The effects of day care: A critical analysis

Abstract

Maternal employment has increased over the last thirty years in the USA. The result of this increase means more families are in need of day‐care for their children. Examined in this paper are research findings on the effects of day‐care on pre‐school children and their families. The implications of these findings for policy development are critically discussed. Currently in the USA, over 50% of mothers work outside the home; this figure is expected to rise to 75% by 1990. The fastest growing segment of the working mother population is among those with children under two (Zigler and Gordon, 1982). This increasing rate of maternal employment over the last two decades has created the need for alternative arrangements for infants and young children. There is some concern among child developmental specialists that these alternative arrangements of caremay have detrimental effects on a child's social and psychological development. Much of the concern about substitute care is based on the theory and research rel...