Supports for Parents of Preschoolers

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Community services that provide alternative forms of nonparental caregiving are more numerous and accessible to families with preschool-age children than to families with infants. About two-thirds of 5-year-olds in the United States have parents who are employed and need assistance in providing child care (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2003). The type of supplemental care provided for children varies according to their age and the type of child care parents desire (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2003). While infants are more typically placed in home-based care by either a relative or nonrelative, preschoolers who are not yet enrolled in a kindergarten program are more likely to be placed in a group center-based program.

The most common type of supplemental care for those who are not enrolled in kindergarten is a nursery school program. This is unlike day-care situations for infants, who most frequently are cared for by a nonrelative. Families today use such services for a number of reasons. Many mothers of young children are employed outside the home, for example, and this type of care is necessary to help the family provide for children’s needs. Other families wish young children to have enriching experiences that are not usually available in the home. Others wish their child to experience educational opportunities in preparation for public school. Most programs today provide educational stimulation for young children in addition to custodial care.

Relatives provide about half of the child care for families of preschool-age children (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2003). Of those who are relatives providing care, fathers and grandparents provide the greatest amount of child care for preschool-age children when mothers are employed outside the home. Among providers of child care who are not relatives, slightly over half of preschool-age children are cared for by day-care centers and by nonrelatives in their homes.

There continues to be much discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of nonparental child care for preschoolers. A variety of concerns have been raised about the short- and long-term effects of such care on children’s developmental progress. Researchers have examined issues such as attachment, the quality of parent-child interaction, the degree of children’s compliance, and other behavioral effects in children who have experienced nonparental care. In reviewing the research on such issues, Belsky (1990) cites several important factors. When nonparental care is sensitive and responsive to children’s needs, for example, young children are observed to be compliant, cooperative, and achievement-oriented. In many respects, nonparental child care is like that which is provided by parents: The relationship that nonparental adults promote with children has a greater impact than the methods used in working with children. This parallel implies consequences based on the quality of nonparental care. Negative emotional attitudes of nonparental caregivers and their failure to respond to children’s needs are thought to result in problem behavior. Generally speaking, the intellectual gains offered by preschool programs are greatest for low-income children rather than middle-class children, due to the differences in home environments (Erel, Oberman, & Yimiya, 2000).