Time for Parenting...

...because raising children is a full-time job

October 2004 Newsletter

The Daycare Debate Continues…

Anna Lines discusses research presented by Professor Edward Melhuish at the fourth annual conference of the Attachment Unit into the effects of early experience on child development.

Prof. Melhuish is leading a study of 3000 children being followed from the age of 3 to 11. The children are now 8 years old. The findings of this study are being taken seriously by government, as a result of which an extra 300 child centres are to be established.

These 3000 children have received different types of pre-school education. 310 among them had received no significant pre-school education, others were in Local Authority daycare, private nursery classes, playgroups, nursery schools etc. 190 were in integrated Child Centres.

Whatever the setting, the home learning environment was always the best predictor of outcome. What the parents do with their children is far more important than who the parents are. Interestingly, only children showed more anti-social behaviour, as did children who had been subjected to high levels of group care. A moderate level of childminder care seems all right, a high level is not.

The findings showed that below the age of 2 there is no merit in group care, but it can become a positive experience after that age. Whereas half-time pre-school education after the age of 2 can be beneficial, there is a law of diminishing returns in full time education at a young age. Prof. Melhuish stated quite honestly that this finding conflicts with parental needs.

I felt that Prof. Melhuish had been scrupulous in presenting his results to the Government, but that the latter had chosen to cherry pick those results that suited its own agenda. I was struck by the fact that only 190 children in the study had attended an integrated Child Centre (possibly only part time). But the Government has seized upon that small number in order to justify its decision to establish an extra 300 such centres around this country, all of whom will be required to offer daycare provision. It blatantly ignores the clear overall finding of this study which is that a good home learning environment coupled with part-time pre-school education after the age of 2 gave children the best start in life. There continues to be scant government support for parents who endeavour to provide just this type of care.

I put the latter points to Prof. Melhuish during a question and answer session at the end. Prof. Jay Belsky, who had also spoken about the importance of early parental attachment, gave me his full support and added that it is precisely these kind of parents who end up subsidising the daycare industry!