| Abstract: | Different ways of helping parents care for babies are reviewed. The evaluations of those existing now in France are reported. Research results are presented to evaluate effects of different child care arrangements. “The Baby's Day,” which evaluates the temperament, the development of the relations, and the attitudes of the caregivers was created based on questions and observations. A study using this test was conducted with 262 children cared for in three ways: at home, at a day-care center, and at a family day-care home. The children were aged nine months, two years, or three and one half years (the oldest were all at the nursery school, but were previously cared for in one of these ways). The test was carried out in homes and in child-care places. The results show differences between children cared for in different ways, as well as between the same children when they go from one environment to the other. These differences, however, do not persist when the children are at the nursery school. Social class and birth order differences were found. Improvements for each mode of child care are proposed, in order to help all children develop better and all mothers to take pleasure in parenting their babies. |
