The Effects of Day Care: A Critical Review

BELSKY, JAY, and STEINBERG, LAURENCE D. The Effects of Day Care: A Critical Review. CHmLD DEVELOPMENT, 1978, 49, 929-949. Although research on day care has increased substantially in volume during the last 8 years, our actual knowledge of its effects is exceedingly limited. Generally, investigations have been conducted within high-quality centers which are not representative of most substitute-care environments. More seriously, most studies have been limited to the direct effects of the care experience on the individual child and have consequently ignored important questions concerning the broader impact of day care on parents, the family, and social institutions. Present knowledge about the effects of day care can therefore be summarized in relatively brief compass. Experience in high-quality, center-based day care (1) has neither salutary nor deleterious effects upon the intellectual development of the child, (2) is not disruptive of the child's emotional bond with his mother, and (3) increases the degree to which the child interacts, both positively and negatively, with peers. Recommendations for future investigations, conducted from a broader, ecological perspective on human development, are offered.