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I totally disagree with this article. I can speak from experience because I am a mother of three. Child care is very important because it helps the children grow in all areas (socail, emotional, physical and cognitive). There are some children that do not have the chance to go to a child care center. If the children are having "difficulties" in school then they need to be looking at the teacher's ways of teaching and their classroom schedule.

I work at a headstart program and I deagree with this article. I feel a child in a childcare facility will develop socially and emotionally. Some children do not have a chance to experience being in childcare. Once these children go into school they have to learn how to share, get along with other children, and learn a routine. This may cause some disruption in the classroom.

I would have to disagree with the article. In my opinion, keeping a preschooler in a day care center will give them the opportunity to interact with other children. At day care, children can develop positive social and emotional skills. They can also learn how to share, listen, respect other people and property. Day care allows children a lot of and imaginative play which helps develop their language skills. While at day care, preschoolers can learn how to make choices for themselves and learn how to feel good about the choices they made. I work at a day care and I see how the children have developed socially and emotionally. As an child care provider, I play an important role in helping children take the initiative and explore their environment. I do believe, allowing a child to attend preschool will improve their social skills and help make their transition to kindergarten easier.

I disagree, having children attend a preschool/daycare will give them the opportunity to interact with children their own age. The children can also develop positive social and emotional skills. In my class we do second -step activities. These activities are mental health activities. The children have the opportunity to discuss emotions and how they would handle certain situations. The children seems to enjoy talking about why they shouldn't call people names or hitting other people. The children also seems to enjoy telling me why they like helping other people.

I degree, a child bening in a childcare center until kindergarden enhants their physical, social, emotional, and cogniyive developments, preparing them for elementary. How ever I do believe that teachers as well as parents guidance and the child enviroment play a big part on a child behavior. It is a big transition for a child when he or she move from daycare to elementary this is a big step for them, a whole new enviroment and it take a child a while to gey use to changes.

I disagree with this article alot. I have a young child in childcare now, and she has been there close to two years. Her behavior is no different from when she is at home and when she goes to the center. It all depends on the upbringing of the child. I think misbehaving in children is something that is not taught but learned. Being in childcare should be a wonderful experience for children to go through and not for others to think that being there is going to make them misbehave once they start school.

In Elementary schools children have to sit for longer, form lines, and put up with teacher directed lessons and state and federal mandates such as passing tests! No wonder they have behavioral problems in Elementary schools!
In developmentally appropriate settings such as preschools they have CHOICE!!!! Children instinctive know where they need to develop, what areas are of interest to them and are natural investigators! In developmentally appropriate preschools children have choice, learn more efficently and are not disruptive because they are engaged in learing that is interactive, appropriate and fun! Isn't about time our higher education schools adopt the preschool perspective and teach with the children in mind and not to pass a mandated test? I learned better and retained more when I studied what I was interested in and in my own way. I think it's time for our schools to recognize this. Listen to your teachers they are the ones in the classrooms, in the trenches so to speak! They have their fingers on the pulse of children and know what and how they learn best. Leave the teaching to the teachers and work more on how to support both teachers and students in their learning! Take a suggestion from Alfie Kohn--work toward "Schools that Our Children Deserve"!

I've developed a defensive attitude lately about the "research" and cost cuts that are negatively reported regarding our schools, preschools, centers, etc., and what influence and effect it has on today's children. Every time there's a millage election, I hear people say, "Why do I have to pay more money when I don't have any kids in school?"
I say to them, "Who supported you while you were attending school?" Society complains when more taxes or raises are asked for to keep our schools and education system up to the highest standards. It's left up to the teachers and the schools when it should be the community as a whole. There is, and has been, too many children in school who's parent(s) provide little to no interest in their childs academics or social/emotional development and then blame the school or teacher when their child shows a lack of self confidence or achievement. I agree with the previous post, "it takes a village".

I have worked with young children and their families for all of my adult life. I was a Teacher Aide, Teacher Assistant, Lead Teacher, Center Director and now Program Manager, For those of us who are on the front lines, there is no validation in that article. We must ask ourselves what is the expectation for an Early Education Program versus the expectation for an Elementary/Middle School. Define the behavior that is not acceptable? Who decides what is inappropriate? Is it wrong for a child to expect one on one attention and to be respected as an individual. To ask questions and demand attention? The very thing one educator may struggle with is the same thing another may relish.
We cannot expect a child to conform, we can only expect them to be who they are and guide their uniqueness in ways that allow them to mature into the best they can. Educators should be secure enough to rearrange strategies to ensure the children in their care learn, not force an agenda on children that makes them feel like a failure. Please stop placing blame and work together so that our children are cared for and educated.

Thank you for all your comments. I am a single mother of an active five-year-old boy who is in child care 40+ hours per week. It takes a village to raise our children and I am so grateful for my providers who give their lives to guiding our next generation. Parents and providers do need to be a strong team. Keep up the excellent work providers!

My great concern after reading all of the posts on this subject is that it has enormous potential to further polarize the various people in children's lives, rather than bringing us all together to work for the good of children. Everyone is defensive: "It's not childcare, it's the public school', "it's large centers, not small ones", "it's center-based care, not home-based," "it doesn't matter what we do, the parents aren't doing their jobs." The sooner we can all stop seeing one another as opponents and begin thinking as one team for children ~ parents, care providers, public school teachers, legislators ~ the sooner we will improve the lives of our children. We need to stop looking for someone to blame, and start finding ways to work together. I am fortunate to run childcare programs (preschool and school age) in a community where there is a partnership with the local elementary school. They value our work, we value theirs and we work together for the children. Today's reality is that many children must be in care for a substantial length of time. Rather than waste our time trying to figure out who's doing what wrong, we should be working together to make childcare and the public school system the best they can be. Our energies would be best used building partnerships and forcing our legislators to listen to those of us on the front lines, so that they will make our children a priority in legislation and funding. Rather than pointing fingers, let's work together.

I agree with Loudell. If all grades through 12, were delivered with the sensitivity to a child's strengths & weaknesses, developmental stage, unique disposition, cultural background, socio-economic condition, and their right to be respected; children and our society would do far better as they go through school and into society as adults.

What I find interesting about this article is that it does not address the length of time that a child is in childcare or preschool per day nor the involvement the parents have with the preschool. I would also like to mention that there is a drastic difference in the choices children have in preschool and the choices they have in public schools. Children no longer have the opportunity to express themselves creatively through some art media in public schools and are expected to learn the same way their classmates are. There are many different learning opportunities in preschool that are hands on and unique to each child.
I hope that people do not come to the wrong conclusion about preschool experience due to this article and that they can see the need for changes in our public schools as well.

I am the director of a child care center; a problem that I see is that many times when we discipline children and then report to the parents of their behavior, the parents dismiss it and then offer the child a treat to get in the car on a timely basis. I believe that children need limits; we practice developmentally appropriate discipline but when the parents do not continue it is difficult for children to listen. My staff are required to have contining education yearly in child development and know what to expect at the different ages. I also believe that children who spend time in child care have a better social experience in school. They have already learned how to wait their turn, make friends and stand in line for short periods so this is not a new experience.

Disruptive behavior of a child in any situation is calling for attention. Who is responsible when a child misbehave in home or school?
The burden comes on parents for they are the first teacher to their children.

I agree for the most part with many of the comments that have been made. What is deemed "disruptive" could well be relative. I feel that developmentally appropriate practice should be a guiding principle even in our elementary schools and then perhaps children's behavior would be seen through a different lens. In my opinion the needs of the institution/school are all too often placed before the needs of the children...due to a lack of teachers classrooms are overcrowded in many instances and children are forced into developmentally inappropriate situation; having to wait for extended periods of time, sit silently (how many of us as adults could do so for as long as some children are expected to), and work independently. I believe that it is high time for a shift of focus and for us to stop blaming our early childhood education programs for all of the ails of elementary schools.

In too many cases, the child who is labeled as disruptive in school is the child who is eager to learn, confident, and active. Valued by the teacher, however, is the child who sits quietly and demands nothing.

It may not be a bad thing that children with child care experience are seen as disruptive.

Since self regulation is so closely connected to behavior, it doesn't surprise me that children in day care exhibit behavior problems. When children are in groups day in and day out (including free choice time) with externally determined schedules, they have fewer opportunities to learn to control their own pace and interests, and are under constant pressure to assert themselves in order to have their boundaries respected. I would hope excellent child care (that includes a stong focus on emotional litercy and social skills) could help ameliorate the problems, although it l seems that the problem may be inherent in the institution itself. What a dilemma for working parents.

I believe that more research has to be done and what really is legitimate disruptive behavior clearly defined. How can we assume that what is occurring in elementary schools is appropriate for young children? Sitting still to learn, lining up to go outside and being denied a hall pass to get water because it is not recess do not seem developmentally appropriate based on what we now know about brain development.
We also know that experience changes the brain and if we want creative learners who can shape learning to their benefit and relearn as needed, that rule following, staying quite and not advocating for ones’ needs probably will not help. There is plenty evidence to suggest that more disruption and less rule following might be beneficial to helping students know how to take charge of their learning and for others’ to learn how to handle conflict and confrontation. I know teachers who do not allow children to ask questions and if they do, they are placed in time out or subjected to other punitive strategies. This flies in the face of reason as to what young children should be doing. I cannot assume that the "disruptive behaviors" mentioned by the research were really disruptive and not just normal active behaviors in children with teachers who do not understandor child development or who cannot mange their classroom environment. It also strikes me a bit odd that elementary school teachers’ opinion of young children’s behaviors is valued so highly since many of them do not study child development or specific brain maturation and development of young children. Perhaps the biggest lesson here is what the brain
research has been pointing to all along. Children need emotional and social learning support throughout childhood just as much as they need to read and write.

Perhaps the reasons that children are seen as more disruptive in class is that their sense of self is more developed and children who have spent time in child care have been encouraged to make decisions for themselves. This does not often fit well with school based practice where children are encouraged to do as they are told and learn only from the curriculum. The behaviours that are often identified by schools as undesireable or challenging are precisely the behaviours that in daycare we would encourage. Independance, standing up for yourself, problem solving, creative expression are all concepts that we encourage in the children in our centres. Perhaps a deeper look at exactly what behaviours were deemed to be challenging and the circumstances that led the children to these behaviours would be a more helpful study.
Sheila Olan-MacLean
Ontario Canada

To NURTURE is not the same as to EDUCATE. Nurturing happens at home, with the family. Children need nurturing time, especially from newborn through 4 years of age. Unfortunately, we have left nurturing to care centres because of our Work Culture. Nowadays roles are being confused and families are trying to educate while schools and day care centres are trying to nurture.

I feel that we are failing the children of today by allowing them permission to make unwise decisions without direction and guidance. We are catering to the "basic fall of society" to allow a child follow their basic desires of selfishness. If a child is expected to 'line up, share with others, take turns, and follow directions', why are we helping these young children learn what is to be expected of them. Cant we be 'teachers' and prepare them for the future? Isn’t that our basic responsibility? When should be wait to submit to authority? At 18?
All parents and teachers know that you must train a child to be a good citizen and follow rules? Aren’t we negligent for not teaching our children that expectations are a fact of life?
We all know that we can be loving, nurturing and with strong boundaries...why are the early childhood professional expecting our children to make their own decisions and become their own leaders.
Its time to step up to the plate and help out these poor children who are not prepared for the way that should go?
This is my Christian point of view...and yes, I believe in these two words...submission and obedience.

I too agree with Ellen Gallinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute. If the studies are finding that children in child care for more than a year are more disruptive in the classroom up through 6th grade, then we must concentrate on social and emotional development as much as we are to concentrate on academics.

Having worked in the childcare field form more than 10 years, I feel that this so called problem is something that needs to be address. However I am wondering if the problem could be the environment that we have in our schools. The need for care has changed over the years as well as the family structure. Are we still that nuclear family of days gone by? Our society is changing but are our school systems changing the way they teach at the elementary level to fit the needs of the younger children that are spending more time in a stuctured environment? I would like to see the study on this.

At our Center children learn to make choices about what they do each day, learn in learning centers, are listened to and learn to speak up for themselves. It could be that the typical public school setting is not as developmentally appropriate as a good childcare setting. Maybe well adjusted children rebelling in these settings is a sign that there is something wrong with school, not that there's something wrong with childcare.

Let me preface my comments by saying that I have not read the full report, only that reported in the New York Times and Kansas City Star. In neither case was "disruptive behaviors" defined. It is true that Kindergarten and elementary teachers who are teacher directed and worksheet focused have a difficult time maintaining conrol of children who have been active learners in project directed EC centers. Does the problem lie in the teacher or the child is the real question? Some teachers who have us believe that it is the child and the EC programs. Given that a developmentally appropriate environment encourages stimulating environments, hands-on learning, exploration, and child-centered curriculum and that many kindergarten programs are the antithesis of this, it is not surprising that there is an adjustment for children. In states like Missouri where we have Project Construct and many elementary schools use a constructivist approach to learning, teachers Kindergarten through grade six may not perceive children's interest in being co-learners with the teacher as threatening. Perhaps the real issue is that the majority of Kdg-second grade programs still do not know that early childhood practices are recommended birth through age eight. Perhaps giving weight to a study whose major author is known to write against "child care" would not report findings other than those that support his basic position. Perhaps if the 200 million dollars that funded this report was instead directed to professional development for elementary teachers on constructivism and then include these teachers in the research, the findings would be different.

I don't agree with the outcome of the article. We need more studies about the behavior problem of the children and which aspects influence the behavior. I don't think the full time care in a center is the major cause of misbehavior, or disruptive behavior. It has to do a lot from the values and beliefs of the family, the discipline method, and the fact that in America adults respect children, but not the opposite. We need to start again the fact of RESPECT to authorities, and parents are the main authority in the life of a child. If we don't teach that from the begining Who are the children going to respect? Do you think if they don't respect parents, they will respect teachers?

I know many parents in my center that they don't have any idea how to parenting, the children are the authority, and the boss in the house, then they bring the children to the center to learn social values, and discipline. Personally I am very confident that a high quality child care center is a valuable tool for parents, families, and society, and of course a quality time with parents is extremely important, too.

I read the article and agree partially. I have a day care for infants and preschool and before and after care for school age. I have children in my care for more than a year that began day care at the age of 2 and now are reaching school age (kindergarten). Helping a child develop socially and emotionally is one of the many skills that child will need when entering kindergarten. If child care providers are incorporating in their programs to the children who are 3 years to five years (those ready for kindergarten) that certain behaviors are required at kindergarten the transition will be much easier for them. In other words, providers should be instructing and relaying to their preschool age children what is expected of them in a school setting. For example, start talking to them about kindergarten and what they will be doing and the differences they will experience. Also, involve the parents in this process. Parents should start visiting schools of their choice for their children as soon as the child turns three years old. If nothing else, start observing their child and meet regularly with their day care provider to get assistance in helping their child transition from day care to kindergarten. Most parents don't have a clue what is expected of their child in kindergarten. This would mean social and emotional behavior, discipline, following instructions and routines. Child care providers incorporate in their programs all of the developmentally appropriate practices, with much empasis on social behavior. Children are held back and made to repeat grades solely based on their behavior, regardless of what he/she knows academically. This should be a sign to all facilitators of children in their care that their programs should include social/emotional behavior beyond their day care setting.

It continually surprises me that Academics who have no idea what it is like to work in a Child Care Centre can say how bad it is for child development. Parents already have a hard enough time choosing where to put their children when they have to go back to work and when you provide a high quality child care service as we do, it is easy for Parents to feel comfaorted in the knowledge their little one is being cared for and educated in a wonderful environment. When these articles appear Parents feel guilty about leaving their child and then the reputation of child care services decreases rapidly. Yes there are some services that do not provide high quality care but why slam every centre because a small proportion do not meet the needs of children efficiently. I do not know what the child care system is like in the United States but I am an advocate for quality child care services and articles such as this one infuriate me. Throughout my years of experience I have assitsed many children in changing negative behaviour into positive ones. Children have come from my Centre are leaders in their schools and their behaviour is fantastic. Allowing children to grow, learn, develop and interact with others in a positive and safe environment assist them in every area of their young lives. Staying at home inhibits children and therefore they generally fall behind at school unless they have a trained early childhood professional as a Parent. Just because you have a piece of paper from a University and you conduct a study, doesn't mean you know what is best for children and how each individual beautiful child will react in each circumstance. Why not get on the important issues of providing more funding and appropriate training within the Child Care Profession instead of continually making is harder for the Centres and services providing the best care and education possible.

The article published in Slate says it all: don't take the headlines at face value!

The Kids Are Alright What the latest day-care study really found. By Emily Bazelon
Posted Wednesday, March 28, 2007, at 5:21 PM ET
The headlines blared this week. "Does Day Care Make Kids Behave Badly? Study Says Yes" (ABC). "Child Care Leads to More Behavior Problems" (Fox). "Day-care Kids Have Problems Later in Life" (NBC). "Poor Behavior Is Linked to Time in Day Care" (New York Times). And, ironically, "Bad Mommies" (Slate).
It's useless to rail at the press for leading with the bad news and for ignoring the researchers' caveats that no cause-and-effect conclusions can be drawn from their data. Still, coverage like this feels designed to twit working parents. And it turns out that in the case of day care, the headlines and the stories really were alarmist—even wrong.
The source of the fuss is the latest installment of a long-running $200 million effort by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Since 1991, a team of researchers has been tracking more than 1,300 children, following them from infancy through various child-care settings (home with mother, home with another relative, home with nanny, or at day care) and into elementary school. In the March/April issue of Child Development, the team asks "Are There Long-Term Effects of Early Child Care?" To answer that question, the researchers report their findings about the kids' academic achievement and behavior through sixth grade. The study controls for a host o f variables, like socioeconomic status, quality of parenting (annoyingly, this measure involves only mothers), quality of child care, and quality of the elementary-school classroom. It's all very well-done and careful.
By sixth grade, the researchers detected few differences between the day-care center kids and the others—shall we just call them the Children Whose Parents Truly Love Them?—who had stay-at-home moms or nannies or some other arrangement. What mattered more than early child care, in terms of school performance and behavior, were parenting and genes. "Parenting quality significantly predicted all the developmental outcomes and much more strongly than did any of the child-care predictors," the researchers wrote. Never mind that central, important finding. The downside of day care is what everyone wants to talk about.
Let's lead with the good news for working parents: The study found that kids who went to high-quality day-care centers had an edge over all the other kids on vocabulary scores. This association didn't decrease as the kids got older. But then there is the finding that inspired the headlines: "Teachers reported more problem behaviors for children who spent more time in centers." This effect also held steady over time. And as the New York Times put it, "the finding held up regardless of the child's sex or family income, and regardless of the quality of the day care center." As in, Beware of Day Care. No matter how good you think your kid's is, it's making him unruly and disruptive, two favorite media adjectives for kids who cause trouble at school.
Stop. When I reached the study's author, Margaret Burchinal, yesterday, she asked if she could explain something she feared had been missed. "I'm not sure we communicated this, but the kids who had one to two years of daycare by age 4½—which was typical for our sample—had exactly the level of problem behavior you'd expect for kids of their age. Most people use center care for one or two years, and for those kids we're not seeing anything problematic."
In other words, the higher-than-average incidence of bad behavior showed up only among kids who spent three or four years in day care before the age of 4½. Burchinal and her co-authors used a behavior measure on which a score of 50 is exactly average (and the higher the score, the brattier the kid). The mean score of kids who spent one or two years in day care before kindergarten was 50. The mean for kids who spent three years was 51.4. The mean for kids who spent four years was 52. Kids who spent no time at all in day care had a mean score of 49.6—lowest, yes, but to an extremely small degree. Also, only 5 percent of the kids in the study spent four years in day care, and only 10 percent spent three years.
Here's a key question: What was the quality of the day care this 15 percent received? Were their centers as good? Burchinal ran the numbers for me, and the answer is no. The study rated all child-care arrangements on a scale from 1 for abysmal to 4 for excellent. The mean score for kids who were cared for entirely at home was 2.85. The mean for kids who spent less than a year in day care was 2.84. One to two years in day care: 2.82. Three to four years: 2.76. And four or more years: 2.71. In other words, the kids with more reported behavior problems in elementary school were the ones who spent three or four years in day care and whose care was, on average, of lower quality.
The differences in quality of care among all settings are small, and the correlation between a longer time spent in day care and a reduction in the quality of care is modest. But then the up tick in bad behavior scores is slight, too. "We found that more time in day-care centers correlates to higher problem behavior scores," Burchinal said. "This raises the question whether it could be the quality within those centers" that accounts for the effect.
Burchinal points out that on average, day care for infants and toddlers is worse than for preschoolers. It's more expensive because states require more staff for babies. And the littlest kids don't get much out of being in a group like the older ones do. The youngest thrive on one-on-one attention, and it takes considerable skill and experience to deftly juggle the needs of a bunch of them. So maybe the real lesson here is a reminder: Day care for infants and toddlers is the hardest to do well. And lower-quality care, coupled with three or four years spent at a center, doesn't appear to serve kids quite as well as other arrangements (though the difference in slight).
This is not exactly heartening. Day care for infants and toddlers is often the most economical choice for families in which both parents work and no grandparent or cousin can lend a hand with the baby. We should figure out how to improve day care for infants and toddlers, not give up on it. Still, the study's results, properly explained, do not suggest that kids who spent a year or two in day care when they are 3 and 4—or, in my opinion at least, kids who go to excellent day care for longer periods—will talk back to their teachers and throw more than their share of spitballs when they get older. These kids will behave themselves just fine. As long as their parents don't screw them up.
I would say that this comes as a relief, since each of my own two sons spent (or in 4-year-old Simon's case is spending) four years in day care before kindergarten. Except that I stopped taking the bad rap on day care personally a long time ago.
There is an enormous difference between excellent day care and mediocre day care—when Simon had one year of the latter, believe me, I could tell. But that distinction, crucial as it is to the kids who experience it and to their parents, often is lost on the rest of the world. One day when my older son Eli was about 2, he charmed the woman ahead of us in line at the supermarket. They grinned and goo-goo-ed at each other, and then Eli's new friend turned to me with a big smile and said, "He must be at home with you." I stammered no and started babbling: Eli was in day care, but it was really wonderful day care, with only 12 kids and five teachers, and really if you visited him there you would see … But the woman's smile had vanished. We stood in embarrassed silence until her groceries were bagged. It probably doesn't matter what the data really show. Day care is supposed to be bad for kids, so it is. The headlines don't change.
Emily Bazelon is a Slate senior editor.

I relate with the statement made by Loudell Robb. Child Development programs, generally allow children choice. We understand that to have a developmentally appropriate program we need to "teach" children in a manner where they will actually learn and be successful. Children are successful when they select the medium in which they want to learn and are assisted with materials that interest their learning styles and needs. It is our job as professionals in the child development field to facilitate their learning by providing those materials, observing, assisting, prompting, encouraging, etc. In my company there is only one 20 minuite period in a child's 3-8 hour day that is directed by an adult and, even then, our activities are centered around observations of children's needs, interests, learning styles, and active learning checklists. So, it is no wonder that when they enter the more academic teacher directed educational realm they have "behavior problems."
Let's all be honest. The standards and expectations we place upon children increase every year. Pre-kindergarten has become what Kindergarten was only a few years before. Who knows what our future holds. The research is showing us that for children to develop successfully we need to enrich their minds with active learning, various learning styles, and lots of language. Instead what are we doing: We are limiting recess and other extra curricular activities (i.e. music) and are replacing them with solitary, critical thinking expectations that require children to work alone and "be quiet." The language, interaction, and time to socialize is being quickly eliminated and the behavior of children is showing us that we are making the wrong choices in the education field. We need to embrace the recent brain research and reteach ourselves to meet childrens needs in a developmentally appropriate manner.

Alicia

I agree with the comments made by Ms. Robb at the end of the article, by first or second grade children are told to sit still in a desk, and do the work the teacher has picked to work on for the day. Perhaps we should be looking at this approach instead of just blaming Early Childhood Education for children exhibiting bad behavior. I have been a teacher in ECE for 12 years, There are alot of variables to be considered when evaluating behavioral issues in children. Children do start in group childcare settings at much earlier ages, and are often in care for a full 8 hour day for various reasons. ECE is geared toward letting the child choose, then the child enters into school and in many ways their choices are taken away and they aren't engouraged as much to be independant learners and thinkers, but to be a group player.

It's interesting that a research study always
appears in the press as if it is an entire new topic; its finding brand new. Here's what people need to know. (1) This study
produces findings every year, following the same children. It is an interesting study, long-term but not a longitudinal study that can be said to measure effects, unless they are huge effects, because there is no control group, no data on the quality of the service the parents chose. (2) Jay Belsky is not the principal investigator, and he
appears to lack scientific objectivity about the findings, unlike the other authors and investigators in the study. Belsky's role is only that he is alphabetically the first among 5 authors and about 15 investigators. By custom, when a study has this many authors and investigators authors will be listed alphabetically, investigators will not be listed, and a second reference will appear as follows: ""Belsky, J. et al."
3. When first findings began to be
analyzed, Belsky did an unprecedented thing
for a scientific study: he wrote a New York Times Article announcing that spending a long time in child care early in life makes children more agressive, exhibiting disturbing behavior. That is unprecedented because scientists publish their findings in scientific journals, where fellow scientists can understand the meaning of the data, - in this case a significantly significant but tiny finding that parents would interpret as a large risk but that scientists would understand in their more intense angels-on-a-pin discussions. This
finding does not take children at all outside the range of behavior normal for children in general.
4. The study does not draw conclusions from or find meaning in the finding. Psychologists would
not necessarily find
"aggression to be a negative characteristic when within normal range. In fact it may mean that a child is able to take action; is not passive. 5. The study derived much of its data from teachers of children in later grades. A child behavior checklist from teachers is part of the study. It is not uncommon for such teachers to expect children to be passive; to sit quietly; to listen; to speak when asked a question but not to question. One objective of such teachers is to control the classroom. Obviously children who have had their learning encouraged
rather than controlled may be viewed as a threat by some teachers.
The early childhood teachers in high quality programs will recognize different behaviors among different children, but will know how to deal with them; but teachers in lower quality centers will
also feel threatened
when children show
initiative. 6. Of course ALL studies find that parents themselves have biy far the greatest influence on children than teachers. The early childhood programs
generally see themselves as supplementing the parents' role for part of a child's day; so that their
programs add something positive to the parents' influence, and the combination of parents and teachers is more likely to be posiive than either of them alone. We should fear efforts by educationists or by
self-aggrandizers to
undermine one of today's most important supports for families with children.

How disappointing that we would "label" our children as disruptive simply because they have spent time in a pre-school environment. I believe researchers in this country need to open their eyes to the fact that many of these (so called) disruptive children are simply bored. Quality pre-school programs encourage children to become critical thinkers, risk takers, and to respectfully share their ideas and thoughts in a collaborative environmant. This is completely opposite of what most of our elementary educators are taught to encourage. Many teachers who label children "disruptive", simply want to manage & control children in a "criss cross applesause, eyes on me" environment. Children have many things to share if given the opportunity. Teachers should become a part of the learning process, who knows, they may even learn something from those "disruptive" children.

The logical conclusion from this study is to reduce the time children spend in child care. The next conclusion should be to increase the time children spend at home before beginning child care. The next conclusion is lets help one parent, usually the mom, stay home with their child like many European countries so. Let's pay moms to stay home until at least age 3 or 4.

It is evident that we need to support quality care initiatives to improve our childcare services. For a country that says we value children as our future, I say "HUH?" Actions speak louder than words. What can we expect from people who make less than custodians? The expectations are too high for the lowly paid teachers. Families are already stretched to the max. Business or government has got to support quality care. It is the best investment for our future!

I have to say that Benedict Carey's article raises the issue, once again, about whether or not children are found to benefit from their experiences in day care (child care, to be politically correct). This is no new song that is being sung here! This issue has been the focus for debate for decades. The article goes further to state that children, who are enrolled in quality child care programs, actually are found to benefit from those experiences. It really is not rocket science. As someone who has been a family child care provider for 19 years, a center-based provider/teacher/administrator, preschool/kindergarten/music teacher, and a paraeducator working with children with disabilities, and currently an earlychildhood trainer and consultant, I would like to make a comment about my personal experiences. Children who are enrolled in quality programs have shown clearly that positive environments and programs with caregivers and teachers who are well-trained and educated, who have patience and a natural love of children and a passion for teaching and working with families, are coming out 'on top'! Caregivers and teachers with 'all the right stuff' are (and will continue to be) a blessing in the lives of the children whose care is in their trusting hands. It is our mission, as teachers and caregivers, to continue to work to raise the bar on quality child care. We can never let go of our ideals. The direct beneficiary of the hard work and effort we put forth, year after year, is the children. We are each called to make a difference in the lives of our children and all children. Each one of us is a link in the chain of what I like to call "the circle of caring". The circle must be strong! It is then that we will find more love in our homes, peace in the classroom, and folks coming together to create the tapestry of healthy and whole lives for everyone living n every community around the world. As someone who makes site visits to home child cares and to centers, I observe many child care communities. My hat is off to those that so hard and continuing to sacrifice to make each child's world a better place!

I have been a preschool teacher for 35 years and have always
been able to identify children who exhibit "day care" behavior.
Many day care centers are understaffed, underpaid, and under-educated. Children have been subjected to a "survival of the fittest" approach to discipline which usually produces bullies.
It takes time and effort to teach children that their behavior has consequences. Empathy is not inborn but must be taught, also. This, too, takes time. Many day care staffers barely have time to wipe noses and change diapers! I think we have to address the needs of those entrusted with the care of young children by raising the education standards for staff and com-pensating with higher pay! And let's face it---day care just does not compare to mom care! These changes in behavior have developed with moms working outside the home.

As far as this article goes, it does raises the questions of socialization vs agression in day center and the links to school care. As profressionals in child care and elementary school, we need to spend more time on prevention. That means, better training for early childhood teachers and elementary teachers on social behaviors that will help children be more successful in their relationships. Academic success does not always mean that a child will not be boastful, loud and aggressive in dominating a group of peers. Is this study a predictor of children who have bonded with a teacher or made friends while in care or at elementary school and value the logic or follow safety rules? This comes with lots of repetition, consistant approaches to accetable behavior and reenforcement of consequences. How much agression is acceptable? In our location preschool directly feeds into the elementary school, however, preschool teachers are poorly trained (along with understaffed and poorly paid!) and have begun the academic focus, instead of playful learning. The results are evident in kindergarten when the children do need to sit and listen for greater periods of time. Unfortunately, by elementary school, they are discouraged from even talking at lunch (unless eating outside)! As so many children spend most of their days with teachers from 6:00am to 6:00pm, parents don't always understand the value of good social strengths and worry more about grades. This study may not provide answers, but it should be a springboard for discussion and changes that could helpful for parents, teachers and children alike.

What if there is no one size fits all for children in full time care? Is it possible that some children do better in a play and social enviornment and others will thrive in a more academic program. I have worked with children for 40 years in all types of programs and I feel we need to look at each child as an individual with different needs and the parent is the best person to decided what is best for their child.

I agree with those who question the causal link which is asumed. The question is still open as to whether whether kids who are likely to act out in school do so because they went to child care or do those parents whose kids are most likely to act out place them in child care.
Either way the study should encourage all who work with and on behalf of young children to assure that all kids have the opportunity to learn and practice social skills.
I also think teh notion that a bit of acting out in school might not limit or perhaps maybe even enhance ones adult success.
Are we in the field of childhood care and development seeking to encourage children to be passive in school or to be successful in life?

I agree with those who question the causal link which is asumed. The question is still open as to whether whether kids who are likely to act out in school do so because they went to child care or do those parents whose kids are most likely to act out place them in child care.
Either way the study should encourage all who work with and on behalf of young children to assure that all kids have the opportunity to learn and practice social skills.
I also think teh notion that a bit of acting out in school might not limit or perhaps maybe even enhance ones adult success.
Are we in the field of childhood care and development seeking to encourage children to be passive in school or to be successful in life?

This NICHD Cohort study is clean research and not to be trifled with. The finding of elevated agressive behaviors (within normal limits) appeared a couple of years ago from the same cohort. I assme they were 2 years younger then.

I agree with the earlier comment that ece programming should be robust and research based with regard to social and emotional components and that the current potentially over zealous attention to cognitive school readiness - - which was not in place when the cohort of children being studied were in preschool - - may, in fact exaccerbate the elevated agressiveness. On the other hand, since no one really knows the etiology of the elevated agressiveness, more attention to cognitive activities may have no impact at all.

It leaves those of us practitioners trying to implement research based programming, a bit at sixes and sevens. I think we should call for the clinical research community who have found these results, to do some careful thinking on the matter of etiology - - what characteristic elements, apart from duration in excess of 10 hours per week appear to be/correlate with/ are precursive to the elevated but within normal limits agressiveness?

I do have a couple more questions for which I can not find any current research:

1. If you do a look back from age 25 or so at the very successful young adults, the moderately successful young adults, and the unsuccessfull young adults, does elevated agrssiveness (within normal limits) correlate to one or another of the "success " groups? Or, what is the 'agressiveness quotient' (made it up for the sake of this discussion) of successful/unsuccessful young adults?

2. If the data had found moderately depressed behavior(within normal limits), what woud our concerns be?

Final querie: This story has strong legs. I believe it was the most copied in the New York Times the day it published. Parents of children who are or have been placed in child care (preschool, UPK, day care, call it what you will), I would guess, are keen to know the up and down sides of their choices. I have yet to meet a parent, with emphasis on the maternal parent, but dads to, who does not express some remorse about 'placing their child in day care.' I think parents chafe a lot - - quietly but chronically - - about the choices they make/made.

We have a responsibility as a profession to give them good information about the up and down sides of their chioces. Trouble is, the full research is just not really there yet. Although ther are an awful lot of adults who were in some form of child care in the last half century and I do not believe the culture, broadly, has become more agressive. Let 's not get into that discussion, though.

It's unfortunate that we live in a time when you are "darned" whether you do or don't. Most families cannot survive in today's world and supply a decent quality of life for their families without the single parent or both parents in the two parent household having to work full time jobs. So care options for our children boil down finding centers that not only have available slots, accept government day care assistance, are open when we need them to be open which includes odd hours, and are convenient to get to, is what drives most families to put their dear children in day care centers. On the other hand, day care centers get mixed messages from the early child care community which flip flops between learning through play with little or no structure to adhering to a care model that looks like miniature elementary schools with rigorous rules, regulations, and severe structure. It's no wonder that when our children are ready to transition to elementary school they are confused because there is little or no preparation in place to make sure there is adequate time set aside to prepare children for "big kid's school." Maybe we need to investigate what has happened to cause this increase in negative student behavior and not jump to the conclusion that it is caused by the amount of time children spend in care. Child care is not new because it was called "baby sitting" 30 years old and care was provided by relatives or neighbors in their homes. Could it be that the behavior issues are caused because our educational system is based on an agrarian model and has not moved forward to a needed modern model where children are encouraged to critically think, interact and talk with one another and learn by doing. Today's children are born into an era of technology and multi-tasking. They are not afraid of change; as a matter of fact they seem to thrive on it. Our current educational model is still structured in the "do as I say", sit down, stay in a straight line and listen to me only (teacher) model. Maybe day care has figured it out by letting children play, and learn from playing. Children generally mimic the world around them which allows them to explore, try, and wonder.
In closing, I would encourage the early childhood community and the elementary education community to sit down and map out a system that creates a more reliable bridge between the two. Stop pointing figures and start working together so that we can get on with the business of educating our children and not fussing about who is at fault for student under-achievement.

Staff in child care programs need more training on how to support the social and emotional development of children and how to support families so that they are providing the kind of home that supports the development of social competence in children.

It is sad to see the eagerness with which the media jumped on what was described as a statistical variation within the normal range and puffed it into headline news.
Are those leaping at a new way to criticize child care proposing that children stay home alone if their parents work? Or perhaps, should they become homeless instead of having a family member leave them in care so that person works can provide them with food and shelter? If not child care - then what are the alternatives?
Trying to frighten parents or make them feel quilty is arrogant, hurting parents, children and our society by continuing a debate about whether child care is healthy - instead of committing to the work and effort needed to make it the best it can be.

What research was done on the parents themselves? Did they question what kind of parenting values these families had? Without a control group, these are some large assumptions being made when situations of two working parent families can be difficult no matter the care received.

On Monday, March 26, 2007 i was interviewed by Kerri Lyon of WCBS2 for the 5:00pm news on this very topic. When I was asked to do the interview I made a few comments that were left out of the broadcast--leaving the interview as not saying much about the research!
I do agree with Ms. Robb. Day care children are given more choices and they carry that over to the public school system, but is that necessarily poor behavior?
Those who question the results are correct. Where was the control group? The information I received prior to the interview said the study traced only 1,364 children. That doesn't even scratch the tip of the iceburg of children in child care--even in NYC! What kind of family life do these children have? Are they in two-parent homes? One-parent homes? By sixth grade children's behavior changes whether they have been in child care or not. Sixth graders are pre-teens--hormones are raging! Bodies are changing! New feelings are being explored!
What about children who did not attend day care? What was their behavior like through the elementary grades? Too many variables were omitted.

Personally I think it's crap. Every year a new study comes out having negative comments about daycare. Have they ever thought about it may start from the home enviroment. We are tried of getting the blame. Do a study on parenting skills.

I am sad to see EED jump on the negative media band wagon about this study. People are reading way more into the study than it actually said. The media does a great dis-service to parents and families when it sensationalizes research results. It scares parents into doubting their choices and their parenting, when in actuallity, they don't have many choices. Parents in the 21st century work outside the home.

The media could help children and parents by writing about what constitutes QUALITY child care and then present positive ways that communities can promote high quality centers. For example, the media should discuss how employer subsidized child care programs promote both healthy families and result in high worker satisfaction and less employee turnover. I've seen it happen in a few areas in this country, so it can be done.

The media should also point out how high quality child care programs help low income children gain cognitive and social skills before they reach kindergarten. There are lots of positive things happening in the field, and most of the time EED does a great job of communicating these successes. Please, don't go down the wrong path with this study.

My job involves consulting statewide to community preschools that have children with challenging behaviors. My referrals come principally from preschool directors, and of the last 175 referrals I received, 19 were girls and 156 were boys.

This study controlled for children's gender, but perhaps they might have controlled for the availability and impact of male gender role models on the children. Getting men into ECE classrooms helps safeguard children from social forces that otherwise condition them to accept gender stereotypes, including that being male means being aggressive.

I wish someone would do a long running study of the parents of the children in day care centers. We have families who are better off in this day care center then they would be at their homes. We feed them breakfast, lunch, AM & PM snacks. Most of them would not get these meals at home. They get to socialize, play on computers, go on field trips and enjoy arts ,crafts, etc.. Most of them have a single parent (mother) who have boyfriends traipsing in and out of their lives, drug abuse around them and live in unclean environments and come to our center unkept.The behavior starts at home not in what center their attending. Parents need to pay more attention to social and emotional development at home. I could go on and on, I get tired of child care centers getting the blame for what parents are resposible for.

I think that if we took all the money spent on researching whether child care was "good" for children and put it toward recruiting and maintaining a professional early educator workforce as well as enriching the programs for young children, parents could be more productive workers and more loving parents and all children, irregardless of their socio-economic luck of the draw would be cared for in the best possible environments by loving and supported people. I am sick to death of this argument! Whether child care is good for children is such a moot point for those parents who have no choice but to work and place their children in the care of someone else while they do so! Let's stop bickering, judging each other, and start working together on behalf of the children.

I wonder if this study was controlled for size and quality. Were these centers accredited? Were they large or small centers? What was the educational level of the teachers? There are so many variables that I think it is dangerous to generalize. Were these centers largely academic or were they geared to social and emotional development?

I first read this article in our local newspaper. Many thoughts came to mind while reading it. The first being that the reporter obviously had no understanding of our job when he continually refered to it as Day Care when we certainly don't care for the DAY! The second being that he obviously is not aware of the extent we, as CHILD care providers/teachers, go to in order to create nurturing balanced environments for children who in many cases would not be exposed to such. I have children of my own in public school and am always amazed how much more about child development I know vs their teachers. The training that I need to go through in all domains seems to be much deeper then that of public schools. My thrid thought was that maybe the children acting up are doing so in response to the environment they are exposed to in their public school. These children have come from and exposed to a higher level of nuturing and educating and now they are being placed in schools that requier less of them, are more ridged, and teachers that are not as intuned to the them. The children that were not exposed to a better way know no different so they may not act up. But the children who know better are speaking loudly about the state of our School systems---not about the state of our childcare systems!

Interesting article. But the premise is misguided. The real deal here is the behavior of Children which has been deteriorating for years. Respect for teachers in the classroom has diminished, Discipline has been forgotten (and I don't mean paddling), parents respect for schools is gone, children are treated as friends by all, including adults who have forgotten their role as TEACHER. TV is 24 hours with who-knows-what on it....Music is vile......It is no wonder behavior has changed. So what else has changed???????HMMMMM More working mothers, more daycares, let's blame them.

I believe this study would have had a different outcome if it had not coincided with No Child Left Behind. We are only seeing the initial wave of the negative impact that unreasonable emphasis on test scores and performance causes. I wonder if elementary classrooms were allowed to be more like preschools, with more centers and self directed learning opportunities, would the outcomes change?

Also, as a Family Child Care Provider, I was disappointed that the "child care center" category was not more specifically defined in this study. I would argue that Family Child Care is much more like a home environment than a center.

I agree with the thought that this study reflects more on the anti-child practices of elementary schools. I also believe that we cannot go back to the 50's. Most middle class families, and certainly poor families, in this country today, cannot get by with just one income. Therefore, we need to put our resources into creating the best child care which fosters emotional and social health, as Ellen Galinsky states in the article.

I read this article with interest, I work within a small day care centre in the UK.
I do think the children that arrive to our setting that are on the shy side, will soon become more confident in their surroundings and not just with us at our centre.We give them love and support but can never replace their parents but some children do seem to have more confidance away from them, and may be more their own person, and therefor this may part of the reason. Where you have an expert you have another opinion.Let us, let kids be kids.It doesn't last long.

As a life time member of the early childhood commnity I am not surprised at all with the conclusions of one more study of center based child care. Thre are many factors that influence the way a young child behaves in the classroom once he/she reachers the elementary formal school setting. I say formal becuase I consider center based learning experinces to be very informal settings where the daily activities of the program are planned around the needs and developmental stage of the child. In our learning communities children's opinions, needs, capabilities and skills leves are respected and used as a the basis to plan our curriculum. Our group sizes and staff child ratios are much lower than in the elementary settings. Children are encouraed to make choices and to express their feelings and needs. Until recently we did not have standards to achieve and our teachers are encouraged to define and express their own teaching styles in their classrooms. Most elementary schols have a one fits all approcah to learning and children that do not fit are labeled "special needs". In our small communities all children have special needs because each child is unique.
We needs a study of how the elementary teachers manage children's behaviors in a group setting. We may be surprised of those findings!

I have raised my children in Day Care. When I left
corporate america I started working in Child Care.
I started as a legal 2 and eventually opened a
Day Care center (Learning Center) and two other
Preschool programs.
I believe that children who are in a Quality program
that is age appropriate will fair better then other
children. I believe our Primary through High school
educational system should look at their dismal numbers of student drop outs and low achievement scores and question their teaching methods.
The key is to Educate Parents on what is Quality and how should children learn.
Until parents start understanding developmentally
appropriate practices and demanding a Quality
education from Child Care programs to High school
there will be no change. Perhaps some people are waiting for what happened after Sputnik in the 1950's and Early Childhood dev. became important again because we were behind in the space race and the country wanted to improve our educational system.
I believe times are different and it will have to be a "grass root" effort for the Early Childhood community to make the change in how our children learn today which will impact on the success of our
older children. We cannot wait on our Goverment
this time!

M. King , highqualityresources.com

Did this study also include the number of hours the children actually spent in daycare each day? Whether high quality or low quality group settings have a profound impact on children's behavior, I am a believer that allowing children to experience being in a group with other children afford them the opportunity to acquire important social skills. Left for too many hours each day can also impose stress on a child. This stress is often displayed in many behavior adventures children engage in. Daycare centers are usually child centered where children have lots of choices and are encouraged to use words to express themselves and talk to their friends. In formal school this changes to everything (most things) being teacher-directed and children can only talk when directed by the teacher to do so. When you think about it this is a pretty big transition for a child to unlearn behaviors that he/she has been learning for 5years. Perhaps this is why the disruptive behavior persists until the children reach the 6th grade.

The concensus from the professionals in the field that I have spoken with about this article is that this actually reflects back on the elemenarty schools and their lack of best practices in behavior management for children.
It is very curious to me that there is still such incredible negative judgement for child care centers in our society as it has become the norm around the world.

My first thought when I read about this study was that children who have had a quality child care experience are likely to be more creative, independent, free-thinking, outspoken, and self-confident. These behaviors may be seen as "bad" by many teachers who want children in school to "follow the rules". And let's not forget the effect of first through sixth grade.

In spite of having been a church-sponsored day care center director for 18 years and trying to improve the quality and convince teachers to allow kids to have FUN, I have seen so much that makes me sad that I have to feel that some of the conclusions are justified.
It just can't be healthy for children at 2 and 3 to be constantly told, "I need you to sit down. You need to stop talking now; I'm talking," and other controlling words that kids listen to if they want to please.
From the perspective of a grandmother, now, I would never recommend 10 - 11 hours of day care for any child!

Perhaps good changes for children will flow from the vigorous discussion engendered by this report. Our ECE staff has long been worried about the challenges faced by children leaving an environment that stresses critical thinking and self-regulation for highly structured elementary school classrooms where docility and conformity are the highest priorities. Every year we brace ourselves for the criticisms - your children ask too many questions and have far too much energy! For these "failings" they are noted as "problem" children.

We feel concerned that the dichotomy between the culture of preschool and the culture of elementary school sets children up for trouble, yet we have not been able to exert much influence on the "real" schools and are unwilling to follow their inappropriate practices in our ECE program.

The current focus on accountability, measured by predetermined test results, has intensified the problem. One child who was returned to us as "not ready" was in a kindergarten class that had no recess, play time or other choice time. The victims become the villains in this scenario. We worry about young children who are so sedentary that they are "ready" to sit still and quiet for three scripted, teacher-directed hours without any break.

In our anxiety to leave no child behind, decsions are made by legislators, not educators, and for reasons of politics and money as well as for well-intentioned but ill-informed concerns for the state of education in our country where, in spite of the amount of money spent and heat generated, our children continue to fail to develop a love of learning and a disposition to choose learning.

Of those who can read and write, many do not choose to engage in those activities for personal pleasure. Critical, creative, divergent thinkers are inconvenient in school and unpopular with highly stressed teachers who are pressed for enough time to teach to tests measuring info bits memorized outside of meaningful context. They have no time to follow - or to allow their students to follow - intriguing by-ways of thought and inquiry. But this is not an entirely new thing; Einstien was also an "unsuccessful" student, nearly 100 years ago.

The adult world - teachers, parents, concerned and unconcerned citizens - are the ones who are failing. Every child is in considerable danger of being left right behind unless better choices are made by those who supposedly have the power, experience and wisdom to choose well for the children. If we don't care for any altruistic reason, we need to remember for reasons of self-interest that those now entrusted to our care will one day be our caretakers.

Children who spend their early years in a childcare center that is respectful to each child and offers appropriate activities in all domains are truly getting a wonderful start in group settings. This article is limited in it's research base, suspect in conclusions and ignition for the already "I told you daycare was bad for children" group. Children leaving high quality centers (NAEYC accredited is the standard) are emotionally, cognitively and socially ready for school. If they are having problems continually through grade 6, let's look at that school.

What wonderful ideas have already been generated! Are our politicians reading along?
Here's another perspective:
Children who spend their time at home often participate in more unrestricted outdoor play than children in care and education settings receive. Add to all of the above the research showing the powerful affect on children of experiences in nature: increased attention span, concentration & self-discipline, and decreased stress and mental fatigue. Read Richard Louv’s book – Last Child in the Woods or the article in Orion magazine for an encapsulated version. It’s powerful stuff! http://www.orionmagazine.org/
Another great article, “Beyond Ecophobia” is from Louv’s mentor, David Sobel: http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=803
There are new initiatives based on these findings which have the potential for changing the environments that children are experiencing, and thereby changing their behaviors (never mind helping them to be happier, healthier, stronger, more successful people :)).

There are MANY factors to look at - a simplistic and knee-jerk reaction on both sides of this issue will only give us more of the same! Let's use this dialogue to tell our political leaders that things need to change for our children - for their future and for ours!

I think what initially annoyed me about this article is the way it played up the behavior "problem" even though it is slight and within normal ranges, yet downplayed the positive finding - increased vocabulary. That sounds like overall, the kids spending time in child care are actually better off! - their behavior is within the norm and they have better vocabulary - so why was this report written so negatively and why are the "experts" reponding that way?

I am very concerned about young children and families today. The No Child Left Behind Act has resulted in more and more testing at an early age and am emphasis on measurable learning. Your article mentions children sitting and being teacher-directed in first and second grade, but this is kindergarten now, and pre-schools and daycares have immediately jumped in to try to prepare children for kindergarten with the same. Just when children need emotional and developmentally appropriate support and practices, when families are overly stressed and bombarded by commercialism, we are simply losing childhood itself. The creativity and spontaneity in teaching young children has been removed. If children from great preschool daycares have some difficulty adjusting to rigid schooling, just think what the consequences will be of today's increasingly regimented daycare experience. I was a kindergarten teacher who retired early and am enjoying my grandchildren. My passion is being directed to matters related to Nature! I loved the World Forum on Nature and Children last fall.

Is the elementary school curriculum meeting the needs of the children? Or are teachers pressured into having the children do well on the no child left behind test? Is so much time spent on performance that little is left for creativity?

I think that research results like these make a lot of parents feel guilty and creates uneasy attitudes that are transferred to the caregivers. When I first read this, I thought about an issue that has long been a part of the overall educational system, "who's responsibility is it to raise our children?" I have worked in the field of ECE for the past 31 years. I have had many parents who feel it is the teachers job to prepare their children for the total school experience. We are important, but temporary in a child's life. It is the parents job to support & prepare their children for not only school, but life. Perhaps we, as educators of the young & very young, need to help empower our parents to be those positive, life-long educators & advocates for their own children, both in & out of school. Just a thought.

I have been in early childhood since 1980. I have been a teacher, director, owner since 2000. The research that should be done is HOW do parents spend time with their children when they pick them up at 6:00PM and are in bed by 7:30 - 8:00? I needed to begin a parenting class on a monthly basis because our children do not have any accountablity when at home. The majority of my clients are professionals. It has become a major issue with behavior issues when only the teachers are teaching manners, appropriate behaviors and all social skills. These researchers need to report what happens at home and then I will accept their findings!

It is unfortunate that these studies are not being done in a controlled group. I've been in business 35 years, Home Day Care and Center Based. I have had children from infancy thru 2nd-5th grade. I have also been invited to attend various functions of the children I have had in care at Parents homes and schools. Proud as the parents can be in showing me how well their children do in school, the accomplishments and their Honor Student Status they still commend me for being the ground work of who their children are. Children become who they are not only by the Child Care their parents choose but by their home environment, their families, friends and their social elements around them. I have been in several schools, where their after school programs are limited to running in a GYM, screaming, yelling, extreme interaction with little or no direction by adults. Most child care homes and centers DO have organized activities for the children and these are not sitting and doing table activities. Yes behavior is normal in children; truly part of their growing and learning experiences. I just find it ludicrous to make statements that "CHILD CARE" is our children's problems resulting in behaviors that destroy and disrupt. There are many other contributing factors that are a lot more serious and need to be studied before making rash statements such as in this article

In reviewing this article, and being dedicated to the child care arena for some 30 years, I have a simple statement: High quality child care programs often offer a better environment for young children than a high number of families are able to offer their own children: stable environment, routines, teachers and faces they can trust; food on the table 3 times/day; learning activities to encourage skills that are part of their development; making transitions to Kindergarten smooth in many ways for the child; promoting events that encourage relationships with families; and so much more. There are many children who fail to get these simple ingredients at home, and often one-on-one attention is sadly missing from the scene.

I think the facts presented in this article make a case for either a little more structure in some child care settings, or a little less structure in some early elementary school classrooms. Maybe a combination of both would be the answer?

The first thing that came to mind when I read this article was the fact that children that have gone to preschool for over a year have acclimated to a completely different type of schooling situation. Preschool, unlike most school-aged educational philosphies are deeply rooted in psychology, child development and the study of HOW children learn. Many preschools have stimulating environments where children learn based on choice, and are taught HOW, and not WHAT to think. The acute change from this environment to another which does not allow for free thought or interactions, where children are made to sit for long hours, where the environment is not colorful and inviting is an extreme culture shock for children that are not used to that type of schooling environment. I believe the inconsistancy in educational philosophy between early childhood and schoolaged education is the reason why children may "act out". Children who are used to being able to speak freely, and learn though exploration, questioning, and through much more holistic processes may not easily adapt to a rigid schooling environment that has no foundation in research that has shown how children really do learn.

Could it be that the real issue here is not the time spent in day care but the time spent away from family and lower levels of instilling family values and exhibiting unconditional love?

Much of this discussion seems to neglect a set of essential and core factors impacting the lives of children in our era. Family life and our culture have changed significantly in the past decade or two. Families are stressed, the pace and demands on families and children are intense. Children who spend time in group care from early ages often have lives that are significantly different than in the past. Most parents who use care are working, often are stressed, often are stretched economically, and have often have fewer personal supports (extended family, leisure time, family time together). Any spare time is increasingly focused on TV and computer use. Some of these may be among the factors that most affect later behaviors. Also, the "disruptive" behaviors noted in the study were within the normal range. Perhaps, those stronger, assertive behaviors seen in children who have been in group care can been viewed as strengths. They perhaps are children who are individuals who are more self assured and able to challenge or question the status quo, perhaps as a result of increased exposure to groups and a need to become more independent away from family at an earlier age. While we need to have deep concerns about the changes in family life and the lack of broad support for parenting and families, maybe the behaviors noted in the study are not all a bad thing. I think we have unwisely left families and the whole child behind in our nation's misguided attempts at No Child Left Behind.

I agree with Loudell Robb, The Primary grades are not operated in a developmentally appropriate fashion. Teachers and principals have overly high expectations as far as 1st and 2nd graders behavior. They cannot sit for long periods of time quietly, it is not in their nature. This of course leads to the self fulfilling prophecy of the "challenging child" and all the following grades expect that child to misbahave in their class as well. To say that Childcare causes behavior problems that persist through sixth grade is ridiculous. Most children who attend high-quality, loving child care have better vocabualries, are socially better adjusted, and are more independent than children that are only at home for their first five years.

This article, and apparantly the research upon which it is based, do not take into account several pertinent factors. These include:
1) most primary school classrooms are not developmentally appropriate for 6 to 8-year-old children. When I taught primary school in the early 80's there there were many children who had trouble sitting and focusing for long periods of time.
2) too many teachers in the elementary schools are not knowledgeable about the development of young children. That was true of myself in my early days in teaching and I find it true of the newer graduates as well. They may have come out of college with Bachelors degrees in Early Childhood Education, but they apparantly did not listen in the classes that pertained to younger children. Lacking knowledge, they recreate the school environments they grew up in or blindly follow a principal's guidelines to create a regimented environment and routine.
I've worked with early childhood teachers in all realms from college to daycare to public schools. We have to make some changes at all levels of our field.

In a preschool setting, children are encouraged to participate, make their own choices, and initiate conversations. They also have outdoor time and can engage in preplanned activities, or play as children should. As more elementary schools focus on rigorous academics and expect children to sit quietly, line up quietly, listen (quietly) and skip outdoor play, is it any wonder that the children might be more "disruptive"? As adults, we need breaks to get up and move around during meetings or conferences, and we are supposed to know how to behave... Why are young children being expected to go somewhere for the school day and not be able to refresh themselves?

As I read the headline, I thought "Here we go again!" Early care and education takes the brunt of a system we have no control of, in this case the K through 6th grade system. I think we all feel that children from our programs leave us with a sense of wonder and a love of learning. It takes a short time in the primary setting for them to become "academasized" which can be depending on the child not a positive! The system wants them to think but don't ask questions, conform and perform according to standards that are not possilbly in the child's developmental radar!
Product not process is the mantra! And our mantra is process not product! We are not aligned. It is the square peg into the round hole! I do not feel that parents and early care and education are totally at fault. I agree quality is crucial. (Trained staff, low staff turnover, ratio etc) The other part of the study which was not empasized was that there was inconclusiveness in the study. The head line should of read Early Care and Education produces strong vocabulary skills in children, but then that would not have sold newspapers or made the Today show!

I agree that long periods of time spent in day care centers can be harmful to a child. This extra time adds up to less time spent with significant family members. However, I believe a program that is associated with a public/private school that a child may attend later is a wonderful opportunity for the transistion between day care and a "typical" school setting. These programs usually limit the time a child can be in care, which helps promote time spent with family, and adds in little steps to get used to the school environment (lining up, small amounts of seating at tables & listening to directions, going to the elementary cafeteria or library, peer reading with children in older grades). I would like to see research that did have a control group for a more accurate result.

Lack of a control group certainly makes drawing any conclusions problematic at best.
Even if valid, the more disruptive/larger vocabulary findings pose some questions - are children in early care programs likely to be more verbal and more assertive, which translates into what is defined as disruptive behavior in a traditional school setting?
I am troubled by the eagerness of many to jump on a finding that is by all accounts, "slight and well within the normal range for healthy children;" bold headlines of "Child care linked to poor behavior" seem to be stretching the facts to fit a mindset.

I noticed that the article explicitly said that this effect was for child care centers. Apparently it was not found in home child care? This should be noted.

We need to think about the effects of large peer groups on young children. I remember a finding that children raised with their peers on kibbutzim in Israel, with relatively less influence of parents, were less responsive to authority figures than were children raised within their families. They were also more responsive to peers.

Unitl the public (and private) school systems realize that children do not line by being forced to sit in chairs/desks for long periods of time, perform tasks that are meaningless in terms of development, and hinder a child's ability to explore their world, classroom disruptions will continue to be a part of the daily routine in schools everywhere. I taught elementary school in the '70's and '80's and there isn't much difference in the practices being used today. Educators give lip service only to the changes that need to be made based on the mountains of brain research on children's abilities to learn while continuing to use archaic methods. Children are not vessels to be opened up and knowledge poured in by the teacher. They are capable of learning and exploring their world with proper guidance and leadership. Too much time is being spent in today's schools preparing children to take the myriad amount of standardized tests that give the school a false rating and drive the teacher's salaries. This system gives the teachers no choice but to continue in these out-dated methods of instruction. Politicians need to get out of the business of educating our children and allow those who truly understand children to teach.

First of all The University in London is not any better than the University of experience. I have been in this business 24 years. Have children in College that I have worked with. They are straight A's students.I am in committees that make the laws for day care children.
You have to take in consideration that in order for a child to grow as a whole there has to be colaboration from the parents,otherwise any progress in child care can be torn down at home.
Children come to day care without breakfast.Diet has a lot to do with learning, and behaviors.
Children that do home school if they do not interect with others have a difficult time adjusting to public school when they do go.

I would like to meet Jay Beisky.
I have never heard of a day care that only has 12 children and have 5 teachers. That is not feasable.Even with babies the law says 3 teachers for 12 babies.
Ignorance is the worse example for criticism.
A good licensed Day Care whether a Day Care Center of Day Care Home is one that stresses coloboration with the parents.
Working together is what makes a child whole in every way.
Sincerely,
Silvia Mills

First of all The University in London is not any better than the University of experience. I have been in this business 24 years. Have children in College that I have worked with. They are straight A's students.I am in committees that make the laws for day care children.
You have to take in consideration that in order for a child to grow as a whole there has to be colaboration from the parents,otherwise any progress in child care can be torn down at home.
Children come to day care without breakfast.Diet has a lot to do with learning, and behaviors.
Children that do home school if they do not interect with others have a difficult time adjusting to public school when they do go.

I would like to meet Jay Beisky.
I have never heard of a day care that only has 12 children and have 5 teachers. That is not feasable.Even with babies the law says 3 teachers for 12 babies.
Ignorance is the worse example for criticism.
A good licensed Day Care whether a Day Care Center of Day Care Home is one that stresses coloboration with the parents.
Working together is what makes a child whole in every way.
Sincerely,
Silvia Mills

The graduates students in the M.Ed. in Early Childhood Administration & Leadership had a wonderful discussion related to the NICD Study. They discussed the issues, talked about quality programs, parent involvement, communication systems, children's development, classroom environments and teacher child relationships. They asked a variety of interesting questions related to the research design, early care and education settings used in the study,
teacher reports, and comparisions of the types of programs used in the study.

We all were curious about children in sixth grade and how teachers in the elementary school settings looked back on nine or ten years of a child's life and could extrapolate that it was "all those hours in child care" that resulted in the six graders challenging behavior.

If elementary schools were run like high quality child care programs - good ratios, small groups, attention to the whole child - there would be a marked difference in the results of the findings - if one were to believe the findings!
and my second take on the study -
It seems to be another stab in the heart of working parents for no reason other than to limit funding of early child care.

As a center director for 20 years and a mom of three alumnae I agree that some children's centers are gradually getting away from developing the whole child as the MCAS "trickle down" happens.We, in the profession have to be committed to our values and what we know is appropriate for these children. Our culture is pushing us in a direction of limiting our young children, the nations future, from being all that they can be.We need to continue to educate families about what we are doing and why.This is a basic responsibility of an early childhood educator yet one of the most important!

What this study does not show is how many parents are allowing their children to stay up later than they should, watch innapproprite movies and/or tv shows and how parents never say no to their children because they are afraid of hurting their self-esteem.I am a licensed provider in the midwest and I can tell you I have several children in my daycare --preshcool that I have to work with everyday because they are still tired from lack of sleep the night before or have had nightmares from a movie or tv show they watched.I have always encourged my parents to set limits and bedtimes that will allow their children to be able to handle getting up and getting to daycare without the tears.I hope they will someday do a study about how the parenting in this country needs to change from "being my childs best freind to being the parent."

I have been a hoome provider for 16 years and I think there are many factors that lead to the aggression in this age child. My questions for the researchers would be...At least in this state ( NY) when a child completes the school year after their 12th birthday they are no longer allowed to be in child care. This usually takes place around 6th grade. For some programs the cut off is in 5th grade. Do you think the fact that now these children have been cut off from caring adults and become latch key kids until their parents come home has any effect?
Especialy in a home based program like mine where the child has been all their lives, they are suddenly told they can no longer come on a daily basis must has a dramatic effect on the child. The child is now left alone, exposed to who knows what video games, tv shows or computer items; they have to get their own snacks and be self disciplined enough to start their own homework and self directing enough to sometimes begin dinner or complete chores without assistance or supervision. Pre-adolesence is hard enough without the feeling of abandonment this age can bring with removal from a caring adult and peer relationships in child care. I think these are all good reasons for an increase in aggressive behaviors and not just because they have been in child care but because they have now been forced out and somewhat cut off.

I am disgusted with the report. It makes me angry that it is not representational of any good aspects of quality child care.
I am a Child Care Provider that has been in the business for 24 years. I have held managerial positions in my past until I got married in 1982. I always wanted a less stressful and more exciting job and I didn't know where to find one. I kind of fell into this business by accident while looking for a job that was more local than the one I already had.
To make this short, I have been to 3 weddings and I am a Godmother to 2 children in my care. I have attended 17 High School graduations, and 3 college graduations in the past 24 years. All of this was possible because I had all of those children in my care and their parents thought enough of me to want to keep in touch with me. I am proud to call myself a Child Care Provider and I never even want to consider looking for another job.
My retirement years will consist of conducting a Child Care Camp where we will go on fantastic field trips everyday. And that will happen just as soon as all the babies I currently have grow up to go to Kindergarten.
For your info, all of my graduates learned to read and write, know math and be able to write a simple book report while in my child care. They all were on the 1st-3rd grade level. I only had one child that graduated from my child care with a 6th grade reading level. I did not push them into learning. She is my little rocket scientist. They all wanted to learn. We have a planned learning experience everyday of the week. I also taught them social behavior in restaurants, to swim in a lake, roller skate, music and dance lessons. All of this and I had fun being able to be in their lives. I will never regret leaving a high powered job for mine. I love what I do.