Studies Re-Ignite

Child-Care Debate

  (CBS) –– Two new studies published in the journal Child Development have rekindled the debate over the effects of nonmaternal child care on children’s behavior.

Both studies found evidence suggesting that the longer a child spends in childcare, the more stressed, and aggressive, they can become.

Robin Goodman, clinical associate professor at New York University’s School of Medicine and director of www.aboutourkids.org, a child care website, has also made appearances on various television programs, including the CBS Early Show.

Two years ago, he said, some preliminary research was published in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development that found that children who spend most of their time in child care were three times more likely to exhibit behavioral problems in kindergarten than whose primarily cared for by their mothers.

The two new studies, he continued, seem to reaffirm these findings. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, it found that whose who spend long hours in child care may experience more stress and are at increased risk of becoming overly aggressive and developing other behavioral problems.

A second study, conducted by the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota, dealt exclusively with children in daycare and found that in children younger than three, levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, rose in the afternoon during full days they spent in child care, but fell when they got home.

In that study, Mr Goodman said, caretakers described these children as shy. Mr Goodman continued that these children might not perform as well in group activities, further increasing stress levels.

Mr Goodman also, however, emphasized the importance of examining child behavior outside of the child care setting as well. “It’s a mistake to look only at the children’s behavior,” he said. “Daycares aren’t the only places that influence behavior positively or negatively. There other factors that shapes a child’s behavior.”

Children in general, he noted, can develop problems, whether it is behavioral or Attention Deficit Disorder or social anxiety. A certain percentage of these children may have the problems due to such problems as brain abnormalities and other conditions.

For more information on this issue, visit the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development website at www.nichd.nih.gov.