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INTRODUCTION

I. Some Disturbing Research Findings

Three different large daycare research projects were begun in the 90s. The results are consistent with each other and give cause for alarm.

1. The National Institute of Child Health and Development research (USA)

“… the more time children spend in any of a variety of nonmaternal care arrangements across the first 4 ½ years of life … predicts problem behaviour … assertiveness, disobedience and aggression.”
Assertiveness is defined as “bragging/boasting, talks too much, demands/wants attention, and argues a lot.” Disobedience is defined as “defiant, uncooperative, fails to carry out assigned tasks, has temper tantrums and disrupts class discipline.” Aggression is defined as “cruelty to others, destroys own things, gets in many fights, threatens others and hits others.” (2)

2. The Effective Provision of Preschool Education research (UK)
found that “high levels of group care before the age of three (and particularly before the age of two) were associated with higher levels of anti-social behaviour at age three.” (3)

3. The Families, Children and Child Care Study (UK)
has shown that young children who are looked after by their mothers do significantly better in developmental tests than those cared for in nurseries, by childminders or relatives… Such children tend to show higher levels of aggression or are inclined to become more withdrawn, compliant and sad. (4)

And more recently the results of the Quebec Daycare Study as reported in the Montreal Gazette February 02, 2006
“For almost every measure, we find an increased use of child care was associated with a decrease in their well-being relative to other children. For example, reported fighting and other measures of aggressive behaviour increased substantially.” The well-being of parents also declined, with more mothers reporting depression. There was also a greater incidence of hostile parenting and dissatisfaction with spouses. (5)

II. Why Parents are Best

Infant and child development expert Stanley Greenspan, in summing up the developmental needs of babies and young children lists the importance of “An ongoing, loving, intimate relationship (lasting years, not months) with one or a few caregivers in order to develop caring, empathy, and trust.” (6)

Infancy is the stage during which the foundations for trust, empathy, conscience, and lifelong learning are laid down… A child who does not find empathy by the age of three is likely to have difficulty showing empathy towards others. A person without consideration for others has a much greater tendency to drift towards anti-social behavior such as violent crime. (7)

In institutional daycare staff turnover, sick leaves, promotions, vacations, days off, split shifts, lunch breaks etc. make the provision of a consistent mother figure impossible. One study showed 15 new caretakers over 3 months. Additionally, when staff must cope with two or three under 3s at once, there is no way they can simultaneously meet the needs of each. (ask anyone who has twins or triplets.) (8)

“The problem starts at the beginning of life, when the scales are tipped toward a future of trust and love, or one of mistrust and deep-seated rage.”
“A demographic revolution is occurring which may result in future generations that have huge numbers of detached children.” (9)

Loving relationships are the foundation of a peaceful society and are essential for raising the next generation.

Daycare for under 3s puts at risk the development of empathy with its enormous anti-crime potential. Without empathy (fellow feeling) there is no internal check on antisocial behaviour.

III. What Do Parents Really Want?

In spite of pressure on mothers to be in the paid workforce and the enormous social/political pressure for more daycare, surveys have repeatedly shown that most parents would prefer to care for their own young children if that were possible.

A survey completed in 2000 by Public Agenda, a nonpartisan opinion research organization based in New York found that:
- parents prefer one parent staying at home over a “quality” day care as the best arrangement for children under five by a margin of 70 percent.

Catherine Hakim, a researcher at the London School of Economics got these answers when she asked parents what they would prefer:

20% would give their priority to family life (Home Centred Women)

20% would give their priority to careers (Work Centred Women)

60% would fit work around their family life (Adaptive Women)

“Hakim persuasively argued that by basing policies on the work-centred 20%, just because they conformed to certain feminist expectations, the home-centred group were disadvantaged, and so were the adaptive women, who often preferred shorter hours and other reforms that made it possible to meet the needs of children.” (10, 11)

“The Swedish case is very revealing – there was high quality infant care available to all and heavily subsidized. It was widely used in the 70s and 80s, but in the early 90s, parental leave was increased and now there is remarkably little use of childcare under 18 months. Parents voted with their feet.” (12)

The latest Gallup survey shows majorities of men and women preferring the traditional male and female roles of breadwinner and family caretaker, respectively. These results show that over the past four years, younger women -- much more than older women -- have turned away from working outside the home. Today, only 40% of younger women choose that option, compared with 56% of younger women in 2001 -- a 16-point decline. Among older women, the decline is more modest -- from 48% four years ago to 43% today. (13)

All of this is without comment on the fact that daycare makes breastfeeding, with its enormous proven preventive benefits much more difficult or impossible especially for a year or more (as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics) or two years or more (as recommended by the World Health Organization).

IV. Public Debate Unfairly Influenced

Beginning over 40 years ago with the writings of Selma Fraiberg and Burton White the damaging effects of daycare for under 3s have been documented. (14, 15)

For too long the public debate on daycare has been unfairly influenced by those who have a personal or political interest in portraying daycare as being without harm for children under age 3.

That most parents are not aware of negative findings is testimony to how successfully day care advocates have controlled the public debate.

From its earliest days, the feminist movement was on a collision course with what was widely known to be true about the crucial relationship between mother and child. To her credit, Simone de Beauvoir confronted this problem honestly when she argued that "women should not have that choice [to stay home], precisely because if there is such a choice, too many women will make that one." (16)

Former CBS news correspondent Bernard Goldberg has called the decline of parental influence over children “the most important story you never saw on TV.” … “America’s newsrooms are filled with women who drop their kids off someplace before they go to work… These journalists are not just defending working mothers – they’re defending themselves.” (17)

CONCLUSION

The information presented in this brief comes from many diverse authorities and major studies, and is consistent over many years.

The information is also unequivocal, and although the actual damage appears to be moderate in degree, it is very wide spread.

These data make apparent the urgent need to explore more vigorously solutions other than institutional daycare for children under three.

We subsidize university students because they represent an important investment to society. We should similarly support mothers for the first 3 years of nurturing for the investment they can make for all of us.

This brief is not discussing daycare after the age of three where studies show some benefit to some children particularly from disadvantaged families.

We believe that the economic advantage accrued to society by increased numbers of mothers of under 3s in the workforce is more than offset by the lifelong cost to society of children poorly nurtured in their earliest years. (18)

This large and compelling body of knowledge has been suppressed inappropriately by child care advocates, so that the stakeholders in this debate - primarily the young parents, but also the general public and our politicians – must be made aware of these consequences, so that informed decisions can be made on this critical matter.

References

1. Robertson B, Daycare Deception: What the child care establishment isn’t telling us. San Fransisco: Encounter Books; 2003.
2. NICHD – Early Childcare Research Network, Does Amount of Time Spent in Childcare Predict Socioemotional Adjustment During the Transition to Kindergarten?, Child Development. 2003; Vol. 74, No. 4, pp. 976-1005.
3. Bunting M. Nursery Tales. Guardian Unlimited. July 8, 2004. Available at: http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,1074,1256423,00.html Accessed July 11, 2006.
4. Roberts Y. Official: babies do best with mother. Guardian Unlimited The Observer. October 2, 2005 Available at: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1583072,00.html Accessed July 11, 2006.
5. Stastna K. Quebec daycare bad for children. The Gazzette (Montreal), February 2, 2006. Available at: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=d16cc6be-0622-4719-8b4d-bba03a6a8a76 Accessed July 11, 2006. See also: C. D. Howe Institute What Can We Learn from Quebec’s Universal Childcare Program? Available at: http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/ebrief_25_english.pdf Accessed July 11, 2006. See also: Baker M, Gruber J, Milligan K, Universal Childcare, Maternal Labour Supply and Family Well-Being. Working Paper 11832 Available at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w11832 Accessed July 11, 2006. ©National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 December 2005.
6. Greenspan S, The Four-Thirds Solution: Solving the Child-Care Crisis in America Today (Cambridge: Perseus Publishing; 2000.
7. Karr-Morse R, Wiley M. Ghosts from the Nursery: Tracing the Roots of Violence New York: Atlantic Monthly Press: 1999.
8. Leach P, Parenthood and paid work: the dilemma. Empathic Parenting Vol. 12 Iss. 4
9. Magid K, McKelvey C. High Risk: Children: Without a Conscience New York: Bantam; 1989.
10. Biddulph S. Raising Babies: Should under 3s go to nursery? London: HarperThorsons; 2005 p. 42
11. Hakim C. Work-Lifestyle Choices in the 21st Century: Preference Theory. (USA) Oxford University Press; 2001.
12. Bunting M. Nursery Tales. Guardian Unlimited. July 8, 2004. Available at: http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,1074,1256423,00.html Accessed July 11, 2006.
13. Gender Stereotypes Prevail on Working Outside the Home, The Gallup Poll Website Aug 17/05
14. Fraiberg S. The Magic Years. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons; 1959.
15. White B. The First Three Years of Life Prentice-Hall 1974.
16. O’Beirne K. The Kids Aren’t Alright – Daycare Deception: What the Child Care Establishment Isn’t Telling Us – Book Review. National Review. Sept. 1, 2003.
17. Goldberg B. Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News Washington DC: Regnery Publishing; 2001.
18. McCain M, Mustard J. The Early Years Study Report to the Government of Ontario 1999. Available at: http://www.children.gov.on.ca/CS/en/programs/BestStart/Publications/EarlyYearsStudy.htm Accessed July 11, 2006.