The Effect of Universal Childcare on the Process of Child Development - Literature review Example

UNIVERSAL CHILDCARE DEBATE Student’s name Course code + name Professor’s name University name City, State Date of submission Introduction There exists a causal relationship between images of childhood and opportunities for infants, adolescents, and children. Childcare plays a pivotal role in the process of child development. Consequently, many global countries have expanded childcare programs to ascertain the effective development of their infants, children, and adolescents. According to Havnes and Mogstad (2011), early childcare yields learning gains both in the short-term and long-term. This, in turn, impacts positively on the long-term learning prospects of such children from poor families. Pre-primary education has a positive impact on mathematics and reading skills of the child upon enrolling into primary school. Even though most of the studies on the effect of universal childcare on the child development process focus on children from poor families in most cases, it is proper to generalize the findings to the entire population of children. The essay discusses the effect of universal childcare on the process of child development. One of the short-run effects of universal childcare programs is their ability to expose children to learning environments as early as possible. This is not the case under home-based care where parents (particularly mothers and hired caregivers) take care of the child. Universal childcare prepares the child socially thereby enabling the child to put up with others upon enrolling into the primary school (Barnett 2004). Apparently, children find it difficult to interact positively with others during their first days at school. However, childcare programs enable children to interact positively following their enrolment into primary school since they have the initial exposure to a similar environment. Early intervention programs also have a positive influence on the test scores of children. The short-term impact may dissipate over time. However, children that undergo childcare programs tend to exhibit better test scores in the long run as compared to their counterparts that undergo home-based care. Studies conducted on the area focused on disadvantaged children. According to the studies, childcare programs meant for disadvantaged children improve their long-term performance in test scores. The positive effects of childcare on the child development process have also elicited the need for subsidizing childcare programs. According to Havnes and Mogstad (2009), childcare programs have had significant positive long run impacts on the child when they transition into their adulthood stages. In essence, the authors found out that there is a direct relationship between childcare programs and positive long-run outcomes of the children in their adulthood stage. Havnes and Mogstad measured the effect of childcare programs on adults in their 30s. The findings of their study indicated that the children exhibited positive outcomes both in labor market and education attachment. Welfare dependency also turned out to be the other area that the selected students exhibited positive outcomes. To be precise, the introduction of 17,500 childcare places yielded approximately 6,200 education years. Children that participated in childcare programs also recorded high levels of enrolment into tertiary institutions and attachment into the labor market. The exposure of children to childcare programs also delayed family formation and childbearing in the selected sample following the transition of the target respondents from childhood through adolescent to adulthood. Children whose mothers attained low levels of education exhibited the highest outcomes on the effect of childcare on education. With regard to the effect of earnings and labor market attachment, girls recorded the highest positive outcomes. Therefore, it is evident that proper exposure to childcare balances the playing field by leveling the gender wage imbalance and enhancing intergenerational mobility (Havnes and Mogstad 2009). Felfe and Lalive (2010) also conducted a study on the effect of early childcare on child development. The authors grouped the skills as follows: everyday skills, social skills, behavioral skills, concentration, self-confidence, and school grades. The different aspects of everyday skills covered in the study include having new ideas, problem solving, and the ability of children to experiment with new things (Felfe & Lalive 2014). Aspects covered under social skills include company, initiation of arguments, loss of control, getting provoked, getting angry, bugs, fights, empathic, and whether the child likes meeting new kids. The concentration skills tested were fidgety and the ability of the child to sit quietly. Attributes of self-confidence included in the research were whether the child felt ok with himself or herself and child’s pride after achieving something. Finally, school grades targeted to determine children test scores in different disciplines such as mathematics, reading, writing, science, music, arts, and sports. Based on the findings of the paper, it was evident that early childcare improved the process of child development. The performance of children exposed to formal childcare was slightly better than that of the control group. Moreover, the findings indicated that there was no instance where the performance of the students was worse than that of their counterparts that underwent the exclusive care of their mothers. Most importantly and in accordance with the findings of other authors, the results also indicated that the positive outcomes associated with the early stage exposure to formal childcare extended into the adolescent and adulthood stages of the selected sample (Felfe & Lalive 2010). The study contributed significantly to the ongoing debate on the significance of universal childcare programs on child development both in the long run and in the short-run. The study does not reveal any disadvantages associated with establishing formal childcare places. Therefore, a high quality and tightly regulated childcare system is necessary for the proper development of children into their adolescent and adulthood stages (Vandell & Wolfe 2000). Gupta and Simonsen (2010) also elicited new meanings to the term “childcare”. Apparently, many people perceive childcare to be the mere “taking care of children”. However, the authors refer childcare to a preliminary and necessary step of developing academic and social skills. From the definition, it is evident that early stage childcare plays a significant role in developing the social and academic skills of the child. The fact that developed skills are persistent implies that the acquired skills extend into the adolescent and adulthood stages of the individual. However, the specific content of the formal childcare program is a major determinant of the effects of the program on the child. This necessitates for the development of a formal childcare system characterized by high quality content and tight regulations. It is evident that high quality childcare programs have a positive influence on the emotions, conduct, attention, pro-social behavior, and peer relationship aspects of a child. The early years of an individual also play a pivotal role in addressing issues associated with inequality. As a result, establishing formal childcare places plays a crucial role in equalizing opportunities from the onset of the lives of the children. Apparently, the time at which children enroll into primary schools already reveals inequalities among students. It is also evident that imposing change on children after their enrollment into primary school is difficult. Subsidized childcare is one of the probable options of leveling the playing field since it reduces inequalities in the distribution of income as well as attenuating the persistence of cross-generational income. According to Havnes and Mogstad (2015), the outcomes of childcare vary based on the income level of parents. As a result, children from low-income households turn out to be the greatest beneficiaries of childcare programs (Huston 2002). Since children from poor families exceed their counterparts from middle income and high-income households, it is proper to consider the establishment of subsidized childcare programs as a strategic milestone towards addressing economic and social inequalities. Havnes and Mogstad (2010) also found out that universal childcare balances the playing field by addressing the existing inequalities between children from poor families and those from middle and high-income families. Moreover, subsidized childcare contributes significantly towards improving the long-term development of the child in various aspects. This has heightened debates in the US, Canada and other European countries on the necessity of subsidizing childcare. A study conducted by the authors in Norway revealed that subsidized childcare had a positive effect on the distribution of earnings of the children following their exposure to the program. Even though childcare exposure is beneficial to the development of the child, low-quality childcare can hurt the child development process (Phillips & Adams 2001). Conclusion From the essay, it is evident that there exists a causal relationship between childhood image and opportunities (short-term and long-term) for infants, adolescents, and adults. Childcare programs have played a significant role in the child development process. The two major benefits of childcare programs include leveling the playing field for children from low-income households and their counterparts from middle and high-income household and enhanced social and academic outcomes. The benefits have compelled several countries across the world to advocate for subsidized childcare places. Better test scores in academic disciplines such as Math, Science, Music, and others suffice to be the positive outcomes of childcare programs. Childcare programs also foster other skills such as socialization, integration, and crime reduction that enable children to integrate effectively with their peers in their adolescent and adult stages. Rather than considering childcare to be the simple act of taking care of children, childcare entails investing in the development of the social and academic skills of the child. Reference List Barnett, W.S., 2004. Child care and its impact on children 2–5 years of age. Commenting: McCartney, Peisner-Feinberg, and Ahnert and Lamb. Tremblay RE, Barr RG, Peters RDeV, eds. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development, pp.1-5. Felfe, C. and Lalive, R., 2010. How does early childcare affect child development? learning from the children of german unification. Unpublished working paper. Felfe, C. and Lalive, R., 2014. Does Early Child Care Help or Hurt Children's Development?. Gupta, N.D. and Simonsen, M., 2010. Non-cognitive child outcomes and universal high quality child care. Journal of Public Economics, 94(1), pp.30-43. Havnes, T. and Mogstad, M., 2009. No child left behind: universal child care and children's long-run outcomes. Havnes, T. and Mogstad, M., 2011. No child left behind: Subsidized child care and children's long-run outcomes. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 3(2), pp.97-129. Havnes, T. and Mogstad, M., 2012. Is universal child care leveling the playing field?. Havnes, T. and Mogstad, M., 2015. Is universal child care leveling the playing field?. Journal of Public Economics, 127, pp.100-114. Huston, A.C., 2002. Reforms and child development. The Future of Children, pp.59-77. Phillips, D. and Adams, G., 2001. Child care and our youngest children. The future of children, pp.35-51. Vandell, D. and Wolfe, B., 2000. Child care quality: Does it matter and does it need to be improved? (Vol. 78). University of Wisconsin--Madison, Institute for Research on Poverty. Read More