An Infant's Needs Media Bias On Day Care
Day Care Horror Stories Studies of Day Care
 Attachment Attachment I Have To Work Email with Day Care Supporters

What We Know About Infants


Full-time day care, particularly group care, is especially harmful for children under the age of three. For two years we watched day care children in our preschool/day care center respond to the stresses of eight to ten hours a day of separation from their parents with tears, anger, withdrawal, or profound sadness, and we found, to our dismay, that nothing in our own affection and caring for these children would erase this sense of loss and abandonment. We came to realize that the amount of separation - the number of hours a day spent away from the parents - is a critical factor.
- William and Wendy Dreskin, former owners of a "high quality" day care center.

There are six reactions of chidren when the mother is not around her child. The pattern may be 1)depression, 2)agitation or distress, 3)rejection, 4)apathy, 5)regression or 6)clinging. Why would a mother do that to her child?... When can a child withstand separation from the mother? Up to two years of age is a high anxiety time; from two to three years of age is a lesser anxiety time.
-Hugh Riordon, Director, The Olive W. Garvey Center of Human Functioning

A baby needs its primary caregiver just about 24/7.
WOW, that's A LOT of work and committment! But it's critical for your infant's development. And, the payoff is huge to the parent: your baby will be more secure, more adventurous, more intelligent, more willing to follow your lead.

And, without the constant care, two related areas of the infant's development are hurt.
1) The infant cannot develop TRUST,
which is the essential milestone before progressing emotionally,
AND
2)The infant's ability to attach to others,
the foundation of a civil society, is impaired.

Your baby develops in RELATION to your responses to its overtures. If your baby is not with you for 8 - 12 hours a day, it is sending out many signals to "mom" that are not getting noticed. This delays and dampens development.

This link will take you to an informative site about attachment parenting, a parenting style that's all about giving your infant what he or she needs.


Mama, don't let your babies grow up in daycare!

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