest or seeking closeness to their mothers when upset. From the findings it appears that it doesn’t matter if a child is in day-care or raised at home or the amount of hours spent with its mothers, there is a special bond between mother and child. Bee (1974) Concluded that there are no negative effects when a child is cared for in a day care centre, provided these are run by trained professionals and only a small number of children. However, Bee (1997) also suggests “The crucial issue is the discrepancy between the level of stimulation that the child would receive at home and the quality of day care. When the day care setting for the child provides more enrichment than the child would normally receive at home, we see some beneficial cognitive effects. When day care is less stimulating than the child’s home care would have been, it has negative effects.”
Psychologists disagree about the developmental effects of day care on young children. Some agree with Bowlby’s prediction that long to medium term separation from the mother could have far-reaching consequences. Others claim that, provided day care is high quality day care has no adverse effects on intellectual development and does not disrupt the child’s attachments. Some psychologists believe that it might even make a positive contribution to the child’s development. The type and quality of care can influence many aspects of development—including memory, language development, school readiness, math and reading