When a person becomes a parent and they see their child for the first time, they want to give that child the best: a good education, strong values, morals, respect, good health, and so on. They want that child to succeed and have a great opportunity in the world. They want to make the best decisions for their child so when they grow up they can make decisions on their own. Unfortunately, for most families, parents who do have jobs during the day, their difficult decision is choosing the right form of day care for their children. The early years of your child’s life are the most important for development. For parents it is important to consider how sending their child to day care will affect their future.
One generation ago in 1975, more than half of all children had stay-at-home parents. Now fewer than one-in-three children have a full-time, stay-at-home parent. In most U.S. families, all of the adults work. Because most parents work outside of their homes, their children receive child care from someone other than a parent. Almost one-quarter of all children under the age of five are in child care such as day care center, nurseries, and preschools. This includes one-third of children with an employed mother and more than one-quarter of children whose mothers are not employed but are in school (Glynn, 2012). Being an employee at a day care, I see several young parents who are still in school bring and pick up their child from day care. Family care still remains the most common type of child care arrangement. Three-quarters of full-time employed mothers utilize some form of family care at least part of the time, compared to 86.3 percent of part-time employed mothers. In most states, the annual cost of child care for a child in chi...
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There are very few studies about the effects child care has on children. There are so few because they are cohort cases. Which means it’s a study of a group of people who are followed for some time. Researchers observe what happens to them and what certain thing effects them. This makes it hard for researcher to follow a certain person throughout their life and observe them and how they develop.
Studies show that day cares have an effect on the social-emotional development of children. The time that children spend in day care has negative effects in social development. Children in their early years who spend many hours in day care have less social competence and cooperation, more problem behaviors, negative mood, aggression, and conflict.
Even though day cares have negative effects on children, they also have many positives effects as well.
Chapter seven of “Making the “Terrible” Twos Terrific” by John Rosemond is about sending your children to daycare. Rosemond believes that if possible one of the parent stays at home for the first three years of life. “The first three years of life constitute the single most critical, precedent-setting developmental period” (Rosemond 207). He also talks about putting your child in a three day or half day daycare. From birth to age two children rely completely on their parents. At age three is the transition time when children learn they are not the center of the universe and this should be taught by the parents.
Some day care can be beneficial for the children as they offer great facilities and have positive effects on the child rather than having negative effects. Day care is not a replacement of a family it is there to work with the family and complement the
Changing demographics in America are leading to an increased need for preschools. In 1950, only 14% of mothers of children under six worked outside the home (Williams 351), but in 1995, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 63.5% of mothers of children under age six worked outside the home (Garey 4). The number of families with two working parents is steadily rising; the number of single-parent families is also increasing. Many families cannot afford to have a parent at home full time but have a hard time affording preschool or childcare costs. A publication by L.M. Casper, printed by the U.S. Census Bureau, found that on average, parents spend 8% of their family's income on childcare (Kinch 68). Many of these parents make great sacr...
Belsky, J. (2009, March). Effects of Child Care on Child Development:Give Parents Real Choice. Retrieved October 20, 2010, from MPSV: http://www.mpsv.cz/files/clanky/6640/9_Jay_Belsky_EN.pdf
Most parents would probably prefer a family member would take care of their child; it could possibly be no cost and would make them feel as though they weren’t having someone else raise their child because they have to work. This is not an option for many parents so they go outside the family to make their choice of care. A day care center and an individual caregiver both have their pros and cons. Day care centers are open longer hours and have more workers in case of illness, caregivers could become ill and the parents would have to take the child to an emergency back up or miss work entirely. Children are very much individuals and have to be considered in the choice the family makes for care of their child. Every family must decide first what they can afford and then weigh the options to provide the best care available to them.
"Child Care Quality: Does It Matter?" LifeSkills 1 (Dec. 2000/2001): 4.Http://www.danrpeoplelinks.ucr.edu/nb3/lib/ls_1_4.pdf. University of California. Web.
It is important to visit different facilities to determine which facility is the best fit for your child. A quality day care facility should have an inviting atmosphere that is clean, well-organized with friendly staff that enjoy working with children. It may be a good idea to observe the interaction with the staff and children, to see how the children are treated and how the staff handle the children. It’s important to notice how the staff interacts with the children individually and in a group setting. Its a good idea to know How are the children are being discipline, and if you approve it. Knowing if the facility is a licensed facility or regulated facility, and if the parents are welcome to visit anytime during the day. The ratio of staff members per child should also be checked and should fall within the proper regulations required by law and It may be suggested to check with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). For the child- staff ratio.It may also be important to analyze the learning programs utilized by each facility and determine ...
For low-income families, particularly single mothers, preschool is a huge financial burden. Despite what parents want for their children, it isn’t always a practical option; sometimes, the cost of enrolling their children outweighs the money earned at a job (Mason 46). Soon, mothers are sending their kids to preschool so they can work to make money to pay for preschool. Furthermore, without an education, parents are confined to minimum wage jobs with no hope of advancement (49). Where’s the incentive to work? Robin Mason describes one single mother’s motivation. For her, employment is more than just money; rather, it’s also a means to boost her self-esteem, gain financial independence, and set a positive example for her children. She emphasizes her responsibility to her children to keep a roof over their head, be a good mother, and choose a quality daycare (47).
Having your child in an In-Home daycare facility may not be such a great idea either. After reading the article The Hell of American Day Care, many parents vowed not to let their kids go to In-Home facilities. Because the rules and regulations for In-home daycare workers aren’t strictly enforced.
When selecting childcare for your child the foundation of early learning has offered some tips that they believe will be helpful in the process. The foundation says that parents have always known that good early experience was important for their child. Now scientist and researchers are confirming how critical these first years of life are to your child’s healthy development (Selecting child care, 2002). Because the brain matures in the world rather than in the womb, the brain growth and development of infants and young children is deeply affected by their earliest experiences. In a childcare environment the relationship your child has with the caregiver will also affect how that child feels about himself and the world around him and as he grows up (Selecting child care, 2002). I ...
A normal day for a daycare facility is to have many classrooms full of students like a typical public school; however, they are younger children and are being supervised by an adult. That adult is responsible for, on average, four to ten students at any given time, ages ranging from zero to six. During that time, a lot can happen. These busy workers have many responsibilities throughout the day. The most important one is safety. Because these children are so young, they are also adventurous therefore need a lot of attention. Daycare workers have to spend much time supervising these children while performing other tasks throughout the day. Not only do children need to be supervised to be safe, but they also need to have a safe, clean and presentable environment that the daycare workers of the facility are to maintain. One way to keep things clean is to sanitize, in which is a big task of these workers. Children are always putting things in their mouth and then passing it off to other kids; therefore, sanitation is a big deal in these types of facilities. Another responsibility that daycare providers have are to enforce rules. When rules are broken, these providers are to then enforce discipline policies. These can sometimes become an issue seeing that these providers are not the parents of the children thus they have to consult with the parents on certain discipline techniques to use on specific children. On the other hand, these providers are similar to parents in the sense that they wash children's clothing and clean up after every child. In addition to all the other responsibilities, daycare providers also have to maintain current, accurate and confidential client files per child. These files are to consist of observations and r...
Note: Bathroom and /or diaper change times vary to meet the child’s needs. This is a general schedule and is dictated mostly by the children’s needs and feelings each day.
It is common knowledge that a parent is considered the most efficient caregiver for their children. It’s also known that with daily responsibilities of caring for a child financially, parents partake in full-time and/or part-time employment. While needing to do so, many children attend daycare/preschool facilities. Granted, it is the parent’s responsibility to cautiously select where they decide to take their children. This is because parents know that while they are away for numerous hours of the day, their children are in the hands of another care provider and that their care would have an enormous impact on their children. At a young age, a child’s social and cognitive skills are continuing to take shape and the amount of time spent in these facilities has a resilient impact on a child’s development. With proper and superior care no matter the time spent, such positive effects on a child’s development should endure in a child’s cognitive and social development. In other words, there is a great benefit of childcare/daycare attendance on a child’s development.
This is a realistic example of how the financial obstacles facing young families these days result in the use of non-parental child care. Many families today are faced with financial burdens, forcing them to utilize day care services for their children so that both parents can work. This paper will discuss three types of non-parental child care including center-based care, in-home care, and family day care. Furthermore, in an attempt to understand the effects of day care on children, this paper will evaluate the psychological, social, and cognitive impacts on child development as a result of day care. After reading this paper you will recognize that all types of child care can be effective as long as the provider is a quality caregiver.
With all said and done, I think day-care is not a bad place for a child to be after all, as long as no one takes advantage of the situation. This means that the people supervising the children in day-care centers should not take advantage of their parents’ absence to mistreat them, and neither should the parents use day-care as an excuse not to spend quality time with their young ones.