4.20: Child Care

In 2018, about 71.5% of mothers of school-aged and 65.1% percent of mothers of preschool aged children in the United States worked outside the home (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019). Since more women have been entering the workplace, there has been a concern that families do not spend as much time with their children. This, however, is not true. The Economist Data Team (2017) analyzed data from of ten countries (United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain) and estimated that the average mother spent 54 minutes a day caring for children in 1965, but 104 minutes in 2012. Only mothers in France spent less time in 2012 than in 1965. Men continue to do less than women at 59 minutes per day in 2012, but they provided more care than in 1965 when they averaged only 16 minutes a day. However, differences were found between working-class and middle-class mothers. In 1965 mothers with and without a university education spent about the same amount of time on child care. By 2012 the more educated ones were spending half an hour more per day. See Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\) for the difference between mothers in the United States who were university-educated (dark blue line) and those who were non-university-educated (light blue line).

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). U.S. mothers’ daily time spent in child care, 1965–2012. Image source.

To evaluate how early child care affects children's development, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2006) conducted a longitudinal study. This study is considered the most comprehensive child care study to date, and it began in 1991 when the children were one month of age. The study included an economically and ethnically diverse group of 1364 children assessed from 10 sites around the country. By design the study involved single parents, minority backgrounds, and differing formal education levels. Child care was defined as "any care provided on a regular basis by someone other than the child's mother" (p. 4). A regular basis included more than 10 hours per week. Child care arrangements included care from the father or another relative, care from a caregiver not related to the child in the child's home, small group care in the caregiver's home, and center-based care.

Overall results indicated that children cared for by their mothers did not develop differently than those who were cared for by others. Parents and family characteristics were stronger predictors of child development than child care facilities. Specifically, greater cognitive, language and social competence were demonstrated when parents were more educated, had higher incomes, and provided emotionally supportive and cognitively enriched home environments. When comparing higher quality child care with lower quality child care, differences were noted. Higher quality care, as measured by adult-to-child ratios, group size, and caregivers' educational and training levels, resulted in higher cognitive performance, better language comprehension and production, and higher levels of school readiness. Lower quality care predicted more behavioral problems and poorer cognitive, language, and school readiness.

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\). Child care quality partly depends on caregiver-to-child ratio. Image source.

The higher the teacher-to-child ratio, the more time the teacher has for involvement with the children and the less stressed the teacher may be so that the interactions can be more relaxed, stimulating and positive. The more children there are in a program, the less desirable the program as well. This is because the center may be more rigid in rules and structure to accommodate the large number of children in the facility. The physical environment should be colorful, stimulating, clean, and safe. The philosophy of the organization and the curriculum available should be child-centered, positive, and stimulating. Providers should be trained in early childhood education as well. A majority of states do not require training for their child care providers. While formal education is not required for a person to provide a warm, loving relationship to a child, knowledge of a child's development is useful for addressing their social, emotional, and cognitive needs in an effective way. By working toward improving the quality of childcare and increasing family-friendly workplace policies, such as more flexible scheduling and childcare facilities at places of employment, we can accommodate families with smaller children and relieve parents of the stress sometimes associated with managing work and family life.