High Quality Child Care

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Ashley Hanshaw Psych 205 Strayer October 21, 2008 High Quality Child Care Most new mothers have deep concerns that returning to work shortly after giving birth and leaving their baby in a child care facility every day could have a detrimental effect on the baby’s ability to recognize its mother. They have a tendency to believe that frequent contact with their baby is necessary in order for a mother-child bond to form, develop, and be maintained. Consequently, they wonder if child care is always bad for babies and young children. The level of interaction between babies brought to a child care facility and their mothers is no different than the level of interaction between babies who were cared for at home by their mothers. For example, the article “Results of NICHD Study of Early Child Care Reported at Society for Research in Child Development Meeting” by Robin Peth, stated that “quality child care in the early years, meaning care with a high degree of positive interaction between caregivers and children, can also lead to better mother-child interaction” (par 1). This article is a review of a project done by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development which cited thirteen studies which did not detect any differences in mother-child interaction associated with the amount of child care. Placing children in a child-care facility does not hinder the mother/child bonding as long as the facility is carefully selected. Quality child care provides an added source of emotional and psychological support and reassurance to the mother. “Higher quality of provider-child interaction in the child care setting predicted greater maternal involvement-sensitivity (at 15 and 36 months) and greater child positive engagement at 36 months.” (Peth par 14). It is also reassuring that the NICHD considers high-quality child care to be beneficial for

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