Is Daycare A Viable Option Essay, Research Paper

Is Daycare A Viable Alternative

Young families today face many tough decisions. Financially it is almost imperative that both adult members of the family work. With this a reality can one rest assured that their children are being taken care of properly? Health, socialization, and morals are just a few things that influence the decision that one has to make as to whether or not to place children in daycare centers.

When children are put into daycare centers many health concerns can arise. These health concerns can be as minor as a cold or as severe as a life threatening disease. Exposure to many other children from many different families greatly increases the odds a child has of contracting various illnesses. Children in a daycare center play together and do many activities in close proximity of one another, so that once a sickness is introduced to one child many others can be affected within a short period of time. However, children that are raised at home with a parent have a much less chance of being exposed to illnesses. There are usually not many other children to spread germs around. Even when a child being cared for at home gets sick it’s not likely that reoccurring illnesses will be a problem. An at home parent can take the extra time to take extra special care of a sick child.

It has been said that children in daycare centers learn the socialization skills necessary to lead them in the right direction later in life. A herd of cattle when they are fenced in a pasture also learn social skills; an order of hierarchy that enables them to get along together and take care of themselves. Not to compare children to cattle, but people of all different ages have to learn to get along in a number of different situations. To say that young children need to learn this lesson of life at a young age is a ridiculous assumption. Children raised with a parent at home learn what responsibility is all about. Going shopping, paying bills, doing the family errands, and chores teach children the many tasks that make the family a social unit. Children can meet and socialize with other children at such places as Sunday School, story times, etc. Children like adults learn to adapt or adjust to the circumstances they find themselves in naturally.

An enormous amount of responsibility is left for daycare workers to discipline the children left in their care, as well as dramatically affecting their moral development. Children will always do mischievous things to see what they can get away with. When many young children are together it is only reasonable to expect some degree of unruly behavior. When disciplinary problems arise, regardless of what parents may desire, daycare workers must address the situation and follow through with consequences. Problems arise when discipline at home is drastically different from discipline at daycare that can lead to confusion for the child. However, children raised at home under the supervision of a caring parent can instill the appropriate consequences or rewards that the parent deems necessary. Consistent behavior whether rewards or consequences enhance a child s moral stability and decision making ability. Children will develop the same goals, values, and norms according to those they spend the most time with; as responsible parents it is our duty to teach the goals, values, and norms in our children by modeling them ourselves.

With the health, socialization, and the morals of our children at risk, making the necessary sacrifices to raise your children at home, maybe the most rewarding decision families with young children make. Whereas society has changed drastically, normal can no longer be defined. We must remember that our children are our future; what we instill in them today will be what we get back in the future. Do we need two cars, a fancy house, designer clothes, and all the other nice things that dual income families can afford? I think not, at least not at the expense of our children.