The great child care debate: The long-term effects of non-parental child care

Gillian Doherty
Occasional Paper 7
Childcare Resource and Research Unit, 1996.

This paper reviews studies that compare children with non-parental child care experience to children without this experience. Two major themes emerge from this review: first, the research does not support the view that participation in child care is harmful; and second, it is important that the child care experience is of high quality.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Summary

1 Context

Introduction
Selection of the studies
Contemporary realities
Future realities
The great debate
The purpose of this paper
The format of this paper

2 Non-Parental Child Care Before Age One

Introduction
Extensive non-maternal child care in infancy and the security of the attachment between mother and child
Extensive non-maternal child care in infancy and later social adjustment.
The later effect of extensive non-parental child care

3 The Transition To Elementary School: Social Skills

Introduction
Peer relationship skills
Classroom skills

4 The Transition To Elementary School: Cognitive Functioning, Language skills, and Academic Reading

Introduction
Cognitive functioning
Language skills
Academic readiness and functioning

5 Effects Beyond Grade One

Introduction
Peer relationship skills
Classroom skills
Cognitive functioning
Language skills
Academic functioning

6 Quality Matters

Introduction
The concept of quality
A comparison of high and low quality care
The inability of the home to compensate for poor quality non-parental care
The requirements for high qality non-parental child care
Service or program variables
Contextual variables
Concluding observations

Endnotes
Bibliography

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