Daily Childcare Research Articles

European Men’s Use of Parental Leave and Their Involvement in Child Care and Housework

Over the last ten years, equal opportunities policy has tended to actively further men’s use of parental leave to favour gender equality. This article draws from the European 2005 Working Conditions Survey, and more specifically the subsample of fathers with children under the age of three to analyse whether paternity leave is related to their greater involvement in childcare and housework. Zero-inflated Poisson regression analysis, controlling for working conditions, family circumstances, level of schooling, women’s empowerment in society and duration of leave, revealed a direct relationship between paternity leave taking in the year prior to the survey and their involvement in daily childcare and housework. Such use of parental leave appears, then, to be an effective mechanism for promoting greater gender equality in the domestic domain.

School calendars, child care availability and maternal employment

A year-round calendar redistributes schools days around the year. This paper studies how this redistribution of school days, and therefore child care days available through school, affects maternal employment. The presence of year-round calendars in a district could be correlated with other district level attributes that might affect female employment rates. I therefore use a differencing method that compares the influence of district year-round enrollment on the employment rates of women with school-aged children relative to women whose eldest child is pre-school-aged. Unobserved district factors should affect employment rates of women with school-aged and pre-school-aged children similarly, yet only women with school-aged children should be directly impacted by school calendar. I find that redistributing child care days available through school into shorter intervals over time negatively impacts maternal employment. Among those women with school-aged children, those also having pre-school-aged children have the hardest time adjusting to differences in existing availability.

Convergence between attachment classifications and natural reunion behavior among children and parents in a child care setting

The current study examined the convergence between young children's attachment classifications in the laboratory-based Strange Situation Procedure and children's and parents' behaviors during naturalistic reunions after a day in child care. Fifty-eight parent–child dyads participated in this study. Children's attachment security assessed from the Strange Situation Procedure was significantly associated with ratings of children's security, avoidance, and delight toward their parents during the natural reunion episodes, and with parents' responsiveness during the natural reunion episodes. These findings suggest that natural reunions at the end of the day in child care reflect the quality of attachment relationships between young children and their parents.

Longitudinal evidence that fatherhood decreases testosterone in human males

In species in which males care for young, testosterone (T) is often high during mating periods but then declines to allow for caregiving of resulting offspring. This model may apply to human males, but past human studies of T and fatherhood have been cross-sectional, making it unclear whether fatherhood suppresses T or if men with lower T are more likely to become fathers. Here, we use a large representative study in the Philippines (n = 624) to show that among single nonfathers at baseline (2005) (21.5 ± 0.3 y), men with high waking T were more likely to become partnered fathers by the time of follow-up 4.5 y later (P < 0.05). Men who became partnered fathers then experienced large declines in waking (median: -26%) and evening (median: -34%) T, which were significantly greater than declines in single nonfathers (P < 0.001). Consistent with the hypothesis that child interaction suppresses T, fathers reporting 3 h or more of daily childcare had lower T at follow-up compared with fathers not involved in care (P < 0.05). Using longitudinal data, these findings show that T and reproductive strategy have bidirectional relationships in human males, with high T predicting subsequent mating success but then declining rapidly after men become fathers. Our findings suggest that T mediates tradeoffs between mating and parenting in humans, as seen in other species in which fathers care for young. They also highlight one likely explanation for previously observed health disparities between partnered fathers and single men.

Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Child Care During Toddlerhood Relate to Child Behavior at Age 5 Years

Disentangling the effects of maternal depression in toddlerhood from concurrent maternal depression on child behavior is difficult from previous research. Child care may modify any effects of maternal depression on subsequent child behavior, but this has not been widely investigated. We examined the influence of maternal depressive symptoms during toddlerhood on children's behavior at the age of 5 years and investigated if formal or informal child care during toddlerhood modified any relationship observed. Data were available from 438 mothers and their children (227 girls and 211 boys); the mothers who completed questionnaires during the children's infancy, in toddlerhood, and at the age of 5 years. Recurrent maternal depressive symptoms in toddlerhood (when study children were aged 2 and 3½ years) was a significant risk factor for internalizing, externalizing, and total behavior problems when children were aged 5 years. Intermittent maternal depressive symptoms (study child age 2 or 3½ years) did not significantly affect child behavior problems. Formal child care at the age of 2 years modified the effect of recurrent maternal depressive symptoms on total behavior problems at age 5 years. Informal child care in toddlerhood did not significantly affect child behavior problems. Recurrent, but not intermittent, maternal depressive symptoms when children were toddlers were associated with child behavior problems at age 5 years. As little as half a day in formal child care at the age of 2 years significantly modified the effect of recurrent maternal depressive symptoms on total behavior problems. Formal child care for toddlers of depressed mothers may have positive benefits for the child's subsequent behavior.

Understanding cortisol reactivity across the day at child care: The potential buffering role of secure attachments to caregivers

Full-day center-based child care has been repeatedly associated with rising cortisol across the child care day. This study addressed the potential buffering role of attachment to mothers and lead teachers in 110 preschoolers while at child care. Using multi-level modeling and controlling for a number of child, family, and child care factors, children with more secure attachments to teachers were more likely to show falling cortisol across the child care day. Attachment to mothers interacted with child care quality, with buffering effects found for children with secure attachments attending higher quality child care. Implications for early childhood educators are discussed.

Physical Activity Opportunities in Canadian Childcare Facilities: A Provincial/Territorial Review of Legislation

Preschoolers spend a substantial portion of their day in childcare; therefore, these centers are an ideal venue to encourage healthy active behaviors. It is important that provinces'/territories' childcare legislation encourage physical activity (PA) opportunities. The purpose of this study was to review Canadian provincial/territorial childcare legislation regarding PA participation. Specifically, this review sought to 1) appraise each provincial/territorial childcare regulation for PA requirements, 2) compare such regulations with the NASPE PA guidelines, and 3) appraise these regulations regarding PA infrastructure. A review of all provincial/territorial childcare legislation was performed. Each document was reviewed separately by 2 researchers, and the PA regulations were coded and summarized. The specific provincial/territorial PA requirements (eg, type/frequency of activity) were compared with the NASPE guidelines. PA legislation for Canadian childcare facilities varies greatly. Eight of the thirteen provinces/territories provide PA recommendations; however, none provided specific time requirements for daily PA. All provinces/territories did require access to an outdoor play space. All Canadian provinces/territories lack specific PA guidelines for childcare facilities. The development, implementation, and enforcement of national PA legislation for childcare facilities may aid in tackling the childhood obesity epidemic and assist childcare staff in supporting and encouraging PA participation.

Doing the Scut Work of Infant Care: Does Religiousness Encourage Father Involvement?

Considerable debate exists regarding whether religiousness promotes or impedes greater father involvement in parenting. Our study addresses this issue using a Midwestern longitudinal dataset that tracks the transition to first parenthood for 169 married couples. We focus on performance of the "messier" tasks of infant care. We find little evidence that religiousness enhances father involvement in this domain. Biblically conservative couples exhibit a greater gender gap in childcare than others, with mothers more involved than fathers. The gender gap is also greater the more fathers work outside the home, the greater mothers' knowledge of infant development, and the more unadaptable the infant. Average daily childcare is lower the greater spouses' work hours, but higher with difficult pregnancies or fussy babies.

Family Help By Greek Grandparents

The aim of this research is to investigate the role of grandparents in providing help in the care of their grandchildren in Greece. Many Greek grandparents provide regular child care and other kinds of family help, but very limited research has been carried out on this important topic. Quantitative data has been collected by administered questionnaire from 190 grandparents around Greece regarding the types of help given in the care of grandchildren, how often help was given, and grandparents' reasons for helping. The authors find that over a third (38%) of grandparents provide daily child care. Around 50% also babysit, provide household help, and pickup/drop off a grandchild at least once a week. Furthermore, 50% provide emotional support or advice on a daily basis, and 26% give financial support at least once a week. The vast majority (93%) report “I enjoy it” as one of the most important reasons for providing assistance. Over a third (38%) say they provide assistance to help the parental generation financially. Grandmothers are significantly more involved in child care and household help than are grandfathers. No significant differences have been found for involvement in the various forms of family help according to area of residence, educational level, or income level (with the exception of emotional support). The findings are discussed in the context of previous research on grandparents and of recent social change in Greece.

Young Children's Full-Day Patterns of Cortisol Production on Child Care Days

To examine toddlers' full-day patterns of cortisol production on child care days and non-child care days, with a particular focus on whether the mid-afternoon elevations at child care persist into the evening or decrease to typical levels observed on non-child care days. A prospective observational study. Four child care centers in a suburban, mid-Atlantic area. Forty-two children aged 16 to 24 months attending full-day child care. Full-day child care. Salivary cortisol samples obtained at wake-up, mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and bedtime for children on 2 child care days and 2 non-child care days. Children showed different patterns of cortisol production on child care days compared with non-child care days (chi(2)(4) = 18.21, P = .001). Child care days were characterized by an afternoon increase in cortisol levels (unlike non-child care days) and decreases to bedtime values that were comparable with levels on non-child care days. Results suggest that the effects of child care on children's cortisol production are time limited across the day.

Low Levels of Objectively Measured Physical Activity in Preschoolers in Child Care

Physical activity (PA) undertaken at child care could assist in the achievement of PA recommendations across a large proportion of the population in early childhood. To review recent evidence on volume of PA and amount of moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA) in preschool children within child care centers. Literature search for studies published in 2000-2008 in which objective methods (accelerometry, direct observation, pedometers, HR monitoring) were used to measure typical levels of PA and MVPA of preschool children while within child care. Twelve eligible articles were identified, describing 13 studies, involving 96 different child care centers and >1900 children. In all six of the accelerometry studies that quantified MVPA and in three of the four studies that used direct observation to quantify MVPA, typical levels of PA within the child care center would have led to the accumulation of <60 min x d MVPA during a full 8-h child care day. A body of high-quality evidence is consistent in suggesting that PA levels within child care centers are typically very low, and levels of sedentary behavior are typically high.

Child care setting affects salivary cortisol and antibody secretion in young children

Elevated afternoon levels of cortisol have been found repeatedly in children during child care. However, it is unclear whether these elevations have any consequences. Because physiologic stress systems and the immune system are functionally linked, we examined the relationship between salivary cortisol concentration and antibody secretion across the day at home and in child care, and their relationships with parent-reported illnesses. Salivary antibody provides a critical line of defense against pathogens entering via the mouth, but little is known about its diurnal rhythm in young children or the effect of different environmental contexts. Saliva samples were taken at approximately 10:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on two child care and two home days in a sample of 65 3-5-year-old children attending very high quality, full time child care centers. Results indicated that (1) a rising cortisol profile at child care, driven by higher afternoon levels, predicted lower antibody levels on the subsequent weekend, (2) higher cortisol on weekend days was related to greater parent-reported illness, and (3) a declining daily pattern in sIgA was evident on weekend and child care days for older preschoolers, but only on weekend days for younger preschoolers. The results suggest that elevated cortisol in children during child care may be related to both lowered antibody levels and greater illness frequency.

Relationship of working mothers’ parenting style and consistency to early childhood development: a longitudinal investigation

This paper is a report of a longitudinal study of the relationship of working mothers' parenting style to their children's social competence and vocabulary/ motor/intellectual development. With an increasing number of women choosing to remain in the workforce after starting a family, there has been a concomitant increase in use of non-parental childcare facilities to help look after the child while the mother is at work. This increase in non-parental care has led to a dramatic change in the traditional child-rearing environment. Long-term investigations were conducted over a period of 2 years in 41 Japanese government-licensed childcare facilities. Child development was evaluated by childcare professionals and parenting style was assessed by questionnaire. A total of 504 children and their mothers participated in the study. Data collection was carried out in 2004 and 2006. We found that the changes in parenting style were statistically significantly related to children's development after 2 years. For instance, changes in the parent-child playing routine contributed to the child's social competence (odds ratio = 11.088). Variation in working mothers' disciplinary practices was also associated with children's vocabulary development after 2 years (odds ratio = 2246). Working mothers should increase interactions with their children in their free time to reduce the risk of developmental delay. Daily childcare support provided by family members or social organizations for long-term working mothers is helpful in mediating the negative relationship of mothers' working with children's development.

Cortisol patterns at home and child care: Afternoon differences and evening recovery in children attending very high quality full-day center-based child care

Previous work has found that many young children show different patterns of production of the hormone cortisol, which is sensitive to stress and challenge, on days when they are at child care compared with days when they are at home. At home, preschool age children typically show a decreasing pattern of cortisol production across the day which is the expected diurnal rhythm for this hormone. At child care many children show a rising pattern of cortisol production across the day. Lower child care quality has been associated with larger child care cortisol increases from morning to afternoon. The current study examined salivary cortisol at mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and evening on child care and weekend days in children attending the highest quality child care centers. Child-level classroom quality assessments were obtained using the Modified-Observational Rating of the Caregiving Environment. The rising pattern across the child care day was replicated, although in a smaller proportion of the children than previously reported. Variation in the quality of the child's niche or microclimate predicted these cortisol increases. When children returned home from child care, cortisol levels returned to levels observed on non-child care days even for children who showed the rising cortisol pattern during child care.

Children’s Cortisol and the Quality of Teacher–Child Relationships in Child Care

Teacher-child relationships were examined as predictors of cortisol change in preschool children. Saliva for assays was collected from one hundred and ninety-one 4-year-olds (101 boys) in the mornings and afternoons on 2 days at child care, and before and after a series of challenging tasks and a teacher-child interaction session outside the classroom. Parents reported on children's temperament, teachers and children reported on teacher-child relationship quality, and observers rated group-level teacher insensitivity. Teacher-reported relationship conflict predicted cortisol increases during teacher-child interaction and teacher-reported overdependence predicted cortisol increases from morning to afternoon, even after controlling for individual teacher, child, and classroom characteristics. The findings extend earlier work by suggesting that cortisol change across the child-care day is influenced by teacher-child relationship characteristics.

When Child Care Breaks Down

Qualitative research suggests that day-to-day problems with child care produce significant costs for low-income mothers. But the relevance of daily child care problems for mothers of all socioeconomic backgrounds has been largely overlooked. This article asks two interrelated questions: What factors shape how often mothers experience child care disruptions? and What factors shape how often care disruptions lead mothers to miss work? Using the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study ( N = 1,309), which includes mothers across the socioeconomic spectrum, this research finds that low-income mothers, mothers whose shifts vary, mothers who rely on patchwork care, and mothers with low social support are likely to experience care disruptions. But only mothers with low social support and mothers who use certain types of child care face an elevated risk of missing work. The findings underscore the widespread nature of child care problems and their heightened impact on socially isolated mothers.

Television Viewing in Child Care Programs: A National Survey

Although the amount of television that young children watch at home is well-described, to date no study has examined how much television preschool children watch in day care settings. We performed a cross-sectional analysis using the Profile of Child Care Settings Study, examining predictors of television viewing in center (n = 2089) and home-based (n = 583) child care programs. On average, preschool-aged children were reported to watch more than four times as much television while at home-based programs than at center-based programs (1.39 hours per day vs 0.36 hours per day); with significant differences between groups in the type of television content viewed, and in the proportions of programs in which no television viewing occurred at all. The proportion of programs where preschool-aged children watched no television during the child care day was 65% in center-based programs and 11% in home-based programs. The hours a program was open each day was associated with increased television viewing in both settings; provision of after-school care to older children and being in a county with high family poverty rates were only significant factors in center-based programs. Factors associated with decreased television viewing included post-secondary education of staff members, as well as the average staff volume of the program. Preschool children in day care settings watch a considerable amount of television in addition to what is viewed at home. These results further highlight the urgent need to better understand the effects of viewing on young children.

Children’s cortisol levels and quality of child care provision

Cortisol levels are increasingly being used as an indicator of stress levels. Research suggests that children who attend child care demonstrate higher cortisol levels than children in their homes, suggesting that child care acts as a risk factor for poor child outcomes. However, it is also suggested that quality influences outcomes. Cortisol levels were measured through samples of saliva taken from children (3-5 years of age) attending long-day care centres in Perth, Western Australia. Quality of the programme was measured using industry national quality assurance indicators designed for child care centres. The analysis employed a 2 (time of collection: average am cortisol, average pm cortisol) by 3 (centre quality: high, satisfactory, unsatisfactory) split plot ANOVA with repeated measures on the time factor. Cortisol levels of children attending high-quality programmes demonstrated a decline across the child care day. Levels in children attending unsatisfactory programmes demonstrated an increase across the day. Although we do not yet know how high, and for how long, cortisol levels need to be elevated for risk of undesirable outcomes to increase, this research signals the importance of emphasizing the need for high-quality care for young children.

Work and Care Strategies of European Families: Similarities or National Differences?

Abstract This paper examines the work and care strategies chosen by full‐time working families with children in Finland, Italy, Portugal and the UK. It asks whether European families in different countries, facing the same problems of balancing employment and childcare responsibilities, respond to their situations in similar ways. An increase in dual‐earner families where both parents work full‐time represents a general employment trend in today's Europe. Also, within families with children, such employment patterns are now more common than they were previously. National differences may therefore not any longer be as marked as often indicated by country‐based surveys. The qualitative data from the SOCCARE Project offer a way to examine this issue. The focal point of the paper is to make a comparative analysis of couples in similar work and care situations. Using their working hours as the common denominator, this paper analyses their daily childcare arrangements and how these are impacted by gender roles, working schedules, flexibility of workplace, income levels, parents’ educational background and availability of care facilities. The paper concludes that European families’ work and care strategies have many similarities whereby national differences may not be as marked as often indicated by contemporary research.

The Physical Demands and Ergonomics of Working with Young Children

The physical demands of working with young children in child care - the need to lift, carry, bend, and sit on small furniture and the floor - is an integral part of the child care day. Yet most research and writing on child care "health and safety issues" investigates susceptibility to and/or incidence of infectious disease, when it studies the adult worker at all. This paper examines the physical demands and ergonomic concerns within child care settings. The "why" and "how" of assessing the physical demands inherent in child care work and the worksite/classroom are presented. Problem areas and ergonomic recommendations for room design and staff training are discussed. There are important implications for writing job descriptions, determining essential job functions, staff orientation and training, and a commitment to improving the child care work environment.