Critical Aspects of Infant Day Care

Before the industrial revolution, there was no concept of an infant day care centre. However, with the rise in technology, materialism and economic meltdown, it has become inevitable for both the parents to work in order to make both ends meet. Mothers are no longer available at all times to look after their infants. In order to live a comfortable life, they have to go out and work. Thus, most infants are deprived of the warmth of maternal care during the working hours of the mothers.
This situation has given birth to a whole new phenomenon of infant day care. According to a research, in 1970, 24% of mothers with children under 2 years old were in the labor force. By March 1984, the figure was 46.8% (U.S. Dept. of Labor, 1984). You can very well imagine what the figures can be today. The question arises, who cares for these infants when their mothers are not around? Infants (25%) are cared for in their own homes. Others (75%) are cared for outside the home by a baby-sitter, or in family day care (group care by an individual in her home). Only about 18% are cared for in licensed center-based care (U.S. Dept. of Commerce, June 1982). Although state licensing standards apply to both center-based and family day care, most family day care centers for infants remain unlicensed.
This crisis in infant day care has forced parents to go for cost-effectiveness and availability and not quality and state-standards. Experts divide infant day care quality into three categories: (1) structural features (group size, staff-child ratios, caregiver training, equipment, space); (2) dynamic aspects (experiences and interactions); and (3) contextual features (staff stability and turnover, type of setting). Researches show that small group size, low staff-infant ratios, and strong caregiver qualifications result in positive outcomes. It was also observed that caregivers with larger groups spent more time in management tasks and restricting behavior, and less time in one-to-one interaction and cognitive-language stimulation of the infants
These behaviors gave rise to increased apathy and distress in infants. Caregivers with little child-related formal education engaged in less frequent positive adult-infant interactions and were less likely to have a developmentally appropriate program. According to the Accreditation Criteria of the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs (Bredekamp, 1984), the optimum standard specifies a maximum group size of 8 and a staff-child ratio of 1:4 for infants under 12 months. For infants of 1 to 2 years, maximum group size should be 12, and staff-child ratio 1:4. The lead teacher in an infant center should have a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education or child development.
This is so because of the fact that quality and frequency of adult-child interactions are highly critical variables in infant care. Infants rely on and learn from interactions with adults. Through their healthy relationship with adults, infants explore the environment and develop social competence with peers. It is also important to mention here that infant day care centers where adults talk to infants, an enhancement of language development is clearly observed. According to Bredekamp, Caregivers who respond to infant signals and needs build infants' self-esteem and physical and cognitive abilities.
It is therefore extremely important for working parents to critically evaluate the quality and working of the potential infant day care center where they wish to leave their child. It is advisable to go for licensed centers and not to compromise on quality if they wish their child to develop a healthy psychology and good behavior.