The more time young children spend in day care, the more likely they are to be aggressive or disobedient, says the latest report from an ongoing U.S. federal study released last week by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIHCD). The report confirmed the importance of the majority of young children's time being spent with their parents.
The link between daycare hours and behavioral problems “occurred across all family backgrounds and all types and quality of care,” said the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, which involved more than 1,000 children. Problem behaviors included disobeying adults, destroying other people's possessions, arguing, fighting, lying, cheating, screaming, bragging or bullying.
The study did find evidence of the importance of quality day care, but found that high quality of child care “did not eliminate the link between hours in care and behavioral problems.” Author Julie Shields said that while high-quality day care is better than low-quality day care, parents should avoid putting their children in child care when they are too young or for too long a period. The link was particularly strong among children in center-based day care.
For the story in the Washington Times, click here.
(This update courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.)
