Nonparental Child Care Research Articles

Foreign Domestic Helpers’ Involvement in Non-Parental Childcare: A Multiple Case Study in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT This multiple case study investigates the involvement of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) in Hong Kong early childcare. Three middle-class families were chosen; one parent, one FDH, one teacher, and one preschool child within each family were interviewed. A grounded theory analysis approach was adopted to examine the interviews. Analyses revealed the following four themes: (1) reasons for FDHs’ involvement in childcare; (2) discrepancies in childcare beliefs and practices; (3) interactions among children, parents, FDHs, and teachers; and (4) the influence of FDH-involved childcare on child development. Parents were driven more by the financial benefits of FDH-provided childcare rather than by pedagogical considerations; however, they also expected the FDHs to discipline children according to their educational goals. Because FDHs could only offer basic childcare, they frequently came into conflict with the parents. FDHs also faced multiple challenges with the school teachers, with the children, and even from the local cultural context. These conflicts and challenges FDHs experienced had a substantial impact on the childcare provided, and subsequently on the children’s language and socioemotional development. A theoretical framework was established to conceptualize FDH-involved non-parental childcare. The implications for childcare-related policies in Hong Kong and other societies were discussed.

Additive and synergistic relations of early mother-child and caregiver-child interactions for predicting later achievement.

This study examines associations between stimulating-responsive social interactions with mothers and nonparental childcare providers during the first 3 years of life and children's vocabulary and mathematics skills through age 15 (N = 1,364). Additive relations were found in which more stimulating-responsive interactions with mothers and with caregivers were linked to higher mathematics achievement in childhood and adolescence. More stimulating-responsive early interactions with mothers were also associated with larger child vocabularies through age 15. Synergistic relations, consistent with the dual-risk hypothesis, also were found. Children whose early interactions with both mothers and caregivers were low in stimulation and responsivity had substantially lower mathematics skills. Implications for early childhood interventions and policies are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Relationship Between Early Childhood Non-Parental Childcare and Diet, Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies.

The rising prevalence of childhood obesity is a global public health concern. Evidence suggests that exposure to non-parental childcare before age six years is associated with development of obesity, diet, and activity behaviours (physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep). However, findings are inconsistent and mostly from cross-sectional studies, making it difficult to identify the direction of causation in associations. This review identified and synthesised the published research on longitudinal associations between non-parental childcare during early childhood, diet, and activity behaviours. Seven databases were searched, and results were independently double-screened through title/abstract and full-text stages. Included studies were evaluated for risk of bias. Of the 18,793 references screened, 13 met eligibility criteria and were included in the review. These presented results on 89 tested childcare/outcome associations, 63 testing diet outcomes (59% null, remainder mixed), and 26 testing activity behaviour outcomes (85% null, remainder mixed). The scarce available literature indicates little and mixed evidence of a longitudinal association. This reflects a paucity of research, rather than clear evidence of no effect. There is an urgent need for studies investigating the longitudinal associations of non-parental childcare on diet and activity behaviours to assess potential lasting effects and mechanisms; whether and how effects vary by provider; and differences by intensity, duration, and population sub-groups.

Child Care and Child Care Policy: Existing Policies, Their Effects, and Reforms

We analyze policies that support and affect the provision and costs of child care in the United States. These policies are motivated by at least three objectives: (1) improving the cognitive and social development of young children, (2) facilitating maternal employment, and (3) alleviating poverty. We summarize this policy landscape and the evidence on the effects they have on the development of children and parents. We provide a summary of the use and costs of nonparental child care services; and we summarize existing policies and programs that subsidize child care costs, provide child care to certain groups, and regulate various aspects of the services provided in the United States. We then review the evidence on the effects that child care policies have on these objectives. We go on to discuss the existing evidence of their effects on various outcomes. Finally, we outline three reform proposals that will both facilitate work by low-income mothers and improve the quality of child care that their children receive.

Understanding early childhood education and care utilization in Canada: implications for demand and oversight

This study examined early childhood education and care (ECEC) utilization in Canada, focusing on use of unlicensed home child care (HCC) from an equity perspective. Data from the 2011 cycle of the General Social Survey (GSS) were used. Across Canada, parent responses reveal that 16.6% of children between the age of 12 months and entry to school were in unlicensed HCC. Another 24% of working parents reported having no regular form of non-parental childcare. Families with higher incomes were more likely to report using center-based care. Conversely, lower-income working parents with lower levels of education were more likely to use unlicensed HCC or report using no non-parental care at all. Comparison of parent responses in Ontario, however, where government estimates for the number of licensed and unlicensed HCC spaces are available, revealed that more parents report that their children are in licensed HCC than is possible. The lack of accurate parental reporting calls into question a key assumption of current regulatory systems, which is that parents are informed consumers of ECEC services. Given that many parents misreport the type of HCC their children use, and the equity concerns raised by the overall utilization patterns we found, we argue that governments need to take a more active role in oversight and support of HCC.

Testing adaptive hypotheses of alloparenting in Agta foragers.

Human children are frequently cared for by non-parental caregivers (alloparents), yet few studies have conducted systematic alternative hypothesis tests of why alloparents help. Here, we explore whether predictions from kin selection, reciprocity, learning-to-mother and costly signalling hypotheses explain non-parental childcare among Agta hunter-gatherers from the Philippines. To test these hypotheses, we use high-resolution proximity data from 1,701 child-alloparent dyads. Our results indicate that reciprocity and relatedness were positively associated with number of interactions with a child (our proxy for childcare). Need appeared more influential in close kin, suggesting indirect benefits, while reciprocity proved to be a stronger influence in non-kin, pointing to direct benefits. However, despite shared genes, close and distant kin interactions were also contingent on reciprocity. Compared to other apes, humans are unique in rapidly producing energetically demanding offspring. Our results suggest that the support that mothers require is met through support based on kinship and reciprocity.

Preventing unintentional injuries in US early care and education: Are state regulations sufficient?

Unintentional injuries are currently the leading cause of death among US children older than one. As many children spend significant time in non-parental child care, these injuries often occur outside of the home. This study examined US state early care and education (ECE) regulations related to injury prevention. We reviewed ECE regulations for child care centers and family child care homes through August 2018 for all 50 states and DC (“states”). We compared these regulations to six components from two national health and safety standards on injury prevention (“standards”). One state had regulations that met all six standards for both centers and homes; sixteen states had regulations that met at least five for both. Most states required child care providers to be trained in emergency preparedness (42 for centers; 38 for homes) or first aid including CPR (50 for centers; 46 for homes). Additionally, most states required providers in centers and homes to notify parents (47 and 41, respectively) and the state (40 and 41, respectively) when a child was injured; these requirements varied greatly in both the timing and manner of notification. Two-thirds of states required that providers keep copies of a completed injury form on the premises. However, few states (5 for centers, 3 for homes) required providers to take corrective action after an injury. Although most states had some injury prevention regulations, they varied greatly across states. More states should require corrective action after an injury to help prevent future injuries from occurring.

Child Care Subsidies with One- and Two-Parent Families

The implementation of child care subsidies has varied widely across countries and states, as well as over time, ranging from universal to poverty-tested eligibility. I study the implications of eligibility rules for child care subsidies in a general equilibrium, overlapping generations framework where altruistic parents invest in child skill. I allow for one- and two-parent families, and endogenize family formation with a marriage market. This explicitly incorporates single mothers, who currently parent 20% of children under 5 in the United States. Using individual-level data from the US Department of Education, I estimate how mother time, father time, and non-parental child care affect child skill for each family structure. These estimates allow me to account for the differential effect of child care subsidies on one- and two-parent families. My general equilibrium framework accounts for the effect of the subsidy on government expenditures as well as the skill distribution and, through that, on endogenous tax rates. I find that universal subsidies yield ex ante welfare gains of 5.9 percentage points, while targeting child care subsidies to one-parent families or poor families yields welfare gains of 2.4 and 2.0 percentage points, respectively. Universal subsidies more fully insure newborns against the risks they face than targeted subsidies, and do not disincentivize skill investment as happens with subsidies to the poor.

Women’s Employment and Childcare Choices in Spain Through The Great Recession

ABSTRACTThe Great Recession (2008–13) changed patterns in women’s employment and the use of formal and informal external childcare among mothers of young children in Spain. This paper analyzes these changes using an analytical strategy that takes into account interdependencies across the outcomes under study. The results show that the economic crisis has resulted in interesting changes in the use of external childcare across mothers’ and fathers’ employment status; for example, as men’s unemployment increased, the use of informal non-parental childcare declined, which might be related to (unobserved) changes in fathers’ involvement in childcare during the recession. These results further indicate the need for policies that improve access to formal childcare, as well as policies that provide men and women with employment stability.

Nonparental child care during nonstandard hours: Does participation influence child well-being?

Over the last three decades there has been a rise in the number of workers employed during nonstandard (evening and overnight) hours; accompanying this trend has been a renewed interest in documenting the well-being of these workers and their families. However, no work has considered how participation in nonparental child care during nonstandard hours is associated with child development That is the aim of the current paper. Using repeated cross-sectional data from the 1999 and 2002 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF), this paper investigates the relationship between participation in nonstandard hours of nonparental child care (‘nonstandard child care’) and child well-being. I begin this investigation by classifying children as participants or nonparticipants in nonstandard child care; next, I specify a child production function to estimate the relationship between nonstandard child care and child well-being. I find a generally negative relationship between nonstandard child care and cognitive, behavioral, and contemporaneous physical well-being measures. Mechanisms analyses suggest this relationship is driven by exposure to low-quality, unpredictable care arrangements.

The Quality of Nutrition and Physical Activity Environments of Family Child-Care Homes in a State in the Southern United States

BackgroundFamily child-care homes (FCCHs) are an important provider of nonparental child care for low-income families. Little is known about the quality of nutrition and physical activity environments of FCCHs in the southern United States, where child obesity and child poverty levels are high. ObjectivesTo assess the quality of the nutrition and physical activity environments of a sample of FCCHs in Mississippi and examine the differences by urban vs rural location. DesignCross-sectional study. Participants/settingData were from a random sample of 134 FCCHs that enroll children aged 3 to 5 years. The sample was stratified by urban vs rural location and participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Providers completed a modified version of the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation-Self Report tool by mail and reported on provisions, practices, policies, and the general FCCH nutrition and physical activity environment. Main outcome measuresA nutrition environment score (range=0 to18), physical activity environment score (range=0 to 24), and a combined nutrition and physical activity environment score (range=0 to 42) were calculated from Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation-Self Report tool data. Statistical analyses performedDescriptive statistics and t tests were computed, with statistical significance set at P≤0.05. ResultsAverage scores for the nutrition, physical activity, and combined nutrition and physical activity environment were 9.4, 11.1, and 20.5, respectively. The average nutrition environment score (9.6 vs 9.2; P=0.39) and physical activity environment score (11.3 vs 11.0; P=0.62) did not differ between urban and rural homes. The combined nutrition and physical activity scores (20.8 vs 20.2; P=0.50) also did not differ between urban and rural homes. ConclusionsFindings highlight the need to improve the nutrition and physical activity environments of FCCHs, regardless of geographic location. Further research is needed to understand barriers to providing higher-quality nutrition and physical activity environments.

Classifying Home-Based Child Care Providers: Validating a Typology of Providers’ Beliefs and Self-Reported Practices

Although home-based child care is a widely-used form of non-parental child care, relatively little is known about the home-based provider workforce and their beliefs and practices related to children and families. This study validates a previously identified typology of listed home-based child care providers (Hooper and Hallam, Early Child Res Q 47:194–205, 2019). The typology categorizes providers based on their beliefs and self-reported practices, rather than by licensing status or other structural characteristics. The current study uses exploratory and confirmatory latent profile analysis (LPA) to categorize a statewide sample of home-based child care providers (n = 234). Results of the confirmatory LPA suggest that the original typology identified in previous analysis of a nationally representative sample—Educationally Focused, Educationally Aware, and Caregiver profiles—fit the data well. However, an additional profile of Highly Engaged providers emerged in the exploratory analysis. Using the results of the profile analyses, I discuss implications for designing and implementing quality improvement supports for home-based child care providers to support them in providing high-quality child care.

The Baby Year Parental Leave Reform in the GDR and its Impact on Children's Long-Term Life Satisfaction

This article investigates the effects of an increase in paid parental leave -- twelve months instead of six months -- on children's long-term life satisfaction. The historical setting under study, namely the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), allows us to circumvent problems of selection of women into the labor market and an insufficient or heterogeneous non-parental child care supply, which are issues many other studies on parental leave reforms face. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) we analyze the birth cohorts from 1980 to 1989 at adult age, and apply a difference-in-difference design making use of the very specific timing of the GDR's parental leave reforms in 1976 and 1986. We find significant and robust positive parental leave effects on life satisfaction. We also analyze whether the increase in life satisfaction is driven by a positive development of personality, health factors, schooling or labor market outcomes. Our results suggest that the increase in life satisfaction might be partially explained by personality development for individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds and boys. For individuals from high socioeconomic backgrounds, it might be driven by a better health.

MOTHER’S EMPLOYMENT, CHILD CARE USE AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

This paper aims to analyze the effects of mother’s employment and non-parental child care on cognitive development in early childhood. Investment in the development of children at early rather than later ages provides higher returns in terms of labor market outcomes. Thus, decision making process of primary care givers are extremely important at this period. A nationally representative longitudinal data for the United States of America is used in this paper. Hybrid production function for the cognitive development is estimated within a dynamic framework using a two-step system Generalized Method of Moments estimator. The results show that more hours of center-based care significantly increase cognitive achievement and this holds true when center-based care is defined as full- or part-time. Furthermore, both a high quality home environment and a high quality out-of-home child care improve a child’s cognitive development while there is no statistically significant impact of maternal work hours.

The impact of quality rating and improvement systems on families’ child care choices and the supply of child care labor

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) are increasingly deployed by U.S. states to monitor and improve the quality of non-parental child care settings. By making information on program quality accessible to the public, QRIS attempts to alter parental preferences for quality-related attributes and encourage competition between providers. This paper draws on a variety of datasets to empirically characterize the way in which families and providers respond to the enactment of QRIS. Specifically, it exploits the differential timing in states’ QRIS roll-out to examine two sets of outcomes: (i) families’ child care choices and maternal employment and (ii) the supply and compensation of child care labor. Estimates from difference-in-differences models reveal several noteworthy findings. First, although QRIS induces families to shift from parental to non-parental care, economically disadvantaged families are more likely to use informal care, while their advantaged counterparts are more likely to use formal care. Second, QRIS increases the supply of high-skilled labor, particularly within the center-based sector. Third, all but the most highly-skilled child care workers experience rising compensation levels but also greater turnover. Finally, states that administer a wage compensation program alongside their QRIS experience larger increases in child care supply and compensation as well as lower turnover rates than states operating a QRIS in isolation.

Parental work status and children's dietary consumption: Australian evidence

AbstractThis study investigated associations between parents' work status and the dietary consumption patterns of Australian children, and whether such associations vary by parental education and usage of nonparental childcare. Data from the longitudinal study of Australian children at two waves from ages 2–3 years (n = 4601) to 4–5 years (n = 4381) were analysed. Logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios of children consuming (≥1 times/day) fruit and vegetables (FV), high fat foods (HFF), high sugar drinks (HSD), as well as evaluating the incidence of breakfast consumption. This was analysed against the employment status of parents including full‐time, part‐time and unemployed. Children of part‐time employed mothers were more likely to consume breakfast, and less likely to consume HSD compared with children of full‐time employed mothers. Children of part‐time employed fathers were less likely to consume FV and breakfast, and more likely to consume HSD compared with children of full‐time employed fathers. Children of nonemployed mothers were more likely to consume HFF, whilst those of nonemployed fathers were more likely to consume HSD and less likely to consume breakfast compared with other children. Amongst less‐educated parents, children of unemployed and part‐time employed parents were more likely to consume HFF and HSD and less likely to consume FV and breakfast compared with children of full‐time employed parents. Amongst highly educated parents, children of unemployed and part‐time employed mothers were less likely to consume HSD compared with children of full‐time employed mothers. Children of part‐time employed mothers who used family day care, day care centres and grandparent care were less likely to consume HSD and more likely to consume breakfast compared with children of full‐time employed mothers. Children of part‐time employed fathers and unemployed parents who used day care centres and grandparent care were less likely to consume FV and more likely to consume HFF compared with children of full‐time employed parents. Future studies should pursue a better understanding of the mechanisms for the adverse effects of parental work status on dietary consumption to develop and enhance specific interventions targeting these groups.

Environmental Cleaning Strategies Used by Child Care Centers During Illness Outbreaks

Purpose: Over 75% of children use non-parental child care nationally. Children attending child care centers (CCC) have more upper respiratory infections and diarrheal illness than children who stay at home exclusively. Children in CCC are also substantial contributors to the spread of illness into the community. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provides guidelines for the routine cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting of CCC facilities, but studies on cleaning practices are lacking. We partnered with our local county’s consortium of CCC directors to examine current centers’ practices and …

Childcare Quality and Child Development

Development in early childhood predicts schooling and labor market outcomes in adulthood. Many young children are in some form of nonparental childcare, but the quality of this care, in particular the quality of caregiver–child interactions, is often low. In this paper, we use data from Peru to show that infants and toddlers with caregivers who demonstrate higher quality interactions have significantly better communication, problem-solving, and fine motor skills. We also find evidence that the association between the quality ofcare and child outcomes is significant throughout most of the distribution of child development, and largest at the bottom of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic workers in Qatar

This study examines domestic worker issue in Qatar, and aims to increase awareness on the negative aspects of non-parental childcare on children’s growth. The findings shows that in Qatar many people have between 1 to 3 domestic workers. They find domestic workers to be highly important in their lives, but do not consider them trustworthy. Yet, many people give full responsibility of their house and chores to the workers, especially the responsibility of taking care of their children. Moreover, a high percentage of domestic workers are spending more time with children than their parents do, and children are losing touch with their mother language due to the non-parental care.

How Will Higher Minimum Wages Affect Family Life and Children's Well-Being?

In recent years, new national and regional minimum wage laws have been passed in the United States and other countries. The laws assume that benefits flow not only to workers but also to their children. Adolescent workers will most likely be affected directly given their concentration in low-paying jobs, but younger children may be affected indirectly by changes in parents' work conditions, family income, and the quality of nonparental child care. Research on minimum wages suggests modest and mixed economic effects: Decreases in employment can offset, partly or fully, wage increases, and modest reductions in poverty rates may fade over time. Few studies have examined the effects of minimum wage increases on the well-being of families, adults, and children. In this article, we use theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence concerning the effects on children of parental work and family income to suggest hypotheses about the effects of minimum wage increases on family life and children's well-being.