When a national study found children in day care more likely to
show signs of aggression, much of the media coverage depicted
child care as a breeding ground for violence.

But Diane Bales, an Extension Service child development
specialist with the University of Georgia College of
Family and Consumer Sciences, thinks the study findings
weren’t as cut-and-dried as the media portrayed them.

“The quality is the biggest concern,” Bales said. “Look for a
child care where the workers are open with parents. It’s also
good when the providers want to know about a child’s likes and
dislikes and then respond to those needs.”

The National Institute of
Child Health and Human Development study involved 1,300
children. Researchers found that about 17 percent of children in
child care more than 30 hours a week show signs of aggression.

Many Positive Effects

But that percentage isn’t particularly high, Bales said. And it
isn’t different for children in child care than for all children.
So it’s not certain that the aggression is related to the child
care. And some of the study’s findings suggest that high-quality
child care has many positive effects on children.

Many U.S. parents send their kids to child care every day. So
it’s important to focus on the positive things, Bales said, that
can be gained from child care and ways it can be improved.

When evaluating their child’s care, she said, it’s important for
parents to remember the study’s findings:

• The quality of child care matters. Children in
high-quality care aren’t as aggressive and tend to have higher
language and thinking skills than children in lower-quality
care.

Smaller adult-to-child ratios are better. Your child’s care
provider needs to be sensitive and responsive to children and
child-centered in their beliefs.

The care system should revolve around the children. The
child’s needs should be top priority. The best settings are ones
that provide stimulation and teach a child how to solve
problems.

• Hearing language helps build language. By reading,
singing and interacting with your children, you help them develop
language skills. Watching a lot of television can possibly lower
your children’s language skills. So be careful of the amount of
time they spend in front of the TV.

• Parents play the most important role in a child’s
development. If children receive loving care at home, they’re
less likely to show problem behavior in school or child care. A
parent who is warm and responsive to a child’s needs, who spends
time interacting with him or her and who sets consistent limits
is an important asset for any child.

When the study was first released, one of the investigators
recommended that parents and especially mothers cut back on their
work outside of the home.

Other researchers have since stepped forward, saying that his
recommendations were not based on the study’s findings but on his
personal beliefs.

Many parents have no choice when it comes to placing youngsters
in child care, Bales said. What they can do is be conscious of
the quality of care their child receives.