Parent—Child interaction and daycare: Does quality of daycare matter?

Abstract

A Daycare Quality Assessment Instrument was developed and subsequently usedto select two high-quality and two poor-quality daycare centers. Three- to 5-year-old children from these centers as well as home-care controls were observed in the laboratory interacting with their mothers during three types of episodes: while ignored, while attended to, and while required to do a difficult task. Overall, behavior differed during the various episodes; more importantly, the three groups did not behave equivalently. Children in poor-quality daycare were less compliant with task instructions than were other children. Verbal interaction patterns differed as well, with home-care children carrying on more sustained dialogues, while children attending poor-quality daycare were more likely to have verbal interaction limited to numerous single statements—that is, less dyadic interchange. Children attending good-quality daycare were intermediate. Results were interpreted in terms of children learning patterns of adult interaction at daycare that affect interactions with their mothers.