Daycare: What Classifies Has A Good One And The Long Term Effects On The Child
Abstract
You need to put your child in daycare but don't know where to start. The issues that were studied range from child teacher ratios to health policies. Another thing that was considered in various studies was whether or not it would have any long term effects on the child has it grew. One of the studies suggests that it does and another may suggest that it doesn't. In conclusion daycare may or may not have any long-term effects if you know what to look for.
Daycare: What classifies has a good one and the long term effects on the child
It has been a well known fact that a woman in the work force is a growing trend. A study done by Wildavsky in 1997 stated that nearly 65% of women with children under the age of six are participating in the working world. Wit this many mothers working ' this means that about half of young American children spend time in the care of a non-parent for at least part of most work days'(NICH, 1997,p. 16). Placing your child in a daycare should be the hardest decision for you to make that is if you want the best for your child. The question that arises is what to look for in a daycare for these children and will it have any effects on the child as it grows. This paper will describe many things that studies as well as people say should be in a daycare. Also it will discuss the possibilities of long term effects on the child in the future.
There has been an enumerated amount of studies done on daycare's, some had positive results while others had negative results. So many different studies could really confuse a person. The fact is according to Adelson (1997, 53) that with the right amount of love and care 'daycare is a perfectly adequate substitute for a mother's care and in some cases may even be superior'. In order to be superior however the daycare must meet or exceed many standards or qualities. Perhaps the biggest is the state guidelines for ratio of child to teacher. This is dependent on the age of the child: the older the child the higher the ratio.

Age Staff/Child
6 weeks ' 18 months 1 : 4
18 months ' 2 ' years 1 : 7
2 ' - 4 years 1 : 10

Even though these are the guidelines given by the state that doesn't mean that this is appropriate either. Some daycare centers will go below the state ratio allowing the child 'to form a secure attachments to their parental stand ins' according to Talbot. This attachment is critical to the child to allow him to feel comfortable in his new environment.
Once the parent feels that the child is comfortable and adjusted to their new place they may begin to wonder about things. Like what would happen if my child got sick at school, or a fire broke out the worries go on and on. The policy of the center regarding sickness should have been given to the parent upon enrollment. Many parents may also notice that when their child first starts at daycare that they are being called because the child is sick quite often. Well this is perfectly normal and actually may benefit the child in the future. In fact some mat believe that 'infections in early childhood may prevent allergies in later life'. (Kramer, p. 450) Although the parent may feel discouraged by the child's constant ailments many must realize that in order to build up a resistance to something you must first get it. Eventually the body will build up enough antibodies making the child remain healthy.
Long term effects on the child are another common worry of parents. 'Will I not be a good parent to my child when it grows up', 'Will he or she feel neglected or left out of something by me working and not spending time with them' and many other question will get tossed through the parents head. The problems with questions like this is there are no definite answers that are concrete for every child. Even with all the studies done there are still so many different answers. One such example is that Adelson (1997) suggests children who've been in daycare for a number of years may be inattentive and more prone to violence such as hitting or kicking. Where as Brownlee (1998, p. 35) suggests that 'toddlers in day care have fewer behavioral problems, like tantrums and hitting, than do those cared for alone with a nanny or in small groups'. Brownlee states that it is not the children who are to blame but the ...