Justifying Day Care - Page 2

C-Mac · 03-26-2007, 06:50 PM

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune....justify_d.html
Justifying day care
"As if I don’t already feel guilty for putting my son in day care at the tender age of three months, a new study shows that the more time children spend in center-based care before kindergarten, the more likely they’ll fight, disobey and argue, according to their 6th grade teachers.

The increase in problem behavior was slight, but studies like this inspire me to look for the silver lining. And I always return to the same thing: "the hygiene hypothesis," or the belief that early exposure to germs helps the immune system develop properly.

While most children get six to eight infections a year, children in day care bring home twice that number, or about one a month. Day-care settings --or petri dishes, as my pediatrician calls them-- have high levels of indoor allergens and have been shown to incubate and spread antibiotic resistant bacteria.

This sounds like a no-brainer: Keep your children at home! But since most of us don't have that option--63 percent of U.S. children under the age of five spend 37 hours a week in child care--I manage to get through the work day by reminding myself my kids might turn out healthier in the long run.

Some research bears this out. A 2005 study in the British Medical Journal showed that children who attended day care in the first few months of life are less likely to develop leukemia than children who do not, most likely because they were protected from exposure to common infections. Similar associations have been reported for Type 1diabetes and allergies and asthma in children.

Still, even if they have stronger immune systems, is it worth sending them to day care if they’re going to have behavioral issues that persist at least until 6th grade? That, according to the research, published in the March/April issue of "Child Development," is up to the parents.

The researchers involved with the longest and most comprehensive study of child care in the U.S. cautioned that parenting quality was a much more important predictor of child development than the type, quantity or quality of child care.

Ultimately, while quality day care is important, a quality home environment matters more."

We had to do without some things obviuosly but the wife and I both agreed that her being at home while the children were young, was far more important than her having a career or us having a new car or house. We now get compliments all the time about our kids and their behavior and I truly feel that this is one of the main reasons why. I do understand that not everyone's situation allows mom to stay home(especially single moms), but I do think that there are many cases that if they just tried to live a little simpler, they could pull it off.

ZepSinger · 03-27-2007, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevieray

same here..we've made it ten years on just my income...been worth every sacrifice...what's wild, is my wife is even more committed to being home during the HS years.

Same story here... my wife has been at home raising our 3 girls for 9 years now, and homeschooling them as well. There's definitely been some tough financial times, but my daughters being at home is worth every hardship we've faced. They're complimented everywhere they go for how well-mannered and smart they are. I can honestly say it's the best decision we've ever made.

Z

Simplex3 · 03-27-2007, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judge Smails

I'm glad some one feels the same as I do. My wife and I love our daycare provider (daycare in someone's home) and our daughter has learned as much from the kids as she has from us. Yes, she catches every sniffle they have, but are we going to lock her up in a plastic bubble until she turns 30?
The whole behavior argument is crap. I was in daycare off and on growing up and have never has a problem arguing, however my youngest brother was exclusively at home and was the the most stubborn pain in the ass.

Why did you have them if you're going to see them 2 hours a day and have someone else raise them? Justify it to yourself any way you'd like but you spend about 1/3 as much time with your child as the daycare lady does. They're more her kids than yours. You can keep congratulating yourselves on finding a provider that mimics you (or what you wish you were), though.

**Saulbadguy** · 03-27-2007, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simplex3

Why did you have them if you're going to see them 2 hours a day and have someone else raise them? Justify it to yourself any way you'd like but you spend about 1/3 as much time with your child as the daycare lady does. They're more her kids than yours. You can keep congratulating yourselves on finding a provider that mimics you (or what you wish you were), though.

Do you homeschool your children, too?

I worked at a daycare for nearly 5 years. Being in daycare didn't make them behave badly, or have poor manners. That was a reflection of poor parenting, not poor "day-caring".

I think if you do the math, you will find that even if you do put your children in daycare, you will spend more time with them than your daycare providers do..unless of course you put them in weekend daycare, which I don't think too many people do.

kepp · 03-27-2007, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simplex3

We do two years of pre-school leading up to kindergarten, two days a week for 3 hours each day. Sort of a warm-up before kindergarten.

That's pretty much what we're doing. Right now our 3 1/2 year old goes two half-days a week to an "early learners" class (pre-preschool). Next year we're going to have her go three half-days in preschool and then it's on to the big time...kindergarten.

kepp · 03-27-2007, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

I worked at a daycare for nearly 5 years.

I was wondering who kept slapping those K-State stickers on my kid's back as she walked out the door.

Hydrae · 03-27-2007, 06:51 AM

My mother was a stay at home mom and I know how much that meant to me growing up knowing she would be there when I got home from school. I love the fact that my wife WANTS to be a stay home mother. One child is now grown and gone with 2 more to go. And yes, my kids get complimented a lot on how they act.

Oh, on the whole immunities type of thing, I agree that exposure strengthens the immune system. The other thing we do nowadays that takes away from that is all the shots we give our kids instead of allowing nature to take care of things. Some of them are certainly a good thing but we take it to far as a society IMO and do it too young. We did not allow our kids any shots until they were a year old and they all have grown up just fine health-wise.

**Saulbadguy** · 03-27-2007, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hydrae

Oh, on the whole immunities type of thing, I agree that exposure strengthens the immune system. The other thing we do nowadays that takes away from that is all the shots we give our kids instead of allowing nature to take care of things. Some of them are certainly a good thing but we take it to far as a society IMO and do it too young. We did not allow our kids any shots until they were a year old and they all have grown up just fine health-wise.

Yeaaaah. Let's just ake 50 years of medical science and advances, and throw it out the door.

stevieray · 03-27-2007, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Yeaaaah. Let's just ake 50 years of medical science and advances, and throw it out the door.

I still can't figure out how we all survived without bike helmets.

Hydrae · 03-27-2007, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Do you homeschool your children, too?

I worked at a daycare for nearly 5 years. Being in daycare didn't make them behave badly, or have poor manners. That was a reflection of poor parenting, not poor "day-caring".

I think if you do the math, you will find that even if you do put your children in daycare, you will spend more time with them than your daycare providers do..unless of course you put them in weekend daycare, which I don't think too many people do.

While I agree that his quote was a stretch, I will never understand some people who pay 90% of the second income to ship their kids off. I firmly believe this is stupid and selfish.

I will agree that socialization of young children is good also. That is where Sunday School and church come in nicely.

**Saulbadguy** · 03-27-2007, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevieray

I still can't figure out how we all survived without bike helmets.

Obviously because alot of people simply do not have that much to lose up there.

**Saulbadguy** · 03-27-2007, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hydrae

While I agree that his quote was a stretch, I will never understand some people who pay 90% of the second income to ship their kids off. I firmly believe this is stupid and selfish.

I will agree that socialization of young children is good also. That is where Sunday School and church come in nicely.

It's nowhere near 90%. If I had a child right now, it would be around %35 of my wifes income to send the child to daycare. That is a much nicer figure than 100%, IMO.

Craash · 03-27-2007, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hydrae

. . . That is where Sunday School and church come in nicely.

Great, now we are throwing science and logic RIGHT out the window.

Hydrae · 03-27-2007, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Yeaaaah. Let's just ake 50 years of medical science and advances, and throw it out the door.

Sorry, didn't mean to sidetrack the discussion and don't have time to follow up right now but let's ignore the large increase in autism that has been linked to early immunizations. It is a controversial subject with no clear cut answers but I believe we take it too far as a society.

Oh, and don't get my wife started on this subject. Or the new vaccine to prevent cervical cancer that is being required now here in Texas for all girls in 6th grade. What they don't tell you (in this lovely society driven by fear that we live in) is that the only ones at risk for this problem are those sexually active. If my 6th grader is sexually active there is a much bigger issue, IMO!

ZepSinger · 03-27-2007, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Yeaaaah. Let's just ake 50 years of medical science and advances, and throw it out the door.

That's not necessarily true. When my middle daughter was born, our pediatrician pressured us to immunize her with something that had recently come out. We did so. Then, about a year later, he said that they had to discontinue that type of immunization because it was found to cause irritation in the esophagus, which caused babies to spit up far more than normal (which was indeed the case with our daughter). So yes, I believe that the medical community can and does over-immunize. Some immunizations are imperative yes, but not all.

Z

stevieray · 03-27-2007, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Obviously because alot of people simply do not have that much to lose up there.

we were too independent to try to save each other from ourselves.

03-26-2007, 06:50 PM
C-Mac Lurker Extraordinaire Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Wally World Casino cash: $-996301	Justifying Day Care http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune....justify_d.html Justifying day care "As if I don’t already feel guilty for putting my son in day care at the tender age of three months, a new study shows that the more time children spend in center-based care before kindergarten, the more likely they’ll fight, disobey and argue, according to their 6th grade teachers. The increase in problem behavior was slight, but studies like this inspire me to look for the silver lining. And I always return to the same thing: "the hygiene hypothesis," or the belief that early exposure to germs helps the immune system develop properly. While most children get six to eight infections a year, children in day care bring home twice that number, or about one a month. Day-care settings --or petri dishes, as my pediatrician calls them-- have high levels of indoor allergens and have been shown to incubate and spread antibiotic resistant bacteria. This sounds like a no-brainer: Keep your children at home! But since most of us don't have that option--63 percent of U.S. children under the age of five spend 37 hours a week in child care--I manage to get through the work day by reminding myself my kids might turn out healthier in the long run. Some research bears this out. A 2005 study in the British Medical Journal showed that children who attended day care in the first few months of life are less likely to develop leukemia than children who do not, most likely because they were protected from exposure to common infections. Similar associations have been reported for Type 1diabetes and allergies and asthma in children. Still, even if they have stronger immune systems, is it worth sending them to day care if they’re going to have behavioral issues that persist at least until 6th grade? That, according to the research, published in the March/April issue of "Child Development," is up to the parents. The researchers involved with the longest and most comprehensive study of child care in the U.S. cautioned that parenting quality was a much more important predictor of child development than the type, quantity or quality of child care. Ultimately, while quality day care is important, a quality home environment matters more." We had to do without some things obviuosly but the wife and I both agreed that her being at home while the children were young, was far more important than her having a career or us having a new car or house. We now get compliments all the time about our kids and their behavior and I truly feel that this is one of the main reasons why. I do understand that not everyone's situation allows mom to stay home(especially single moms), but I do think that there are many cases that if they just tried to live a little simpler, they could pull it off.
Posts: 5,659

03-27-2007, 06:51 AM	#21
Hydrae MVP Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Newport, Or Casino cash: $-1073000	My mother was a stay at home mom and I know how much that meant to me growing up knowing she would be there when I got home from school. I love the fact that my wife WANTS to be a stay home mother. One child is now grown and gone with 2 more to go. And yes, my kids get complimented a lot on how they act. Oh, on the whole immunities type of thing, I agree that exposure strengthens the immune system. The other thing we do nowadays that takes away from that is all the shots we give our kids instead of allowing nature to take care of things. Some of them are certainly a good thing but we take it to far as a society IMO and do it too young. We did not allow our kids any shots until they were a year old and they all have grown up just fine health-wise.
Posts: 14,855