Relationships between young children in full-time day care and their caregivers: a qualitative study of parental and caregiver perspectives

We studied the quality of caregiver–child relationships from the perspectives of parents and caregivers of young children in full-time day care. The sample consisted of 41 parents of children aged two years or younger (22 boys and 19 girls) in day care, and 35 of their caregivers. Parents and caregivers were interviewed. Parents and caregivers appeared to have up-to-date knowledge about caregiver–child relationships and about their importance. However, in evaluating the quality of the relationship between the individual child and its caregivers, both parties appeared to be more positive in their judgements than previous research would suggest. Caregivers are even more positive in their evaluations than parents. Day-care centres lack concrete assessment tools that might also reveal negative aspects of the relationship between caregivers and young children.     

The experience and perception of continuity between home and day care from the perspectives of child, mother, and caregiver

To examine the consistency between children's home and day care experiences and the impact of home#shday care differences upon adult-child interactions, 36 preschoolers [mean age 42 months] were observed at home with mother and in full-time subsidized family day care. Discontinuities as well as continuities in interactions were observed. Open-ended interviews with family day care providers and mothers furnished further insights in perceptions of similarities and differences between the settings and speculation about possible impact on the children's development.     

Infant care in England: mothers' aspirations, experiences, satisfaction and caregiver relationships

This paper investigates non-maternal infant care in the first year of life, examining the relationships between child care ideals, attitudinal, sociodemographic and psychological characteristics of mothers at three months postpartum and their child care experiences at 10 months. Predictors of child care use, satisfaction with non-maternal care and confidence in the relationship and communication with caregivers are examined. Realising ideals predicted more hours of child care use, although not greater satisfaction. Those with the father or a grandparent as the caregiver were more satisfied, as were mothers with more progressive attitudes to child rearing and to maternal employment. Higher socioeconomic status mothers and those using nurseries were less satisfied. Relationships with caregivers were poorer for those who believed that maternal employment may have more negative consequences for children.     

Factors related to depression among higher income mothers with young children in day care centers

This study examined the association between maternal depression, maternal separation anxiety, social support, and maternal involvement in the day care center. A factor analysis identified a cluster of maternal involvement variables, including the amount of time spent in the center, frequency of communication with caregivers, maternal participation in caregiving, and mid-day visits to the center. The sample consisted of 54 mothers with infants in on-site, near-site, and off-site centers. Mothers who were more involved in the center reported less depression.     

The experience and perception of continuity between home and day care from the perspectives of child,mother, and caregiver

To examine the consistency between children's home and day care experiences and the impact of home#shday care differences upon adult‐child interactions, 36 preschoolers [mean age 42 months] were observed at home with mother and in full‐time subsidized family day care. Discontinuities as well as continuities in interactions were observed. Open‐ended interviews with family day care providers and mothers furnished further insights in perceptions of similarities and differences between the settings and speculation about possible impact on the children's development.     

The impact of children/caregiver ratio on activities and social interaction in six day care centre groups

Questions concerning caregiver — child ratio were studied in six day care centre groups. Twenty caregivers were observed, one at a time for 12 hours. The observer kept a running record, writing down social interactions and activities. A total of 6312 observational units were collected.

According to the findings of this study variations in observed patterns of activities and social interactions could not be explained only by referring to variations in child/staff ratio. More adults per children increased child-oriented activities and close interaction with the children only if the staff agreed on goals and methods in their work.

A model is presented where child-caregiver ratio is related to group characteristics, adult working styles and concordance.     

Guilt of working women with infants and toddlers in day care

In studying the guilt of mothers of infants and toddlers who use day care, 89 white, middle‐class mothers were used as the sample. A questionnaire was administered to them which included a Maternal Guilt Scale and a Maternal Satisfaction Scale. Mothers who reported more satisfaction with child care also reported feeling less guilt about leaving their child in day care. Mothers who reported more satisfaction with home‐school communication reported feeling more guilt. Mothers with girls reported feeling moreguilt about leaving their child than mothers with boys.     

Mother and father involvement in day care centers serving infants and young toddlers

This study compared the involvement of 28 mothers and their spouses in day care centers serving infants and toddlers. The sample consisted of parents who work at varying distances from the center. Parents were interviewed ten times each to determine the amount of time they spend in the center, frequency of communication with care providers, mid-day visits to the center, playing with the child, and holding the child in the center. Factor analysis reduced these variables to one parental involvement factor. Mothers were significantly more involved than fathers in the center, after statistically controlling for distance to the workplace and occupational status.     

Effects of play training of adults on the cognitive and play behavior of preschool children

Mothers and caregivers of twenty-eight preschool children were trained to facilitate children's play. Effects of training on children's verbal cognition were measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised; effects on children's play were measured using the Parten#shPiaget Play Scale at the child's care site. Mothers and caregivers were assigned to training groups balanced for care site, gender, and age of child. In the experimental group, mothers and caregivers attended 14 one-hour noontime play training sessions together at the child care site; in the control group, only caregivers attended the 14 one-hour play training sessions. Overall, play training of adults was shown to be an effective mechanism to enhance preschool children's verbal cognition. However, mother#shcaregiver training was more effective than caregiver only training. Children's social and cognitive play and non-play behavior did not change significantly with adult training.     

Children's perceptions of their day care experiences

Results of a study focused on using a Day Care Center Toy and Interview Questionnaire to obtain information about preschool children's perceptions of their day care experiences are summarized. Fifty-eight preschool children from a variety of day care centers were interviewed about their liking for day care, selected problem situations, day care activities, and behaviors of their teachers. These children were able to express their thoughts and feelings about day care with the Day Care Center Toy and Interview Questionnaire through role playing, manipulation of objects, and verbal expression of concerns. Interscorer agreement in evaluating the interview data ranged from 92% to 100%. The Day Care Center Toy and Interview Questionnaire shows promise as a means of aiding early childhood educators in obtaining information about preschool children's perceptions of their day care experiences.     

Providers' evaluations of family day care services

Family day care is an informal and largely unregulated form of child care with providers a key element in creating effective programs. Relatively little is known of how providers perceive the needs of clients [parents and children] and how they evaluate the adequacy of their services in meeting family needs. Thirty-two registered home providers estimated parents' reasons for selecting family day care, and the degree to which their services met parents' and children's needs for care. They also evaluated the importance of program goals and provider qualifications and indicated their experience and training for day care. Knowledge of providers' perceptions of the quality of their services and their ability to meet client needs can help educators create training programs with appropriate content and format.     

Quality of day care and home-reared infants' interaction patterns with mothers and day care providers

Recently, infant day care has received considerable attention among researchers and public-policy advocates. This interest has focused mainly on the growing body of research on the effects of infant day care in terms of mother/child attachment. Relatively little work has examined differences in specific features of caregiving experienced by day care and home-reared infants. In the present study, adult/child interaction patterns were studied in a sample of 54 infants (36 home-reared, 18 day care) at 12 months of age. Differences between the groups were also assessed using outcome measures for cognitive and motivational competence. When mother/child interaction was compared in the home-reared and day care samples, very little difference was found in quality of interaction with the difference favoring the mothers of the day care infants. However, mothers in the day care sample had significantly higher quality interaction patterns with their infants than the day care providers with those same infants. Regarding child outcome, no differences were found between the home-reared and day care groups in exploratory competence, problem-solving ability, or mastery motivation. Several potential explanations for these findings are discussed.A version of this paper was presented at the biennial meetings of the International Conference on Infant Studies, Washington, D.C., April 1988. The research was supported in part by a grant from the University Research Committee, Indiana State University.     

Perceptions of infant/toddler temperament in three child care settings

The relationships among different types of infant and toddler child care (at home care, family day care home and day care center) and perceived temperament were investigated. Subjects in this study included mothers, fathers and supplementary caregivers (where applicable) of 64 infants and toddlers, aged 5‐22 months from middle to upper middle class homes. Parents and supplementary caregivers (where applicable) completed the Carey Infant Temperament Questionnaire.

ANOVAs were used to assess differences of temperament perceptions between the three child care groups. There were no significant differences between the groups of parents in their perceptions of the nine temperament characteristics or overall temperament. However, caregivers from day care centers perceived the temperament of children in their care as significantly more difficult (p = 0.002) than caregivers of children in family day care homes.     

A study of Korean working mothers with infants: implications for research and social policy

The purpose of this study was to examine a broad range of variables that predict maternal self-efficacy with a sample of 92 Korean working mothers whose infants are cared for at non-maternal child care settings. In addition, differences between mothers of infants on welfare roll and their socioeconomic status (SES) counterparts (not on welfare) were investigated in the study variables of interest. Several important results were obtained. A unique variance in the maternal self-efficacy scores was found in both the individual's demographic variables (explained by maternal age and maternal education) and psychological state (explained by the mothers' perceived parenting stress). Also, significant differences were detected between the two subgroups by SES (on welfare versus not on welfare). The mothers living in poverty tended to report that they perceived more confidence in parenting than the mothers with higher SES. The mothers in poverty were more likely to be satisfied with their child's substitute care (non-maternal child care) than their SES counterparts. Implications for research and social policy were discussed.     

Assessment of indoor environment in Paris child day care centers

Background

Children are sensitive to indoor environmental pollution. Up until now there has been a lack of data on air quality in child day care centers.

Objectives

The aim of this study is to document the indoor environment quality of Paris child day care centers by repeated measurements, and to compare pollutant levels in child day care centers with levels in Paris dwellings.

Methods

We selected 28 child day care centers frequented by a random sample of babies who participated in the PARIS birth cohort environmental investigation, and visited the child day care centers for one week twice in one year. Biological contaminants assessed were fungi, endotoxin, dust mite allergens, and chemical pollutants: aldehydes, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). Relative humidity, temperature, and carbon dioxide levels were measured simultaneously. A standardized questionnaire was used to gather information about the buildings and their inhabitants.

Results

Airborne endotoxin levels in child day care centers were higher than those found in Paris dwellings. Dust mite allergens in child day care centers were below the threshold level for sensitization in the majority of samples, and in common with dwelling samples. Penicillium and Cladosporium were the most commonly identified genera fungi. The child day care center indoor/outdoor ratio for most chemical pollutants was above unity except for NO₂, the levels for NO₂ being significantly higher than those measured in homes.

Conclusion

Chemical and biological contamination in child day care centers appears to be low, apart from endotoxin and NO₂. Failure to take child exposure in child day care centers into account could result in an overestimation of children's exposure to other pollutants.     

Early child care choices: a theoretical model and research implications

The purpose of this study was to propose a theoretical model that relates mothers' selection of child care type to each of the contexts of the proposed model, and then to test the model in a group of forty-seven mothers of young children (center care users, family day care users, or users in combination of the two) who were recruited in the Mid-West. Statistical analysis was primarily performed for two groups of mothers (center care users versus family day care users) to investigate differences in each of the paths of the child care selection model. Additional analysis of the group of mothers alternating between the two found that there is a great need for child care among working mothers, and a diversity in their preference of child care type exists even with such a small sample size. Findings from the pilot study substantiated the paths in the model. Directions for future research in this area using the proposed model were provided.     

Associations of caregiver stress with working conditions,caregiving practices,and child behaviour in home-based child care

Home-based child caregivers face unique stressors related to the nature of their work. One hundred and fifty-five home-based child care providers in Oregon, USA, participated in this cross-sectional correlational study. We investigated associations between indicators of caregiver stress and child care working conditions, the quality of caregiver practices, frequency of child behaviour challenges, and caregivers' tolerance for those behaviours. Levels of stress in this sample were moderate to low. Significant associations were found between greater caregiver stress with higher child–caregiver ratio, working in isolation, less frequently observed caregiver positive attention, more caregiver-reported child problem behaviours and lower tolerance for problem behaviours. A multiple regression analysis with these variables significantly contributed to 23% of the variance of caregiver stress. Number of hours worked, observed caregiver negative attention, and responsiveness to children were not associated with caregiver stress. Implications of these findings and the need for future studies are discussed.     

Early child care choices: a theoretical model and research implications

The purpose of this study was to propose a theoretical model that relates mothers' selection of child care type to each of the contexts of the proposed model, and then to test the model in a group of forty‐seven mothers of young children (center care users, family day care users, or users in combination of the two) who were recruited in the Mid‐West. Statistical analysis was primarily performed for two groups of mothers (center care users versus family day care users) to investigate differences in each of the paths of the child care selection model. Additional analysis of the group of mothers alternating between the two found that there is a great need for child care among working mothers, and a diversity in their preference of child care type exists even with such a small sample size. Findings from the pilot study substantiated the paths in the model. Directions for future research in this area using the proposed model were provided.     

The effects of day care: A critical analysis

Maternal employment has increased over the last thirty years in the USA. The result of this increase means more families are in need of day‐care for their children. Examined in this paper are research findings on the effects of day‐care on pre‐school children and their families. The implications of these findings for policy development are critically discussed.

Currently in the USA, over 50% of mothers work outside the home; this figure is expected to rise to 75% by 1990. The fastest growing segment of the working mother population is among those with children under two (Zigler and Gordon, 1982). This increasing rate of maternal employment over the last two decades has created the need for alternative arrangements for infants and young children. There is some concern among child developmental specialists that these alternative arrangements of caremay have detrimental effects on a child's social and psychological development.

Much of the concern about substitute care is based on the theory and research related to the negative effects of institutionalization on young children (Bowlby, 1951; Spitz, 1945). This body of literature, however, tells one little about the typical forms of substitute care experienced by most children. Obviously, children generally do not experience the extreme physical and social deprivation reported on in the institutional literature (Advisory Committee on Child Development, 1976: 117). Consequently, the quality of substitute care received by the majority of children is not comparable to the type of care studied in the institutional literature.

Still, the possibility remains that even with high quality care, differences may be found in the behavior and development of children as a function of the type of substitute care received. The literature reports numerous studies on the impact of various forms of substitute care; however, most of these studies are not well designed (Advisory Committee on Child Development, 1976: 118). The typical form of substitute care focused on in the literature has been high quality, university based day‐care settings, a form of substitute care most children do not have access to (Santrock, 1983: 159). Even though the majority of these studies have weak methodological designs and are based on day‐care settings not experienced by most children, some meaningful findings have emerged in the literature. This paper will focus on those relevant studies reporting on the impact of one very common form of substitute care, day‐care for the pre‐school child. The major emphasis of the review will be on how day‐care impacts the pre‐school child's intellectual development, emotional development, social development, and the child's family system. The authors will draw from these findings several major policy implications.