A long-running study of over 1300 American children has found that putting pre-schoolers in daycare is associated with rebellious and aggressive behaviour throughout elementary school. Subsequent behavioural problems were seen even in children who attended quality child-care centres.
Researchers say the difference in behaviour between children who attended daycare and those who did not was small, but persisted even after taking into account parental income and other socio-demographic variables.
A much-anticipated report from the largest and longest-running study of American child care has found that keeping a preschooler in a day care center for a year or more increased the likelihood that the child would become disruptive in class — and that the effect persisted through the sixth grade.
The effect was slight, and well within the normal range for healthy children, the researchers found. And as expected, parents’ guidance and their genes had by far the strongest influence on how children behaved.
But the finding held up regardless of the child’s sex or family income, and regardless of the quality of the day care center. With more than two million American preschoolers attending day care, the increased disruptiveness very likely contributes to the load on teachers who must manage large classrooms, the authors argue.
The finding has proved so controversial that at least one researcher who worked on the project has fallen out with the others.
One of them [the study's authors], who wished to remain anonymous, accused lead author Jay Belsky, the director of the Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues at Birkbeck College, University of London, of "shouting 'fire' in a crowded theatre by exaggerating the negative.
On the other hand, Sharon Landesman Ramey, director of the Georgetown University Center on Health and Education, accused the authors of attempting (without success) to minimise the correlation between daycare and hostile behaviour.
John at Verum Serum highlights this feeble sop to daycare enthusiasts.
On the positive side, they also found that time spent in high-quality day care centers was correlated with higher vocabulary scores through elementary school.
So, kids who went to "high-quality" child care facilities can talk back to teachers and bully classmates using multi-syllabic words. Those little rotters will be very well-spoken.
For some reason, I don't think parents and school officials will find that particularly comforting.
h/t: Verum Serum
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