Conclusion

After examining information on the effects that daycare centers have on children combined with my research on daycare costs and safety, I have concluded that the need for care, and the cost of care, truly dictate what daycare option a family will choose. I also found that daycares pose little risk to kids and may help them develop social and communication skills, if the centers are chosen and monitored with the upmost care. Quality homecare can be provided by an immediate family member such as mom, dad, or grandparents at an enormous cost savings. However the quality of the parenting and family structure have a direct impact on the children’s development. When homecare is not an option the amount of money one has to spend on care becomes the deciding factor.  We all want what is best for our children; we will spend what we can to make sure they receive quality care. Not always but most of the time, you get what you pay for and this is absolutely true for childcare.

I am going to continue researching more of the financial aspects of childcare. I want to know more about why the cost for care in Colorado are so high compared to the rest of the country, I am also interested in looking at the differences between for profit centers and not for profit centers and what type of financial assistance may be available.

One aspect of childcare that I did not look at is how it affects the parent. Watching multiple kids, fulltime, can be very stressing for stay at home parents. Is it better for the wellbeing of both the parent and the child if the kids go to daycare at least a little? Is this why some stay at home parents still send their kids to daycare?

I think that I would like to argue for high quality public preschools/daycares for all kids in the country age 6 months and older that want it.

Sincerely,

Jason

Childcare Safety

Hello again,

Thank you for the comments. After reading them it is easy to see that everyone has a different situation when it comes to childcare. Each family must take into consideration what is best for them and actually practical.

 The fact is I need to get back to work to be able to support my family financially so childcare is a must. Doing my research I kept seeing stories about bad things happening at daycares. It makes me fear that something bad could happen to my children if I send them off. Do I really need to be concerned? Are childcare centers safe? I found the article “How to keep the kids safe, in day care or with a Saturday-night sitter” on CNN.com that was written by Diana Burrell and originally appeared on Parenting.com on September 29, 2006 that made me feel a little better. The article was basically telling parents how to be smart. You need to look at things such as correct licensing, security, what type of background checks have been done on employees. What the author plainly points out is that good judgment, research, and common sense go a long way. Bad things can and may happen but you cannot lock up your kids in anticipation of it. Instead it is better to be thorough and investigative when deciding on childcare so as to try and minimize or eliminate said risks.

The article also left me wondering about the actual security of the kids. Many daycare centers are secure buildings/campuses that have things such as finger print scanners to get in and out and video surveillance. How can home based childcare ensure the security of the children? Do more bad things like child abductions, physical, mental, and sexual abuse happen in homecare or daycare? Is the level of security the cause?

This is another link to a “Child Care: Day Care Safety Checklist” on Parents.com

I was able to find an a study done by The US Consumer Product Safety Commission titled “Safety Hazards in Child Care Settings” That goes into detail about the safety risks associated with childcare. These risks include “cribs, soft bedding, playground surfacing, playground surfacing maintenance, child safety gates, window blind cords, drawstrings in children's clothing, and recalled children's products” The report then gives some frightening statistics, “About 31,000 children, 4 years old and younger, were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for injuries at child care/school settings in 1997. CPSC is aware of at least 56 children who have died in child care settings since 1990.” The study also found that two thirds of the providers they looked had at least one violation. Looking at the results closer though I began to see that many of these situations can be avoided or at least limited just by following the advice from the previous article I wrote about. Some of the other injuries and problems listed may have been preventable but a lot seem like accidents.

Where DaycareDangers Lurk:

• CRIBS: 8% of the child care settings had cribs that did not meet current safety standards.
  Older cribs can present many dangers to children, including strangulation and suffocation.
• SOFT BEDDING: 19% of the child care settings had cribs containing soft bedding.
  Soft bedding may present a suffocation hazard for infants.
• PLAYGROUND SURFACING: 24% of the child care settings did not have safe playground surfacing.
• PLAYGROUND MAINTENANCE: 27% of the child care settings did not keep the playground surfacing well-maintained.
  Young children can be seriously hurt from falls on playgrounds.
• CHILD SAFETY GATES: 13% of the child care settings did not use child safety gates where necessary.
  Child safety gates can protect children from hazards, especially falls down stairs.
• WINDOW BLIND CORDS: 26% of the child care settings had loops on the window blind cords.
  About one child a month strangles in the loops of window blind cords.
• CLOTHING WITH DRAWSTRINGS: 38% of the child care settings had children wearing clothing with drawstrings at the neck.
  Drawstrings on clothing can catch on objects and strangle a child.
• RECALLED PRODUCTS: 5% of the child care settings had products that had been recalled by CPSC.
  Using recalled nursery products and toys can be a hazard to young children.

Chart is from Intellicorp Intouch and shows

the results of the CPSC study from above.

 

Although I agree with both the article about how to keep kids safe and the CPSC study, they do not show any statistics for the safety of stay at home childcare. Are kids safer in a home with a parent or in a daycare? Do stay at home parents know of all of the dangers children face around the home like a trained daycare provider should? How many kids can one parent handle safely? Do more expensive daycares have fewer safety and security problems. I think that the idea of safety needs to be looked at in two ways 1) Safety: will the kids get hurt, and 2) Security: how are they protected.



I am now left wondering is my concern for the wellbeing of my kids or am I just having a hard time dealing with the fact that I need to work and will not be able take care of them as I have been? Why do stay at home parents send their kids to daycare?

Hello,

Thank you for the responses to my last couple of posts. I enjoyed reading your ideas and have been thinking about the questions you posed.

Since my last blog post, I have been looking over a ton of information on childcare searching for the effects that parental childcare has on kids. The information that I found seems very logical and not at all surprising. It all depends on the parent. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) “Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development” found that “parent and family characteristics were more strongly linked to child development than were child care features.” It seems that the quality of care is more important than who provides the care. If I sit my kids in front of the TV, all day, every day, instead of actually parenting, wouldn’t they be better off in a daycare. The level of parenting directly correlates to the level of success the child will have in the future. When you sending your kids to daycare how can you ensure they are getting quality care? 

During my research on the effects of childcare, I came across some interesting information on the cost of it. Cost is an important part of the equation and can be the determining factor weather or not your child goes to day care. The graph below from Qualistar Colorado, a Colorado childcare advocacy group shows costs of different types of care.

 

The graph shows the cost of daycare centers and paid in home daycare in both rural and urban areas of Colorado. This clearly shows that the cost of an actual daycare center is far higher than in home care and that as children get older the cost of care decreases.. The graph also shows that both options cost more in an urban area. These costs depend on such factors as where you live, type of childcare, child’s age, how many hours of care, for profit or not. After examining this graph, I wonder why urban daycare is more expensive than rural daycare. Do rural daycares provide better care and if so why? Does the cost of daycare correlate with the quality of daycare?

 

Child Costs Calculator

 

Find out how much you're likely to spend to raise your child. (provided by babycenter.com)
 

The article “ColoradoChild-care Costs High” published on the Dneverpost.com by Allison Sherry references the report “Kids Count in Colorado” published by the Colorado Children’s Campaign that says Colorado “is the third-highest for child-care costs for 4-year-olds and ranks eighth for infant day care, at $905 a month”

Using $905 a month as a reference point, I will need to make around $12.00 an hour just to send my two children to school full time. That means if I am making $24.00 an hour half of my pay will go to childcare and these rough calculations do not include taxes.

Does cost of care dictate quality of care? So can I find an affordable place to send my children to that will still provide quality care?  Are for profit centers any better or worse than not for profit centers? These are questions that that the articles have made me think about. I agree that the quality of care is important as the NICHD study points out, I am just worried that quality may relate to cost. One thing that I am starting to believe to be true about childcare is that it is a very individualized decision for each family and many variables go into that decision.

Until next time,

Jason