How Early Childcare Impacts Your Child's Development

Raising kids is quite a challenge in itself, but we parents tend to complicate the job even more by constantly second-guessing ourselves and the parenting decisions we make, especially during the early years. Should you stay at home with your young kids, or go to work and send your children to daycare? That's a big decision that should be based on many factors, but it's also a hot topic among mothers — one that often turns nasty. 

What's better for toddlers and preschoolers? Spending their early years with mom as the primary caregiver, or regularly attending a daycare center with other children and scheduled activities? Which environment offers more intellectual, emotional and social stimulation? Will making the wrong choice damage your child forever?

Early Childhood Matters — But One Environment Isn't Necessarily Better Than Another

The NICHD Study of early child care and Youth Development followed over 1,000 children from birth through high school. The participants were ethnically and demographically diverse. During the first two years of a child's life, most non-maternal childcare took place in a home environment with relatives or home-based childcare facilities. After age two, childcare tended to be daycare center-based.

There is no doubt that culture shapes people's opinions on early childcare practices. Some conclude that center-based childcare is essential for a child's social development, while others hold that young kids belong with mom. 

The quality and quantity of any non-maternal childcare mattered somewhat, but not in a very significant way. The study concluded that kids who had high-quality non-maternal childcare in their first four and a half years had slightly better language and cognitive development, and were also a little more co-operative. 

Those kids who spent more than 30 hours a week in childcare had somewhat more behavioral problems in Kindergarten than those who spent less time in childcare. Kids whose childcare was center-based had better academic skills than those whose childcare was not center-based.

A child's home life was found to provide much more significant information about his or her development than any childcare arrangements, meanwhile.

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The only aspect of this study that might get some people up in arms is that being cared for by daddy was described as "childcare" in the research. While I respectfully disagree that spending time with dad amounts to "childcare" (it's just parenting), we also have to acknowledge that daddy care is (still) not the norm. I think the main thing we can take away from this study is that any high-quality care helps kids thrive. Of course, neglectful care is harmful whether it's provided in a daycare center, by a nanny, or by moms and dads. 

Offering The Best Early Childhood Experience

Kids do well in good-quality childcare, and they do well with in a loving family setting. Parents who have the luxury of choosing between regular center-based childcare and staying at home with their young kids can, in other words, make the decision they personally feel best about. Those who don't have much of a choice can also live without guilt. 

Only two questions remain, then, for parents who are currently in the process of making choices about where their child should spend time. How do you choose the best possible center-based childcare for your kids? And how can you provide an environment that is equally socially and intellectually stimulating if you care for your child yourself or have other individual-based childcare, like that provided by a nanny or grandma?

Academics And Socializing For Kids Growing Up At Home

Are you a stay-at-home mom or dad? Do you have a nanny, a regular baby-sitter, or perhaps grandparent childcare? The study we mentioned showed that kids who don't attend center-based childcare tend to have scores slightly lower than those who attend daycare centers with peers when it comes to language and math skills. Many people also wonder if children who don't attend preschools or daycare centers have enough social interaction with peers. 

Academic preschools and many daycare centers actively work on cognitive skills like early mathematics and language development. Not every parent agrees that academic skills are important or even desirable at an early age, but you can easily work on these skills at home. 

Reading to kids frequently, pointing out letters and numbers, and taking them on errands to experience the "real world" are all activities that come very naturally. The activities a good daycare center engages in unfold in a similarly natural way, as an aside — early education should feel fun, easy, and unforced.

Setting up playdates with friends on a regular basis takes care of social interaction with peers — but if you have several kids that are relatively close in age, siblings serve a very similar purpose. 

Choosing The Right Childcare

What did the NICHD study mean by "high-quality" center-based childcare? Providing an adequately-stimulating environment for a young child really isn't that hard, and choosing a great preschool or daycare isn't rocket science either. 

You're looking for care-givers who interact with kids in a positive way — by providing support, encouragement, praise, conversations and the occasional hugs and pats on the shoulder. Good childcare facilities work to ensure positive contact between peers, and seek to minimize conflict between kids. 

They also work on early academic skills, just like you might do at home. Your childcare provider should read to the kids in her care, sing songs, engage in crafts, and teach them early math skills like shapes and numbers to 10.

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Before enrolling your child in a facility, check their license with the appropriate authority, and ask to observe the care. Interacting with other parents and regularly discussing your child's progress with care-givers also helps you ensure that your child is doing well. If your child is verbal, talking to him or her about experiences in childcare provides the best insight into the quality of care. 

Children who feel good will behave well, and kids who were well cared for in early childhood will generally turn out to be well-rounded later on. Ten years from now, nobody will know if your child went to a good childcare facility or spent his early childhood within the family!