The Effect of Day Care Centers

The day care center is an important place for the social development of children because it is where children who attend them spend a large part of their day. The day care center is also where the child first interacts with other children and adults who are not immediate members of the family. The social skills learned during day care will have an effect on the child for the rest of his or her life. Many people are aware of the importance of the development of social skills in children beyond the age of two. However, researchers have discovered that social development actually begins in early infancy. For example, it has been found that even when only one day old, an infant will respond to voices and touching. It has been noted that this is the "beginning of learning how to be a sociable human being" (Alston, 1984, p. 119). Because the process of socialization begins so early in infancy, it is important for day care workers to be aware of this fact and to use it in planning their programs. If a day care worker fails to understand this fact and thereby does not provide the type of attention that the infant needs, the social development of that infant might be more difficult than it should

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of social development, it can be seen that emotions are evident even in very early infancy. In fact, it has been noted that many aspects of a child's basic emotional patterns are established prior to the age of two. Nevertheless, it is important for day care workers to be aware of the powerful influence that they will have on the emotional development of the children under their care. It is especially important for day care workers to help children of all ages to learn to cope with negative emotions. In terms of development, it has been stated: "To learn to manage our emotions we have to learn to believe in ourselves, to believe in our ability to do well and to be able to succeed at what we want to do. The most painful and destructive of all the emotions are self-hate, doubt, and fear. These can be prevented by good child rearing practices" (Alston, 1984, p. 110). One aspect of emotional development that often comes into play in day care is the idea of "separation anxiety." It has been noted that the emotional development of a child requires a stable relationship with a mother figure. A study on the hospitalization of infants showed that, when separated from their mothers, the infants went through a process of protest,
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Some common words found in the essay are:
, Grajek Schwarz, day care, Kearsley Zelazo, social development, development children, emotional development, References Alston, Publishing Rutter, Fuqua Eds, day care center, day care setting, care setting, care center, children age, development child, care worker, Books Greenman, day care worker, Press Blum, Eds Day, social development children, rutter 1982, emotional development children, House Publishing,
Approximate Word count = 2657
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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