Study: Day Care Education Brings Long Term Benefits for Kids and Moms

An advice to parents: selecting the type of education best suited for your child has a bigger impact on his life than you may think.

A study published in the journal Child Development reports that high-quality child care translates to long term benefits for children’s wellbeing, as well as moms’ too. As part of the Abecedarian Project headed by the FPG Child Development Institute in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the study monitored individuals back in the 1970s, from their early childhood well until young adulthood.

The participants, who were still children during the beginning of the study, were divided into two groups. One included those who received full-time, high-quality child care before entering kindergarten, while the other group, the control group, received whatever their parents arranged. The study discusses how those who grew up under exceptional child care would experience the benefits even 30 years later.

According to the study, the benefits of a quality kindergarten include:
• Having more years of education
• Being four times more likely to earn a college degree
• Being likely to hold a job and to put off having kids
• Being less needy for public assistance

Said study co-author Craig Ramey, professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, “The next major challenge is to provide high-quality, early-childhood education to all the children who need it and who can benefit from it."

Looking for a preschool for your child? Click here or check out the Admission Guide to 60 Preschools around the Metro.


Sources:
• January 19, 2012. “Benefits of High Quality Child Care Persist 30 Years Later” sciencedaily.com
• January 23, 2012. Julie Rasicot. “Study: Early Education for Poor Students Carries Long-Term Benefits” blogs.edweek.org
• Bonnie Rochman. February 15, 2012. “Day Care: When It’s Good, It Benefits Kids Up to 30 Years Later – And Moms Too” healthland.time.com

Photo by alexandrium via flickr creative commons

Tags: quality, day care, preschool, benefits