A new book from Brian Robertson of the Family Research Council attempts to expose the lies being promoted by the day-care industry.
Day Care Deception (Encounter Books, 2003) is Robertson's in-depth look at day care and the two huge deceptions the author says the day-care industry is promoting with the help of the media.
According to Robertson, one of the major deceptions of day-care proponents involves “continuing attempts to cover up or explain away the social science findings that show the serious risks of over-reliance on non-parental group care for pre-school children.” And the other false claim being widely promoted, he says, is that “greater public investment in organized group care for children is something that time-strapped working parents demand.”
According to Robertson's research, studies show numerous psychological and physiological health risks to children associated with day-care centers. He says because of such findings, most parents — by a 12-to-1 margin — do not support the concept of day care. And by an overwhelming margin of 81-to-1, parents do not feel their children get the kind of affection they need at day-care centers.
But Robertson says day-care industry advocates are continuing to purport that working parents are demanding more help in caring for their children. He believes the industry is using these and other deceptions to push for a national day-care system.
Robertson points to research conducted by a New York-based group called Public Agenda. He says the group conducted a survey of American parents and what they think of day care. The results, he says, differed vastly from day-care industry claims.
The author says Public Agenda's survey showed that 63% of the parents felt that even a top-notch day-care center cannot match the care a child would receive at home, and 71% said parents should only rely on a day-care center when they have no other option. And if non-parental care is absolutely necessary, 78% of the surveyed parents believe that relying on a grandparent or other close relative is the best solution.
“Eight out of ten agreed with the statement that no one can do as good a job of raising children as their own parents,” Robertson says. In Day Care Deception, the author makes it clear that day care is not what most parents want for their children, despite what day-care industry advocates may say.
(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)
