can Daycare be bad for kids??

United States
July 26, 2007 3:31pm CST
I recently read an article discussing daycare. It was saying that daycare is a relatively NEW thing, and that we have not yet seen the effects it has on children (because they have not all grown old yet). But it did say that many psychologists who have been studying it from the start feel that daycare could be negatively impacting children. That children who are without their mothers too young (like from infancy) wind up having more relationship and social problems. Now, I DO NOT KNOW if I believe this. My question is, do you?? How do you feel about this issue?? Is your child in daycare; if not, would you put them in it??
7 people like this
13 responses
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
26 Jul 07
I think Daycare is a good idea if you are a working family but not just that, it's also a good thing for your children to socialise with other kids their own age. I saw how my daughter was when her cousins were here & i think that when she's a little older, i might consider a day here & there in daycare. I think things there are different though, you can have any old person doing home daycare. I don't think you can do that here in Australia, instead, you just put your kid(s) in a childcare centre with proper, trained childcare workers etc. I did some of my high school work experience in childcare centres & they were GREAT, the kids had fun running around with other kids, art projects, nap time, outdoor games & when it came to snack time, i made a HUGE meal for the little tackers, all healthy. So, no, for the moment i don't have a child in daycare but as i mentioned, 1 day a week wont hurt for her to get in some social interaction before she starts kindergarten or school. I know some people would prefer a family member watched their kids while they work etc & i think that's a great idea but it still means your child only has adults etc to socialise with & little ones really do need time with kds their own age to learn to socialise & get along with! Oh & i don't know how a child would have social problems later in life, i have only ever seen kids with social problems when they go straight from being home with parents or relatives & not having anything to do with other children, then in to school.
@34momma (13882)
• United States
26 Jul 07
there isn't anything new about day care. it has been around for a very long time. my little girl who is almost three just started a couple of weeks ago and she is doing great. she is my only child who has attened daycare because i have always had my aunt take care of my children while i worked. but i have known many children who has attened daycare and are doing wonderful. so i say if you are or anyone else out there are going to put there child(ren) in daycare just make sure you investgate the place and the people. take your time and find a place that you are going to feel comfortable with leaving your children there. i am very happy with my daycare
• United States
27 Jul 07
thanks 34momma. I probably would do my research well before putting my girlie in a daycare. I don't know if I will yet... I am divided on the issue. I know for sure I won't put her in until she is about 3 or 4 (year before kindergarten). Right now, I think they would just put her in a crib all day and I know she would hate that! But I also want to spend those early years with her a full time momma (I do work but at night so I keep her daytime). But thanks for sharing the good side of it!
1 person likes this
• United States
27 Jul 07
thanks 34momma. I probably would do my research well before putting my girlie in a daycare. I don't know if I will yet... I am divided on the issue. I know for sure I won't put her in until she is about 3 or 4 (year before kindergarten). Right now, I think they would just put her in a crib all day and I know she would hate that! But I also want to spend those early years with her a full time momma (I do work but at night so I keep her daytime). But thanks for sharing the good side of it!
@34momma (13882)
• United States
27 Jul 07
being able to spend those early years with your children is just a wonderful thing when you can do it. i wish that i was able to. i stayed home with my little girl until she was about 8 months. i would love to be able to be home with her now. being that is not the case, i know the day care she is in is a great one and i can already see her learning more and more. good luck
@RobinJ (2501)
• Canada
27 Jul 07
I can not imagine where you got the idea of daycare being a new thing, I would imagine that in the days of the cave men that there were forms of day care, where most of the adults were looking after the needs of the clan and the very young were left in the care of the elders and were taught by them.So if You choose your daycare provider because of her values and caring qualities match your own, what would be the problem, Most people do not do their home work and check out the day care centers and that is where they run into problems. Do you home work before you go to work, and you will be content with who is ever looking after your child.
• United States
27 Jul 07
Umm actually daycare is a "Relatively new" thing, in that, instituional daycares (or in other words, groups of cihldren being watched by a small number of adults not related to them) have not been around for long over a generation. I got this idea from the article I mentioned that covered recent doctor's studies. Doctors did state that daycare is new in THIS way. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I have learned about history, cave men (and other ancient peoples) did NOT leave the children with elders and so on. Children stayed with their mothers while the fathers went out to hunt or forage for food. While mothers did work or gathering food, children were taken along or carried on their backs etc. Mothers were expected to keep their children with them all the time. I also believe that in most present day tribes, mothers still carry their babies with them to do all their daily tasks. You can see photos of things like this (babies on mom's backs or children tagging along helping). Daycare is pretty new, I think, because it only became a necessity in society after women began needing to work outside of the home due to rising cost of living. I'm not here to knock daycare; I think every mom should do as she sees fit. Just explaining that daycare is not something that has been around since the dawn of time as you suggest.
@naadia (828)
• India
27 Jul 07
I don't think daycare is always worse, although I agree that nothing beats the constant care that a "loving and secure" home environment that one parent or one care-giver can give however; not everyone is in this position because all are very busy now.luckily in india this system is only in some cities!but sooner there will be more and more daycare centre!
@vinzen (1020)
• India
28 Jul 07
Hi, there are many pros and cons, and personally i wouldnt send my child to daycare, as i believe that it is my responsibilty to raise my child well if i have brought them into this world, and not put them onto someone elses care. They are too small, and many a things happening there would leave a negative impact on their tender hearts and minds, and there is no one whom you can fully trust with your child, except yourself.
@mee2kz (7)
• United States
16 Oct 07
Well, i have a different prespecti ve on this due to the fact thaat i work in child care. Also my sister has three kids who all have been in child care at one point or another. there r benefits as well as conaquences of putting your child in day care. In my opinion the positive affects are socialization. Also learning to trust other as well as learning to comfort themselves. i think children who go to child care are more independant as they get older. They learn that they dont have to always have mommy and daddy there to be safe.They learn to trust others as well as how to play well with others. If a child just spends most of there ime with one or both of there parents. They dont get a good sense of trusting others and comforting themselves. im in no way against not putting your child in daycare. I think there are alot of benefits to that as well. it all depends on how involved the parents are. if they dont interacte well with there kids or introduce them into different situations that help them learn about the real world. Theey can grow up to be shelered and when they r on there own it could be harder for them to coop. But if your dedicated to being there every step of the way makin sure ur children grow in all aspects of there life then it all comes down to a matter of choice. but these days alot of parents have no other choice, its a last resort due to the many househoulds where both parents work.
@sanell (2112)
• United States
27 Jul 07
That is such a hard call because I am sure there are good daycares out there and then there are just those that are the "Mills" I went to a couple of different places, I am lucky I do not need to put my kids in daycare but if I start working full time because I may need to, well, then I would rather hire a nanny to come in to watch the kids. It is good to have the social activity but if there are tons of kids there and little adults then I think it can be bad because the kids are not getting their needs met overall. I know there are lots of people who need to put their kids in daycare some just do not have a choice.
@ArsonCuff (3114)
• United States
27 Jul 07
I guess I would put them in it if I had to for some reason, but as far as being negative one could say any interaction with other humans can have negative results...ha.
@magikrose (5429)
• United States
26 Jul 07
I dont put my kids in day care and I dont because I dont want strangers raising my kids. I have never used daycare services. I just dont like the idea of a stranger raising my kids for me it is not right. I would rather have a family member babysit my kids over a daycare.
• Philippines
27 Jul 07
I think parents who takes their children in daycare have jobs and a lot of work to do. It may be bad if they do it very often and not spend much time with their children when the kids are with them. I am not judging parents but I have observe that parents who works a lot spends less time with their children even at home. I think children should spend less time on daycare but that doesnt mean that they should not be brought there. Parents should make QUALITY time whenever they can with their children. Grandparents also do there part or aunties and uncles or cousins or godparents. I will still put my children in it, if I will have any.
@sukumar794 (5040)
• Thiruvananthapuram, India
27 Jul 07
No child is going to get the love that he/she would derive from his/her mother. It is not only care that matters...it has got to be mother's touch and concern that matters most for the child. Could you expect substitution of mother's care from foster caretakers ?
• United States
27 Jul 07
Daycare can be bad or good. It just depends and you just take your chances. I worked at a daycare where they popped the kids hands and some of them on the butt. The infants like under 2 years old they would thump their fingernail with theirs. I know it is aweful. Bad thing is there were cameras there, they would just dodge the cameras. of couse I did not do that. That is VERY WORNG. My kids attended the day care also. But they were only there when I was working there. So I kept a good eye on them. i never reported them though I should have. One boy tried to tell on a teacher to his granma one day when she came to get him, but the grandma did not believe him. That is crazy. I caught one hollaring at my 2 year old, and I told her really fast that I did not like that. She never did it again. But me and my hubby work separate shift, so I will never allow my children to go to a daycare again. And I got a few web cams, so if I ever get a babysitter, I will put the cams up somewhere and record it all. Be careful please. You also can not just go by checking the place out. When I started my kids at the one I worked at....I thought it was a great daycare. I watched the camera with the teachers and the kids on it and I thought that it was great. But I was soooooo wrong.
• United States
27 Jul 07
I couldn't bear putting our first born into daycare. The thought of dropping them off with someone who already takes card of between 5-8 children just didn't thrill me. I want someone to hold my baby if I can't be there. And I don't think that's really going to happen at daycare. My husband and I made to decision for me to stay at home full time and I'm so happy we did. I asked every mom I knew if they stayed home or worked when their kids were little. Every single person told me they were thankfull they stayed home with their kids, OR they wish they would've stayed home longer while their kids were little. Well that made my decision, how could I go wrong with staying home, especially since my husband was really pushing me to do it. That was 5 yrs ago. We now have two boys ages 5 and 2. I do think at least some daycare is good when they are 2 or 3. They need some social time too. I don't know if daycare is bad or good. It's just what some people have to do.