Main article: Jay Belsky – controversial day care researcher
As this is a controversial subject here is some more information.
NICHD is the most rigorous study to date on the results of early child care. The results have been corrected in a number of parameters like: family income, parents education, income and other factors that are known to influence the results.
The biggest controversy is about how important the findings are as differences are not large. The increased amount of externalising behavioural problems is within the normal variation. No parent with a good attachment to their child and who is doing well in day care need to worry. Some mean the results are no cause for concern at all. Others say that small changes in a very large number of children is enough to influence the climate in a classroom, in outdoor play and in society. Thereby this could be an important social question.
Jay Belsky stresses that the quality of day care is important, especially for small children, and that parents, who feel their child needs parental care at home, especially during the early years, need to have the possibility to do so.
References
Jay Belsky, Family Policy Review, 2003, 1, 23-40: The Politicized Science of Day Care (downloads a 56 kB pdf-document).
Jay Belsky, Child Development, vol. 78, issue 2, March/April 2007, p. 681-701, Are There Long-Term Effects of Early Child Care?
Official NICHD publication: Findings for Children up Age 4 1/2 years (downloads a 1,2 MB pdf-document).
Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian, July 8, 2004. British experts comment: Nursery Tales.
Nina Shapiro, Seattle Weekly, October 5, 2005. Critical to the results: The Day-Care Scare.
Heide Lang, Psychology Today, May/Jun 2005. The results should be taken seriously: The Trouble With Daycare.
Also the following previous Strategies-articles shed some light on the topic:
No. 566, April 30, 2007, Parents or peers – who matters the most?
No. 550, September 11, 2006, A Great Book – Why love matters
Go to Strategies home page: www.stratletter.com.