Does being a Stay-At-Home Mom make a Difference for Your Child?
Along with mothers, social scientists have also long debated whether being raised by a stay-at-home parent is better for a child’s social, emotional and intellectual development.
The latest research shows mixed results. According to an ongoing study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, Md., which has tracked more than 1,300 children in 10 cities since 1991, preschoolers who attend day care for a year or more have an increased chance of discipline problems through the sixth grade, regardless of sex, family income or the quality of the day care center. On average, the more time that a child spends in day care (especially as an infant or toddler), the more problems arise.
But the study, published in the March-April issue of Child Development, also found that high-quality day care attendance is linked to children’s higher vocabulary scores through elementary school.
The takeaway message is that both the quantity and quality of child care do matter,” says Sharon Ramey, director of the Georgetown University Center on Health and Education in Washington, D.C. As a result, Ramey recommends that working parents should try to arrange their schedules creatively so that a child doesn’t have to be in nonparental care for excessively long periods of time — say, more than 30 to 40 hours a week.
In addition, Ramey says that research is just starting to show that not only is it important to find high-quality child care, but it’s also important to find the type of care that works best for your son or daughter and that takes his or her personality and individual needs into account.
In other words, a place that works for one youngster may or may not be the right place for another youngster. Thus, working parents need to be on the lookout for any signs of stress or distress in a child who attends day care — such as unusual crying or hitting incidents — and deal with them proactively.
Still, despite the somewhat troubling research findings regarding day care and discipline problems, Ramey notes that this new study “also affirms, again, that home environment has the largest and most lasting effect on a child.” This includes the overall quality of parenting — which is a stronger and much more significant predictor of developmental outcomes than any early child care experience.
[via Revolution Health Group]