Daycare

Daycare

1. Anderson

   • Looked at nursery care in Sweden and found that children who attended day care were more sociable and better able to get along with peers than those who did not attend day care.

2. Hwang, Campbell and Lamb

   • Studied children in Swedish daycare continuosly from 18 months to 3 1/2 years of age
     • Compared with a group of children whose parents were not able to find them daycare placements
     • Assessed at home and in daycare, playing with peers ages 18m, 2 1/2 and 3 1/2
       • Their findings
         • Children spending long sessions in daycare were less pro-social than those spending shorter sessions
         • Children who experienced high quality care were more socially competent
         • Social competence remained stable later in life (tested at 15)
   • Strengths
     • Used range of methods which increased validity
       • Caldwell's HOME inventory
       • Later asking care provider and then teacher to describe child's social skills
       • Self report measurements at 15
     • Baseline taken at 18 months so later comparisons are valid
   • Weaknesses
     • Cannot be generalised as Sweden has lots of funding available for child care
     • Informed parental consent required

3. Belsky

   • Carried out a study similar to Hwang, Campbell and Lamb but in America
     • Findings
       • Children in daycare have enhanced cognitive abilities
       • Children more aggressive than those who have not experienced daycare
         • Perhaps because they have to fight over toys and adult attention
       • Aggressive to peers as the child grows older as well as less obedient to authority figures

4. Borge

   • Found aggression was higher in children who had not attended daycare