Washington – Children who got quality child care before entering kindergarten had better vocabulary scores in the fifth grade than did youngsters who received lower-quality care.
But the more time children spent in child care, the more likely their sixth-grade teachers were to report problem behavior.
The findings come from the largest study of child care and development conducted in the United States. The 1,364 children in the analysis had been tracked since birth as part of a study by the National Institutes of Health.
In the study’s latest installment, being released today in the current issue of Child Development, researchers evaluated whether characteristics observed between kindergarten and third grade were still present in fifth or sixth grade. The researchers found the vocabulary and behavior patterns continued, though many other characteristics did dissipate.
The researchers said the increase in vocabulary and problem behaviors was small and that parenting quality was a much more important predictor of child development.
In the study, child care was defined as care by anyone other than the child’s parent who was regularly scheduled for at least 10 hours per week.
The researchers said the enduring effect of child-care quality is consistent with other evidence showing that children’s early experiences matter to their language development.
