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Article |
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The Problem with Daycare by
Karl Zinsmeister, The American Enterprise
May/June 1998, page 1 |
...there are no dream caretakers.
There is very little that even comes close. In real life, purchased
care is rarely more than a stopgap. That's not my verdict. It's
the verdict of parents themselves.
Category = Quality |
The Problem with Daycare
by Karl Zinsmeister,
The American Enterprise
May/June 1998, page 1 & 2
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These (two testimonies below) are not isolated
anecdotes. Anyone investigating the world of full-time day care
quickly amasses files of such testimony:
- Take Joanie Colquitt, mother and holder of
a master's degree in social psychology. In a long letter she wrote
me a few years ago, Ms. Colquitt details a quite typical set of
experiences:
I can remember when I considered sending my own first child to day care.
I had spent so long on my education and we did truly need the money.
So I visited what was, at that time, the number-one day care chain in the
country. What I saw there broke my heart. Babies were lined
up, six in a row, crying, waiting for their meals. Toddlers were
still in their cribs, some with tear-stained cheeks simply sitting there
with no toys, no companionship, with looks of having given up any hope for
personal attention a long time ago...
...I have visited other day care centers that were cleaner, and had
academic programs and activities galore. However, the atmosphere, to
me, was still negative. The children were not loved the way they
needed to be and you could tell. They looked tired and kind of
washed out.
- Author Linda Burton is another person who
has described in detail what she came across while scouring her hometown
(The Washington, D.C. area) for day care:
In one instance I found the "absolutely marvelous" family day care
provider, recommended by trusted friends, sleeping on her sofa while 11
children (she had informed me that she only cared for five) wandered
aimlessly around in front of the blaring TV. Another time, on an
unannounced visit, I found that the "highly recommended" licensed day
care provider confined seven preschoolers to her tiny dining room. I
found them huddled together, leaning over a barricade to watch a TV
program showing in the adjacent room.
Category = Quality
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The Problem with Daycare
by Karl Zinsmeister,
The American Enterprise
May/June 1998, page 2 |
...A few years ago the Metropolitan Toronto
Social Planning Council investigated a sample of 281 day care homes.
...The large majority...provided care that was...indifferent.
...In a significant minority of cases, youngsters were simply ignored most
of the time.
Category = Quality |
Last updated:
07/03/2011
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