Children’s Behavior is Not Adversely Affected by Daycare :: Expository Essays Research Papers

Children’s Behavior is Not Adversely Affected by Daycare Recently daycare centers have been in the spotlight because of the argument that children who spend a lot of time in daycare tend to have more behavior problems such as over aggressiveness when compared with kids who stay home with their mommies. The following two points of views concerning this controversy illustrate the divide between those who believe daycare is benevolent and those who believe it to be detrimental to children. This first article concerns the results of an ongoing study given by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development about the effects that daycare may have on a child. According to the Newsweek article â€Å"A new battle over day care† (April 30, 2001), this study indicates that kids who spend more than 30 hours a week in child care are three times more likely to be aggressive, defiant and disobedient by the time they reach kindergarten than those who are raised by maternal care. The study on the effects of childcare had made many working parents anxious. Sarah Friedman, scientific coordinator of the study, says, â€Å"The easy answer is to cut the number of hours children are in care†. However, she also mentioned that scientists do not know yet if the hours spent in daycare are the only factors that may increase the child’s aggressive behavior. On the other hand, another article reports that some people believe that daycare won’t ruin the kid’s behavior. Early press reports relied on the account of just one long time childcare critic, Jay Belsky, out of the 29 researchers involved and thus the data in the study may have been misrepresented. NICHD researcher Martha J. Cox of the University of North Carolina says, â€Å"He is more extreme in his views than the rest of us†. Also, Susan B. Campbell, a team member of the University of Pittsburgh, mentioned that children’s behavior such as demanding attention, pushing, teasing, and fighting are completely typical for children whether or not they attend daycare. My opinion about this topic is that we should help our society make life a little easier for moms and dads who must manage the balance between work and family. Help for those parents who need childcare to find a high-quality daycare for their children is essential. We should keep in mind that for many of us, childcare is not a choice but an economic necessity.