Utterly Meaningless

Other studies have found that high-quality day-care programs teach language skills somewhat better than low-quality day-care, babysitters or parents. However, I don’t think studies have compared middle-class momcare to day care. Often, they’re looking at welfare mothers or the relatives of welfare mothers as the exemplars of at-home care.

This study on aggression found that the quality of care didn’t matter. What counted was the number of hours of non-parental care. And, while most kids do fine, the increase in aggression is worrisome. Kindergarteners who regularly hit other kindergarteners tend to do quite poorly in school and in life.

Anecdotal evidence is next to worthless. That said, my daughter, who was in daycare, was quite a bit more aggressive in elementary school than I was as a child. By that I mean that on a few occasions when kids hit her she hit back. She was disciplined but very lightly, because the principal knew it was self-defense and told me so. When I think what a crybaby I was in grade school, I’m glad she had a different experience.

I received an email from Jimmy Kilpatrick, editor of EducationNews.org He suggested that I take it up with the author. Good advice except the article was unsigned.