Effects Of Daycare Essay, Research Paper

The Effects of Daycare

We all go through and experience some form of care from someone other than our parents throughout infancy and early childhood. Whether it was your grandparents or aunts and uncles or if it was a friend of the family paid to take care of you, it is considered daycare. Having a child in daycare does have an effect on attachment.

Children who attend daycare seem to accept strangers more readily and are not as anxious when their mother or father leaves them. People who leave their children in the care of others for a considerable amount of time often speak of spending quality time with their children during the hours they have with them however, sometimes children benefit from spending time at home with their parents in a more relaxed manner and not under constant stimulation. A toddler who spends a lot of time in daycare would be more likely to accept the comfort of a stranger.

While time apart from their parents make some children become detached from their family, some children are different and still have affection when they see them. Different children respond in different ways to this situation. The time that the child is there plays a big part in the way a child will respond and also the environment that the daycare is in. Each child reacts differently to daycare. Some children become bored very easily at home with mom or dad and really need the interaction of other children the same age. Other children seem to require more time alone with their parents. No two kids are alike in their needs.

Quality time is good but one cannot plan every quality moment. Quality moments happen spontaneously during the course of the day. Most families need some kind of childcare. Just as consistency and quality are important, trying to minimize the hours spent away from one s child is just as important.

Daycare, in either scenario, has both positive and negative effects on children that may either help them to develop into intelligent social beings or prevent them from developing the necessary skills needed for social interaction and confidence in building relationships.

A positive scenario would be as follows: A child attends daycare at a center under the supervision of certified teachers who specialize in early childcare. Along with the guidance of the supervisors, the children would have the opportunity to interact with other children of the same age. This type of environment allows the child to build healthy relationships yet due to the amount of students attending, remain detached enough to recognize that the relationship with his/her parents and significant others is more important than those of the daycare.

A negative scenario would be as follows: A child is dropped off daily at a babysitter (possibly a friend of the family or an in-law). This is not a bad thing but it negatively affects the child s development, unconsciously. It keeps the child separated from the mother as well as other children and promotes a mother-child relationship between the infant and the sitter.

Either way, daycare by any means is a necessity in today s modern society. The busy social and professional lives of parents require it. Parents must realize that certain forms of daycare can and will have drastic effects on their children concerning their development and they must choose carefully how their children are cared for while they are away.