What kind of advice is good for parents who have to leave their young children in day care and want to ensure that the children have a positive experience?
Although there have been many studies of the impact of day care on infants and children, the largest study ever conducted on this topic is still going on, so all of the data are not in. To date, however, it seems that day care is, overall, a slight advantage – certainly not a disadvantage – for the child. The studies deal, of course, with average day-care experiences. Some children will have day-care that is better than average, others worse. The trick is to find good day care for your child. Good day care programs provide the same environment as good homes: a healthy and safe physical environment and plenty of supervision from warm, caring, sensible adults. Day care centers that are not state-certified should be avoided, but state certification is no guarantee that the day care center is a good one. The only way to be sure is to speak to parents and children who attend the center and visit it yourself and observe. 1998 Copyright by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
