The Effects Of Day Care On Infants

Most of the housewives nowadays would likely to seek for a job in order to earn a living for the whole family, and it leads to a result of keeping infants at day care services. However, some critics argue about the sense of insecurity may be formed due to day care which may affect children’s mental well-being negatively, and directly links to the attachment theory. Bowlby (1953) define attachment theory as a long-lasting affectionate psychological bond in human beings, especially strong in the attachment between infant and mother. It is significant that the attachment and the day care would seriously affect the development of children. Therefore, this essay is aimed to illustrate how the attachment theory relates to the early day care, and whether it brings positive or negative influences to the infants and what would be resulted at the end of the effects. First, the stages in attachment theory would be stated, then, explain the linking of day care and attachment through the insecure stage

They are also more likely to have inadequate social skills, more hostile behavior, and trouble following the rules. Research suggests this occurs because children are stressed from the long hours, and because of the low quality of the daycare. (Berk, 2012) An important factor in preventing insecure attachment is attending a high quality daycare and good communication between the family and the daycare. Family circumstances play a huge role in attachment security. Parents must find a good balance between children, work, and stress to ensure their child has a healthy attachment. Families with excessive stress are more prone to attachment insecurity. Exposure to an insensitive or uncaring environment at home and in a daycare setting magnifies the chances of having an insecure attachment. (Berk, 2012) Children may have emotional issues when there is no attachment to one or more adults. Neglect and child abuse both contribute to insecure attachment. (Berk, 2012)

Sending children to day care can have short term and long term effects on a child’s

the age of 1 and was lowest in those who had not attended day care at

Today, there has been a minimal amount of research conducted on infant-mother relationships, and their association with the entry of toddlers into nonparental childcare facilities. There also appears to be a lack of knowledge on toddler stress levels during this adjustment period. The current study was conducted in Berlin, Germany, where children typically spend about a year at home before they enter nonparental childcare. Due to this delay, researchers were able to ask questions such as:

Families' reliance on childcare has risen significantly over the past 30 years. In 1993, 9.9 million children under age 5, needed care while their mothers worked (Bureau of the Census, 1995). More than two-thirds of all infants receive nonparental child care during their first year of life, with most enrolled for about 30 hours each week (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 1995).

The Strange Situation is meant to be a snapshot of the relationship between infant and caregiver, and provide insight into the dyadic patterns that define this bond. Securely attached children are thought to have a primary caregiver who is sensitive, available and receptive to their infants needs. Insecure-avoidant children have primary caregivers who are intrusive, controlling and hurtful. These caregivers may be present in the infant’s life but unable to understand their infants needs, and provide the correct response. Caregivers of insecure-ambivalent infants have been found to be unresponsive to the needs of the infant, and very often unavailable. The effect of this treatment is that the infant is starved for affection and attention. The infant also feels the need to amplify their needs in an effort to reach their caregiver (Barnett & Vondra, 1999).

55% of American mothers now return to work by the time their children are one years old -- out of either financial, professional, or personal necessity. In today’s society, there are concerns as to whether attending daycare during infancy produces negative or positive effects on the development of children. Many of these concerns are influenced by the fear that separating an infant from its mother may cause emotional harm to the child or disrupt the mother-infant bond. No study finds that children of employed mothers suffer solely because their mothers are working. Research has shown that mothers who work spend as much time playing with their babies as do mothers without outside jobs (Huston &

American parents should consider the consequences of daycare, in lasting physical and mental damage on behalf of toddlers and infants.

Daycare has become a controversy because of the great quantity of advantages and disadvantages that it involves. While a very large number of parents have to rely on child care centers because of career ambitions or financial needs that only their jobs can fulfill, most child psychiatrists believe that the ideal growing environment for an infant is at home with the family. The problem is that choosing the right caregiver, a good substitute for the parents, is very hard, and the consequences of a wrong decision can be very detrimental to the child’s personality development. This choice depends on many factors like culture, education and especially income. In fact, the financial availability plays the most

During the first part of the semester in Human Development Family Studies 102 we have been discussing vital information about all stages of life from womb to tomb and all parts of life in between. One of the most important stages in one’s life is early childhood when he or she is developing into the person that they will be when they enter the tomb so to speak. For this particular study I was sent to go observe the Palmer day care center located on Iowa State’s University to be able to see first hand the stages in life that different age groups are in, weather it’s the child’s physical, emotional, cognitive, language, or social developments that are lacking for the child’s age of above par for the child’s age. In the paper to come I will be describing my observations for two different age groups. The two groups that I observed were the infant program and the three to five-year-old room. The stages of life those two simple years can do for a young child is quite remarkable. From going to barely walking and or talking to running around and screaming asking questions and playing with the teacher.

While daycare/ childcare centers provide a safe haven for young children and left in the care of licensed caregivers, there is more to daycare then just temporary relief for parents. These facilities offer a nurturing and fun learning environment to promote curiosity, innovation, and continuous growth in developmental abilities and positivity in children, and they also have the ability to provide encouraging and engaging activities that endorse emotional, social, and academic development (Phillips 1987). Within these facilities, high quality care calls for each child reach greater levels of learning and can develop skills at their own pace under supervision.

One of the largest social controversies of the current time are the parental pressures attached to whether or not a child should attend daycare. While many parents struggle with this decision, others do not have the luxury of choice; many questions are raised asking if it is beneficial or harmful for infants and young children to attend daycare, spending the majority of their waking hours with caregivers other than their parents. There are of course many opinions and studies regarding this issue. As with any controversial topic there is no right or wrong answers for the masses. The majority of studies conducted all seem to have similar results. This is an issue and dilemma of such personal magnitude that it should not only be regarded

Is child care having a negative effect on the development of children in the United States? Studies show that there are indeed negative psychological and developmental effects on children. Scientists in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are coming to the same conclusion. It is best for a child to be cared for at home.

This independent day care assignment proved its importance into piecing together the various theories of human development. It allowed me to learn and experience the book contents and develop a clear understanding of its practical applications.