Childcare is a critical need for young families in the 21st century. While family caregivers such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc. can help out, families more often than not, ultimately find that quality, professional, licensed childcare centers provide the most consistent and predictable care for young children. Initially exciting for family members, once the glow wears off the family members experience how confining it is to care for their beloved young ones, day in-day out, 5 days per week, 52 weeks per year. They find it is extremely restrictive and often, more than they had bargained for. Parents then must seek an alternative to a family member. When that occurs, children are subjected to a major change and significant loss.
John Bowlby in 1969 began publishing information on the critical nature of interpersonal Attachment Theory and how important loving, secure emotional attachments are to the emotional well-being of children. He proposed that these bonds are vital for the very survival of children. He characterized secure, predictable, consistent loving adults in a child’s life as “a fundamental mechanism that exists to help them survive.” Repeated disruption can result in significant long-term cognitive, social, and emotional challenges for the child. Further Bowlby found that a crucial window exists, primarily the first 2.5 years of life, during which a failure to develop secure bonds may result in permanent difficulties later on. Based on this information a family’s childcare decision-making process is critical not only for the immediate need, but for the rest of the child’s life.
Long term, secure attachments in young children promote positive self-esteem. When children feel loved and cherished by loving, consistent adults, they flourish. Thus, when a child reports to his/her parents that his/her teacher loves him/her, and takes such actions as inviting the loving caregiver to events such as birthday parties and recitals, it is an indication that secure attachment is occurring. Events such as staff turnover in a childcare setting, switching a from one care situation to another, repeated changes of primary caregiver, etc., interfere with the process of forming healthy, secure emotional attachments, and often result in confusion and a feeling of abandonment.
A working model of childcare as extended family is ideal for promoting this critical developmental milestone in a child’s life. A setting that is fully professional with highly qualified Early Childhood educators who remain consistent year after year, exhibit warmth and genuine clear affection for each child is ideal. Staff who remain with a program for 3-4 years at a time come to be perceived by a child in a manner similar to an extended family member. The child feels loved, cherished and secure. When it is time for the child to move on to the next phase of life, the good-byes occur with hugs and tears, similar to when a child’s family moves away from the longtime family hometown.
When families are exploring childcare options, it is critical to consider the stability and quality of the staff and permanence of the program and facility. While it is not possible to predict the future, centers with long term, qualified staff, small adult to child ratios, and a population of other families whose children have been with the program for years rather than months, is a positive indicator that a child’s attachment needs have been and will continue to be factored into the overall program.