Mother-Child

According to Jane Liedloff in The Continuum Concept,

"The mothers could, if they realized the urgency of their presence during the baby's first year, give up the job in order to avert the deprivations which would damage the baby's entire life and be a burden to her for years as well.”

Do everything you can to be with your baby at least for the first three crucial years. Herbert Ratner, M.D. reports,

"Leading authorities agree that for optimum development the child needs one person as a full-time caretaker for the first three years a person who has time day and night to devote herself to the needs of the child."

In The Rights of Infants, Margaret Ribble, M.D. says,

"The baby...in the beginning is quite helpless, and his mother must actually function for him for many weeks. Any sudden separation from her at this time causes psychological trauma... Babies who do not have constant mothering are definitely slower and less alert."

Daycare

Parents should be aware of the very serious concerns expressed by professionals that day care can and often does result in detrimental effects on children.

Studies have shown that children find daycare stressful. The level of the stress hormone cortisol is higher in children at their daycare than at home. (Child Development 74)

In their book, Hold on to Your Kids, Canadian authors Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D. and Gabor Maté, M.D. mention,

"One of the largest studies done on this subject followed more than a thousand children from birth to kindergarten. The more time a child had spent in daycare, the more likely she was to manifest aggression and disobedience, both at home and in kindergarten. The more they had been in daycare, the more these children exhibited counterwill as indicated by arguing, sneakiness, talking back to staff and failure to take direction. Their elevated frustration was indicated by temper tantrums, fighting, hitting, cruelty to others and the destruction of their own things."

Dr. Philip Ney, a child psychiatrist and a Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia and Director of the Hospital Adolescent unit compiled the following consequences of day care from several academic sources:

* Children in day care part time had average performance in high school. If there had been no day care in the first year of their life there was above average high school achievement.
* Children in full time day care were more lonely and misbehaved more. They were less compliant and more aggressive with their peers and less able to empathize. They had more fears and more severe temper tantrums.
* Children in day care had more difficulty verbally and had fewer new word combinations.
* Children in day care experience more stress and depression, which suppresses the immune system.
* The physical health of children in day care is significantly affected. This is due to the fact that young children in large groups pass infections back and forth - infections often resistant to antibiotics.