April 19, 2001 - The National Institute for Child Health and Development (NICHD) has been studying day care for years. A new segment of the study has been released, revealing that children who are separated from their mothers for more than 10 hours a week early in life, whether they are with nannies in their own homes or quality day care centers or sweet family day cares, are more aggressive once they reach kindergarten, as rated by their mothers and by their teachers.
Humans, like all mammals, need their mothers for a certain period after birth. The 'smarter' or more socially complex a species of mammal is, the longer offspring stay with mommy. When they can't get those needs for mother met, they are harmed.
In February 1999, NICHD reported another segment of this longitudinal study. This segment dealt with quality of care actually available in this country.
ONLY ONE CHILD IN TEN IS IN DAY CARE THAT CAN BE RATED EXCELLENT!
This segment of the ongoing study also concluded a baby should never be cared for in a group of more than two babies!
Previously, NICHD has reported that half of day care slots are so poor they pose a threat to your infant's physical, emotional, or intellectual development.
Is this the picture the media is selling you about infant/toddler day care?
Link here to FACTS from day care studies.
Have you taken the time to observe what goes on at a day care center? After NICHD issued its Winter 99 findings, I stood outside a day care center for an hour. This center, Minnieland, was located in a strip shopping center and had huge windows so that passersby can observe everything. In one room, I saw a teacher working with four eager pre-schoolers at a table. Everyone looked happy.
In the baby room, six babies languished in cribs or "bouncies", totally untended for the entire hour while the staffer straightened up and chatted with another grown-up. Babies need much more attention that this to grow successfully.
The toddler room was full of children playing by themselves. One boy stood at the window, looking out (for mommy?) the entire hour I was there. This is not the stimulating environment a toddler needs to develop confidence, security, and smarts.
I went back and observed for another hour a week later and the situation was unchanged!
Deborah Fallows writes of her observations at day care centers, of the awful neediness of the children, in A Mother's Work. The Dreskins, owners of a high quality day care, closed their doors because they could not bear to be a part of the harm inflicted on the psyches of their charges. Despite the loving care of the Dreskins and their staff, they write in The Daycare Dilemma, the children MISSED their moms and dads and suffered for it.
Day Care is harmful to infants and other living things.
Read what experts say about day care and infant attachment. Link to a UK site for a synopsis of current day care research.
But what of all the the cheery articles in magazines like Parenting and newspapers like The Washington Post? Did you catch the articles on 2/28 and 3/1/99 pronouncing that working moms should have no guilt because day care's damage is temporary? Day Care Damage lasts only 6 - 12 YEARS - in the areas they chose to measure? Yippee! But listen, Harvey's study found that children of married moms who used day care fared less well then children of married moms who "stayed home."
These sources love to cite studies to show quality day care has no effects on kids - while omitting the fact that the overwhelming majority of day care is of poor quality.
The information always left out or minimized is that:
There's no such thing as "quality day care" for infants:
They need their mothers.
Research on mother/infant attachment shows that babies are harmed if away from their mothers for more than 15 hours a week. Babies flourish when mommy is virtually always available. And Mommy can thrive too! Read this essay by a career-focused mom who understood the truth about babies, and discovered the joys of being there!
Current brain research conducted by, among others, Dr. Stanley Greenspan of George Washington University, proves that an infant needs one caregiver
in its first three years of life to achieve optimal
intellectual, physical, and emotional development.
To develop best, an infant needs its primary caregiver available virtually around the clock
its first year of life. Your baby can tolerate brief absences, and thrives with involvement from daddy. More caregivers are not helpful.
In day care centers, what with two shifts covering the long work day, and lunch and other breaks, Penelope Leach estimates your baby may be cared for by up to 7 people a day, 15 different people a week! This is very harmful to babies' sense of security, ability to develop trust, and intellectual development.
Many moms are fond of saying that their babies go to day care to be socialized. Socialization of infants comes from their parents, not their peers. It is not the same as socializing! Penelope Leach writes that other babies are of NO USE to your infant and toddler in day care.
Another reason moms give for putting their infants in day care is that their infant needs to see Mom in many different roles. Well, think about it: when mom is gone, baby doesn't see her! (Baby just sees a woman in a traditionally female, low-paying job!) Baby only knows mom is gone. Baby, the ultimate self-centered one, only knows her needs are not being met. When MOM keeps baby with her, then baby can see mom as nurturer, teacher, chef, savvy consumer, neighbor, friend, whatever. This is how baby learns about mommy's roles.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that an infant
be fed mother's milk for at least the first year of its life. Babies should be fed ON DEMAND, which cannot happen if you are not with your baby for hours on end. The impact of nursing on infant and maternal health is phenomenal. Get the information the mainstream media doesn't want you to "feel guilty" about.
Don't make the mistake of thinking this is about women's rights. The price of our freedom and opportunity must not be paid by our young children.
Mothers have been caring for the infants and toddlers throughout human existence. And, mothers have always worked, but until recently, with baby at their side (or back!) Agitate for universal health insurance and extended paid parental leaves. Direct government funds to individuals (mothers and other primary caregivers), not middle class business owners (the day care operators.)
Humans are primates. Observe or read about the gorilla and chimp mom. Their infants cling to them. Ours naturally cling to us, too, for that is the way they are "wired for development."
