Child Care Linked To Assertive, Noncompliant, and Aggressive Behaviors Vast Majority of Children Within Normal Range The more time children spent in child care from birth to age four-and-a-half, the more adults tended to rate them, both at age four-and-a-half and at kindergarten, as less likely to get along with others, as more assertive, as disobedient, and as aggressive, according to a study appearing in the July/August issue of Child Development. However, the researchers cautioned that for the vast majority of children, the levels of the behaviors reported were well within the normal range. In fact, a mother's sensitivity to her child was a better indicator of reported problem behaviors than was time in child care, with more sensitive mothering being linked to less problem behaviors. Higher maternal education and family income also predicted lower levels of children's problem behaviors.. The findings are from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. "It's important to put these findings in perspective," said Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the NICHD. "The amount of time in child care is one of several family and child care factors linked to children's behaviors, both positive and negative." The NICHD launched the study of early child care in 1991. The 27 researchers conducting the study have been following the development of more than 1000 children from across the United States. The children were enrolled in the study at birth and come from an ethnically and economically diverse sample of families. In addition to focusing on time in child care, the current article focused on several other aspects of the child care experience: the quality of the child care arrangement, the proportion of time that the child was in a child care center, the proportion of time that the child was cared for in a group setting, and the number of times that the mother reported that the child started a new child care arrangement. In the current article, the researchers describe how child care experiences in the first four-and-a-half years of the children's lives relate to children's social competence and behavior problems, when the children were four-and-a-half years old, and later, when they reached kindergarten. The study measured children's social behavior by having mothers, child care providers and teachers complete standardized ratings of children's behavior problems and social competence-their ability to get along with children and adults and their ability to follow social rules. Information about the number of hours the children were in child care was obtained from the mothers every 3-4 months. The link between time in child care and problem behavior was greater than the link between infant temperament and problem behavior or maternal depression and problem behavior. This link between time in child care and problem behavior was also greater for children in center-based care than for children in other types of care. The study authors noted that, of the children who displayed problem behaviors, the majority were well within the normal range. A small proportion of children showed levels of problem behavior that should be monitored to see if they developed into more serious problems. The proportion of children showing these higher levels of problem behavior is commensurate with the proportion of children in the U.S. population as a whole who also display these problems. The link between time in child care and problem behavior occurred across all family backgrounds and all types and quality of care. The authors added that the time in child care during infancy did not appear to have a greater bearing on the children's behavior than did the time they spent in care after infancy. The researchers also found evidence that children who experienced better quality child care-in which caregivers provided intellectual stimulation and were warm, positive, and sensitive to child behavior-had fewer child caregiver/teacher-reported problem behaviors and conflict than did children who experienced lower quality care. The researchers noted, however, that high quality child care did not eliminate the link between hours in care and behavior problems. The researchers could find no threshold of child-care hours above which problem behaviors were especially likely to emerge. To illustrate the reported findings that were based on the information from the group as a whole, the researchers classified the children into four groups, based on the amount of time they spent in child care: 16 percent of children were in child care an average of 0-9 hours a week 38 percent for 10-29 hours 36 percent for 30-45 hours 10 percent for more than 45 hours a week. In each of these groups, a minority of the children had a high score on behavior problems. However, the percent of children with high scores increased with the increase in the number of hours children spent in child care. Children were rated by mothers and teachers on items such as: child demands a lot of attention; argues a lot; bragging and boasting; cruelty, bullying or meanness to others; destroys things belonging to others; disobedient at home; disobedient at school; gets into many fights; lying or cheating; screams a lot. One of the important findings of this study is that the strongest predictor of how well a child behaves was a feature of maternal parenting that the researchers described as sensitivity--how attuned a mother is to a child's wants and needs. The behaviors of the sensitive mother are child centered; the sensitive mother is aware of the child's needs, moods, interests, and capabilities. She allows this awareness to guide her interactions with her child. Children of more sensitive mothers were more competent socially, less likely to engage in disruptive behavior, and less likely to be involved in conflicts with their caregivers and teachers. Similarly, children whose parents had higher incomes and who were more highly educated also were more socially competent and less likely to engage in problem behaviors. The study authors noted that their study was not designed to prove a cause and effect relationship. That is, the study cannot prove whether spending more time in child care causes children to have more problem behaviors. The behavior problems the researchers documented might be due to some other characteristic of the children or of their environment. Accompanying editorials in the July/August issue of Child Development offer possible explanations. Findings previously reported from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development showed that more time in care predicted more problem behavior among two-year olds, but not among three-year olds; less sensitive maternal behavior and less harmonious mother-child interaction when children were 6-36 months of age; as well as higher rates of insecure attachment to the mother if the mother's parenting was relatively insensitive. Preliminary findings pertaining to the research questions posed and answered by the current article were presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development in April of 2001. In the future, the researchers plan to focus on the relation between hours spent in child care and children's behavior during the school years. ### The NICHD is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the biomedical research arm of the federal government. NIH is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. NICHD publications, as well as information about the Institute, are available from the NICHD Web site, http://www.nichd.nih.gov, or from the NICHD Information Resource Center, 1-800-370-2943; e-mail NICHDInformationResourceCenter@mail.nih.gov. Child Care Linked To Assertive, Noncompliant, and Aggressive Behaviors Vast Majority of Children Within Normal Range The more time children spent in child care from birth to age four-and-a-half, the more adults tended to rate them, both at age four-and-a-half and at kindergarten, as less likely to get along with others, as more assertive, as disobedient, and as aggressive, according to a study appearing in the July/August issue of Child Development. However, the researchers cautioned that for the vast majority of children, the levels of the behaviors reported were well within the normal range. In fact, a mother's sensitivity to her child was a better indicator of reported problem behaviors than was time in child care, with more sensitive mothering being linked to less problem behaviors. Higher maternal education and family income also predicted lower levels of children's problem behaviors.. The findings are from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. "It's important to put these findings in perspective," said Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the NICHD. "The amount of time in child care is one of several family and child care factors linked to children's behaviors, both positive and negative." The NICHD launched the study of early child care in 1991. The 27 researchers conducting the study have been following the development of more than 1000 children from across the United States. The children were enrolled in the study at birth and come from an ethnically and economically diverse sample of families. In addition to focusing on time in child care, the current article focused on several other aspects of the child care experience: the quality of the child care arrangement, the proportion of time that the child was in a child care center, the proportion of time that the child was cared for in a group setting, and the number of times that the mother reported that the child started a new child care arrangement. In the current article, the researchers describe how child care experiences in the first four-and-a-half years of the children's lives relate to children's social competence and behavior problems, when the children were four-and-a-half years old, and later, when they reached kindergarten. The study measured children's social behavior by having mothers, child care providers and teachers complete standardized ratings of children's behavior problems and social competence-their ability to get along with children and adults and their ability to follow social rules. Information about the number of hours the children were in child care was obtained from the mothers every 3-4 months. The link between time in child care and problem behavior was greater than the link between infant temperament and problem behavior or maternal depression and problem behavior. This link between time in child care and problem behavior was also greater for children in center-based care than for children in other types of care. The study authors noted that, of the children who displayed problem behaviors, the majority were well within the normal range. A small proportion of children showed levels of problem behavior that should be monitored to see if they developed into more serious problems. The proportion of children showing these higher levels of problem behavior is commensurate with the proportion of children in the U.S. population as a whole who also display these problems. The link between time in child care and problem behavior occurred across all family backgrounds and all types and quality of care. The authors added that the time in child care during infancy did not appear to have a greater bearing on the children's behavior than did the time they spent in care after infancy. The researchers also found evidence that children who experienced better quality child care-in which caregivers provided intellectual stimulation and were warm, positive, and sensitive to child behavior-had fewer child caregiver/teacher-reported problem behaviors and conflict than did children who experienced lower quality care. The researchers noted, however, that high quality child care did not eliminate the link between hours in care and behavior problems. The researchers could find no threshold of child-care hours above which problem behaviors were especially likely to emerge. To illustrate the reported findings that were based on the information from the group as a whole, the researchers classified the children into four groups, based on the amount of time they spent in child care: 16 percent of children were in child care an average of 0-9 hours a week 38 percent for 10-29 hours 36 percent for 30-45 hours 10 percent for more than 45 hours a week. In each of these groups, a minority of the children had a high score on behavior problems. However, the percent of children with high scores increased with the increase in the number of hours children spent in child care. Children were rated by mothers and teachers on items such as: child demands a lot of attention; argues a lot; bragging and boasting; cruelty, bullying or meanness to others; destroys things belonging to others; disobedient at home; disobedient at school; gets into many fights; lying or cheating; screams a lot. One of the important findings of this study is that the strongest predictor of how well a child behaves was a feature of maternal parenting that the researchers described as sensitivity--how attuned a mother is to a child's wants and needs. The behaviors of the sensitive mother are child centered; the sensitive mother is aware of the child's needs, moods, interests, and capabilities. She allows this awareness to guide her interactions with her child. Children of more sensitive mothers were more competent socially, less likely to engage in disruptive behavior, and less likely to be involved in conflicts with their caregivers and teachers. Similarly, children whose parents had higher incomes and who were more highly educated also were more socially competent and less likely to engage in problem behaviors. The study authors noted that their study was not designed to prove a cause and effect relationship. That is, the study cannot prove whether spending more time in child care causes children to have more problem behaviors. The behavior problems the researchers documented might be due to some other characteristic of the children or of their environment. Accompanying editorials in the July/August issue of Child Development offer possible explanations. Findings previously reported from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development showed that more time in care predicted more problem behavior among two-year olds, but not among three-year olds; less sensitive maternal behavior and less harmonious mother-child interaction when children were 6-36 months of age; as well as higher rates of insecure attachment to the mother if the mother's parenting was relatively insensitive. Preliminary findings pertaining to the research questions posed and answered by the current article were presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development in April of 2001. In the future, the researchers plan to focus on the relation between hours spent in child care and children's behavior during the school years. ### The NICHD is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the biomedical research arm of the federal government. NIH is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. NICHD publications, as well as information about the Institute, are available from the NICHD Web site, http://www.nichd.nih.gov, or from the NICHD Information Resource Center, 1-800-370-2943; e-mail NICHDInformationResourceCenter@mail.nih.gov.
Current Events - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
There are some mothers who are forced into putting their child/ren into the daycare environment, not because of being a feminst, because of sheer survival. Some women lose their husbands because of death or the husband decides he no longer wishes to be married. Do not lump all women into this category. Until society can come up with a better solution to the problems that women face now days. SHUTTIE.
2 :
Dysfunctional children come from dysfuntional families and child care. Major difference is one group interest in profit only got control of one industry, and politician that regulate it, and in many cases subsidies are given to lowest standards possible.
3 :
From someone who has spent time actually doing a more critical review of the article and the follow-up studies: --------------------------------------------------- Also mentioned in the Times was the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care, whose findings were similar to Fuller's study. Four years ago, the Early Child Care study, using a sample of 1,364 kids who were 4 and a half, found that, while the reading and math skills of kids in child care were better than those of their stay-at-home counterparts (regardless of the type of care facility or family income), the more time the children spent in child care, the greater their aggression levels and noncompliance. That study sparked a great deal of controversy because one of its researchers touted conclusions to the media -- that putting a kid in child care caused these problems -- that his colleagues disputed. Last week, the NICHD published a follow-up report on the same kids who were in the 2001 study. It showed that by third grade, the children had swapped one set of problems for another: While the correlation to aggression went away, poor work habits and social skills appeared. (The Times piece suggested that the earlier study also found poor work habits and social skills, but according to Cathryn Booth-LaForce, one of the researchers on the project, that's incorrect. Also misleading is the Times' assertion that kids who spend more than 30 hours in child care are at risk for these problems. "The more hours in child care, the poorer the work habits in school, according to the teachers," says Booth-LaForce. "It doesn't have anything to do with 30 hours.") But Booth-LaForce says that it's important to keep in mind that "all of these effects are small compared to the effects of parenting. Math and reading scores are small, too" -- the difference of a few points. As for what could cause children in child care to develop poor social skills, she's not drawing conclusions: "We don't really have an explanation for it at the moment." And as Coontz points out, reporting on these studies tends to blow small findings out of proportion. "You're talking about a tiny minority of problematic cases, and usually problematic cases come with a whole other set of risk factors." Further, family units are so different, a norm cannot be so easily applied. "Families are changing so rapidly, it would be crazy to take an average generalization and make an individual family decision on the basis of it," she says. Nor should parents feel guilty for working and, thus, having to rely on child care. "A much bigger impact on a child is whether they have a depressed mother or not," says Coontz. "And some mothers are more depressed when they don't work." Philip and Carolyn Pape Cowan, professors emeriti at the University of California at Berkeley, point out that the relationship between two parents can be a much larger influence on the emotional and intellectual development of a child than child care. "We get upset when people get totally focused on child care as if it's the key issue," says Carolyn Cowan. In their longitudinal studies, they've tracked couples, some to whom they've taught parenting skills and others they haven't. "When parents are offered help to become the most effective parent they can be," she says, "and when they feel more effective as a couple, their children do better, academically and socially." ----------------------------------------------------------- and ----------------------------------------------------------- As Fuller suggests, the real implication of these studies is how we think and talk about governmental and company policies, like standardized testing, universal child care and flexible hours for working parents. It makes most sense to look at the third study, which was published yesterday by the American Sociological Review, as evidence of the need for regulated child-care centers. Julia Wrigley, a sociology professor and acting associate provost at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, co-authored the report, which shows that the rate of death among kids who were taken care of by a private caregiver was 16 times higher than for kids in child-care centers. Although it's by far the most alarming finding in any of these studies -- Wrigley is talking about death, not the ability to share, after all -- it is also nothing for parents to start panicking about. Wrigley culled data from news reports, state records and legal cases to create a database of 1,362 child fatalities nationwide from 1985 to 2003, including 203 shaken-baby deaths. (To put those numbers in perspective, consider that each day approximately 8 million kids are in some form of paid child care.) All violent deaths occurred when kids were being watched by a nanny or a caregiver in a private home. In child-care centers, which are regulated by the state, and where a caregiver is often surrounded by other adults, violent deaths were nonexistent. Though death resulting from a child being left in a van or wandering off on a highway did occur at care centers, overall those centers turned out to be far safer than private care. --------------------------------------------------- Soooooooo - do you want child care and the tiny risk of more aggressive behavoir that goes away as the child ages or home care where the child is 16 times more likely to be killed due to violent behavoir of the caregiver? Or maybe neither problem is really all the significant, and the real important message here is that parenting matters a lot? The above listed study isn't nearly as grim as it appears, and plenty of information has been left out in the format it appears from most internet posters. Even the authors of the study don't agree on what the study results mean.
4 :
Yes, the femi-extremist revolution could be linked to a rise in violence amongst people in society. First of all, nothing can substitute the loving bond between parent and child. this bond is unfortunately disrupted because women now have to go to find jobs. It is simply too expensive in the world now to make it on just one income. If you have one income you almost always are on welfare for assistance but that is beside the point. when this bond is disrupted because of the woman working instead of being with her child the child is spending hours in daycare. I have observed in daycares that there is often a very large children to caregiver ratio and it is also evident that these children want attention to fulfill that emotional void that they are experiencing. the caregivers do not provide the children with the emotional interaction that they are needing I have seen this myself in the child care centers that I have went to. Part of a child growing is being able to have emotional needs fulfilled and they are not getting their emotional needs fulfilled because of the way it is in society now. the children have cause to "act out" just to get the attention that they are craving which is understandable. They use bullying: hurtful words, hitting, kicking, throwing tantrums just to get this needed attention. The children who continue to be practically raised in this environment have it almost impossible to learn healthy social interaction because of the lack of interaction between caregiver and child. they tend to carry on with this behavior when they are in school, hence being suspended from school a number of times in a year for their behavior. Or they are the quiet type and they tend to "blow up" and fight. Take the example of the school massacres. these all happened because they were wanting attention. they lacked the knowledge of healthy interactions and healthy relationships. They felt alone both at home and at school. with violence, they used manipulation to get the attention that they were wanting. they have turned their feelings of hurt and loneliness into anger and violence. serial killers, as much as we hate to think about them, stem from a lack of knowledge of proper social interactions. they have not received love and affection at home and their parents did not pay attention to them. if they would have they may have noticed any strange behaviors that the child exhibited. and of course, the lack of a loving parent. in conclusion, children need to have the all important bond of parent and child in order to grow emotionally.
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