Does day care harm children?
This old question has gained relevance with the increasing number of working mothers. In 1975, 39 percent of mothers in United States worked, compared to 64 percent today. Does all this time away from the presumed primary parent harm children? After all, rat pups separated for long periods from their mothers show abnormally strong stress reactions. Psychologists use “attachment” to describe how children react to a brief separation from mom. Children who respond positively to mother after her return are called “securely attached;” those who avoid her or can’t be comforted are called “insecurely attached.” Insecure attachment has been linked to a variety of behavioral problems later in life. Preamble completed! What did they find? According to a large, ongoing study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Development called the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, day care does not harm attachment across the board. But some interesting exceptions showed how combinations of facto
