Child Care: A Synthesis of Research

Four popular child care settings are family day care homes, care centers, relative care, and in-home care by non-relatives. Quality indicators in child care include curriculum that features child-centered developmental activities; responsive, sensitive, and affectionate caregivers; limited group size; low adult-child ratio; staff training and stability; parent involvement; and comprehensive social services such as health and nutrition. Children from low-income families who have received child care have shown short-term cognitive effects (e.g. immediate and positive intellectual gains and better preparation for entry into school); long-term cognitive effects (e.g. fewer grade retentions, reduced placement in special education classes, and greater high school completion and employment rates); and social-emotional effects (e.g. better self-esteem, higher ratings in social and emotional maturity, less antisocial behavior, and lower crime rate). Research indicates that child care may enhance social and intellectual development for middle class children as well as disadvantaged children.