Non-parental Child Care and the Developing Child
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SOC 312
Instructor Heald
August 20, 2012

It has become increasingly difficult for families to enjoy even the most basic of necessities on a single income. Dual-earner families have become more common, which means that non-parental child care has become a necessity. There are three kinds of non-parental child care: in-home care, family day care, and center-based care. Children who receive non-parental child care are positively affected cognitively, psychological, and socially. In-home care is typically provided by a nanny or babysitter. The children are cared for in their own homes, an environment they are comfortable in. Family day care is a home-based child care facility that is licensed by the state. A family day care is run by the homeowners and they can usually only care for a small group of children ages 0 to 12 years. Center-based care has children grouped by age in different areas of the facility with qualified and fingerprinted teachers and aides. Children ages 2 years and older are typically in groups of twelve (12), younger children are in smaller groups as per licensing requirements by individual states. The type of child care chosen is not as important as the quality of care provided by those caring for the children.
A study on the cognitive development of young children in non-parental child care states, “it has been shown that children, especially from low-income families, who attend a quality preschool program, even part-time, are more verbally expressive and more interactive with adults that children who do not” (Burchinal et al., 2000; NICHD, 2007; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). The quality of the child care providers is important in shaping the cognitive development of young children. Enrichment activities are provided to children who already get the basic intellectual stimulation at home. For children who do not, there are intervention programs which enable the family to be the primary educator of its children. They also provide resources in the community so the family can receive needed aide (Berns, 2013).
Studies on the psychological development of children in non-parental child care show that “not all children who begin day care in infancy are insecurely attached, aggressive, or noncompliant, nor are they intellectually advanced. There are individual differences for daycare children just as there are for children reared at home” (Clarke-Stewart, 1993, Clarke-Stewart & Allhusen, 2005; Honig, 1993). Dr. William Sears and Martha Sears (2003) state, “it is the attachment with your baby that counts, not just the time you spend. A baby has an intense need to be with her mother that is as basic as her need for food. But the need for food is not continuous, nor is the requirement for mother” (p 411). The quality of the care provided for young children is important, but so is the role of mother and father. Building a secure attachment with children will only improve the psychological development of their children.
The social benefits to non-parental child care are why many children are placed in family day care and center-based care facilities. “Children who have had experience in a childcare program seem to be more socially competent than those who have not had such an experience. They are more self-confident, more outgoing, and less fearful. They are also more assertive and more self-sufficient” (Berns, 2013). A study by Schwarz, Krolick, and Strickland (1973) “examined effects of daycare on adjustment to a new environment…children who had attended child care continuously for 24 to 27 months…exhibited statistically higher social interaction scores [than children who had not]. The authors concluded that early child care experience does not lead to emotional insecurity as originally hypothesized” (Currier, 1984). Socialization alone is a benefit of non-parental child care. Children are taught through direction from authority figures and through observation of adults with children, and other children with peers, what is socially acceptable behavior.
Non-parental child care is very common in the United States. Children are being raised by nannies, in family day care centers, or center-based child care facilities. The children who benefit the most from non-parental child care are those who receive quality care, and quality attachment with their parents while at home. The children that consistently receive non-parental quality child care are more confident, securely attached, assertive and more self-sufficient. It is through the cognitive, psychological, and social development that is provided by caring parents, teachers and aids that shape the wellbeing of children raised through non-parental child care.

References
Berns, R. (2013). Child, family, school, community socialization and support. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
Burchinal, M. R., Peisner-Feinberg, E., Bryant, D. M., & Clifford, R. (2000). Children’s social and cognitive development and child-care quality: Testing for differential associations related to poverty, gender, or ethnicity. Applied Developmental Science, 4(3), 149-165
Clarke-Stewart, K. A. (1993). Daycare (rev. ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Clarke-Stewart, K. A., & Allhusen, V. D. (2005). What we know about child care (developing child). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Currier, N. & Schmith, P. (1984) Social development of preschool children in home care and day care settings. Journal of community health nursing: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Honig, A. S. (1993). Mental health for babies: What do theory and research teach us? Young Children, 48(3), 69-76
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2007). Are there long-term effects of early child care? Child Development, 78(2), 681-701
Sears, W. (2003) The baby book: everything you need to know about your baby from birth to age two. New York: Little, Brown and Company
Shonkoff, J. P., & Phillips, D. A. (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press