Biting at Daycare

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06/15/2009 08:43

Subject: Re:Biting at Daycare

Anonymous

Belsky's bias has been widely exposed

http://archive.salon.com/mwt/feature/2001/04/26/belsky/index.html

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0426-01.htm
But several academics involved in the study said that its conclusion was overstated and that other important findings never reached the public. In the aftermath, a rift has been exposed among the research team, and questions from other experts have caused the researchers to perform additional analysis before formally publishing their findings.

"I feel we have been extremely irresponsible, and I'm very sorry the results have been presented in this way," said Margaret Burchinal, the lead statistician on the study, funded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. "I'm afraid we have scared parents, especially since most parents in this country [have to work]."

The study was updated in 2007
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/66188.php

Dr Belsky and colleagues found that although parenting was a stronger and more consistent predictor of development than early child care, quality of early child care made a difference to vocabulary. Children who had higher quality care before starting kindergarten had better vocabulary scores in the fifth grade than children who had lower quality care.

And children who spent longer in child care centres before starting kindergarten were reported as having more behavioural problems than children who did not, reagardless of the quality.

The types of problems were assessed by teachers completing a checklist that lists 100 different problem behaviours, such as demands a lot of attention; argues a lot; bragging and boasting; destroys things belonging to others; cruelty, bullying or meanness to others; disobedient at school; gets into many fights; lying or cheating; screams a lot.

In this case the children who spent longer in child care were reported as having aggression and disobedience problems such as "gets in many fights", or "disobedient at school", or "argues a lot".

The researchers strongly emphasized that the vocabulary and behaviour problem effect was very small in comparison to the difference that parenting quality made to child development, regardless of the type, quality or quantity of early child care.

And they also pointed out that the behavioural problems were well within the "normal" range, and would not be classified as clinical disorders.

As Dr Belsky explained, "It would not be possible to go into a classroom and with no additional information, pick out which children had been in center care".

Child care was measured in terms of quality, quantity and type from when the children were born to when they were four and a half years old.

Child care was defined as being cared for by "anyone other than the child's mother that was regularly scheduled for at least 10 hours per week. This included care by fathers, grandparents and other relatives".

In summing up, Dr James Griffin, who suprevised the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development study, said that attention from parents mattered a whole lot more than quality of day care or schooling. And he also said that parents should not let behavioural problems fester - better to address a behaviour problem as soon as it emerges, rather than hope the child will just grow out of it.