In the ongoing debate over the merits of day care, a new study suggests that it offers a striking benefit for some children. Disadvantaged kids, researchers found, are significantly less likely to develop chronic aggressive behavior later in life if they receive regular care outside their home.
The new paper, published in the November issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, was one of the first large-scale studies to examine the protective effects of "nonmaternal care" — day care or family-centered care provided by someone other than the mother — on preschool age children in the general population. Researchers at the University of Montréal followed 1,691 infants born in Quebec between 1997 and 1998, for a period of five years. During that time, investigators interviewed each mother annually; at 17, 30, 42, 54 and 60 months, the mothers were also asked to rate the frequency of her child's aggressive behavior.
While some past research has suggested that children who attend day care at a very young age may be more, not less, likely to develop behavioral problems, such as biting, kicking and hitting, the current study found the opposite effect — at least in at-risk children. Disadvantaged children — those born to mothers with a low level of education (less than a high school diploma) — who received an average of 21 hours a week of outside care were three times less likely to develop physically aggressive behavior than their homebound peers. In contrast, nonmaternal care had no effect on better-off children whose mothers had advanced levels of education (at least a high school diploma) — these kids were already at a low risk of aggression.
Researchers also found that earlier is better: Placing at-risk children in day care before nine months of age nearly doubled its protective effects. "People worry about the negative impact dayc are has on society," says Sylvana Côté lead author of the study and professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Montreal. "But for disadvantaged children, it actually helps."
"Some children," says Cote, "are better off not being home with their mother."
Côté's study suggests a correlation between day care and a lower level of aggression, but it doesn't show a direct causal link — that is, it doesn't say why. She and her colleagues hypothesize that outside care gives at-risk children the kind of structured and nurturing environment that they may not get at home. Past studies suggest that children in less educated households are more likely to be exposed to poor parenting, poverty, low levels of stimulation and a disorganized home — risk factors that can lead to problems in adulthood, like unemployment, mental instability and continuing poverty. "Outside care serves as an early intervention," Côté says. "Placing them in another environment for a period of time each week is enough to prevent those negative effects."
The problem is, according to the study, children who were most likely to benefit from day care were also the least likely to receive it. Before kindergarten, 12% of disadvantaged children had never received day care, compared with just 5% of advantaged children. That statistic isn't likely to change anytime soon. "We need to pay more attention to educating parents about how to parent at a very young age," says Linda Smith, executive director of the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies.
The authors of the current study hope their findings will help reshape the way we think about the child care industry. "[Day care] isn't a bad thing," Côté says. "In many ways, if the environment is structured, it can be a necessary preparation for school."
The authors of the current study hope their findings will help reshape the way we think about the child care industry. "[Day care] isn't a bad thing," Côté says. "In many ways, if the environment is structured, it can be a necessary preparation for school."
The take-home message of the current study, Smith says, is that childcare is multidimensional — and that the impact of outside care can be quite significant. "We often see childcare as a work support system, but it is also a platform for a child's development," she says.