McCartney Discusses NICHD Early Child Care Study on NPR

On Tuesday, Dean Kathleen McCartney participated in a panel discussion on NPR to discuss the most recent findings of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s (NICHD) Study of Early Childcare and Youth Development. Media coverage has stressed negative effects of center care experience for behavior problems, often ignoring text from the press release that the effects were small, considerably smaller than parenting.

McCartney, one of the principal investigators of the long-term study, presents a balanced view on the findings, including the benefits of high-quality childcare, and offers advice to parents. She argues that while the study does indicate somewhat elevated levels of aggressiveness and disobedience for children who participate in center-based childcare, the effect is minimal and diminishes over time. McCartney says that the impact is dwarfed "by an order of magnitude" by the impact of quality parenting. In addition, McCartney points out that benefits of quality childcare are being underreported.

The NICHD study was initiated in 1991 to examine relationships between children's experiences in childcare and children's subsequent development. Researchers collected information about childcare use every 3 to 4 months from the time infants were 1 month old until they started school. The quality of the children's primary childcare setting was assessed when the children were 6, 15, 24, 36, and 54 months. Children's cognitive and social functioning was measured at 4-1/2 years and in first, third, fifth, and sixth grades.