40 hours a week linked to developmental vulnerability, study finds
A major study that tracked the outcomes of 274,000 Australian children from birth to their first year at school found that children who spend 40 hours a week on childcare are at higher risk of difficulties with social competence and emotional maturity.
Going to a center rated as lower quality was also linked to an increased likelihood that a child would become developmentally vulnerable in at least one of five areas, including physical health, language and cognitive skills.
This comes as the Albanian government has made expanding financial support for child care a signature policy, with households earning less than $535,000 now eligible for 72 hours of subsidized child care every two weeks.
Subsidized child care is one of the fastest-growing costs to the federal budget, costing taxpayers nearly $4 billion in the three months to the end of December.
The opposition is considering alternatives to subsidized child care, including vouchers that can be used for nannies or family members instead of a centre-based subsidy, income sharing, extensions of paid parental leave and tax breaks.
The federal Department of Education study, published last December, used child care, census, tax, health and welfare data, as well as child care financial data. This was compared to survey data collected by primary school teachers in five areas.
The research followed children from early childhood through their first year of full-time school in 2018 and found that rates of developmental frailty increased as children spent more than 30 hours in child care. Developmental frailty may predict worse long-term mental health, well-being, and academic outcomes.
“Children who were enrolled in school for more than 40 hours per week had the highest rates of developmental disabilities,” the report said.
While longer hours in child care were associated with increased social and emotional risk, participation was beneficial when it came to language, cognitive skills, communication skills and general knowledge.
Five areas of early childhood development
Physical health and well-being – Children’s physical readiness for the school day, physical independence, and gross and fine motor skills
Social competence — Children’s general social competence, responsibility and respect, approach to learning and readiness to discover new things
Emotional maturity — Prosocial and helpful behaviors in children, absence of anxious and fearful behaviors, aggressive behaviors, hyperactivity and inattention.
Language and cognitive skills (school-based) — Children’s basic literacy, advanced literacy, basic numeracy skills and interest in literacy, numeracy and memory
Communication skills and general knowledge — Children’s communication skills and general knowledge based on broad developmental competencies and skills
Blaise Joseph, director of the education program at the conservative think tank the Center for Independent Studies, said that although research was consistently positive about pre-school education, this report showed that the benefits of formal child care were not the same for all children of all ages and backgrounds.
“Given the lack of a consistent educational benefit of formal child care, the increasing cost for both parents and taxpayers, and the fact that formal child care does not work for many parents, we should be really open to alternative policy options that could also better support children in informal care,” she said.
Professor Karen Thorpe, from the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland, said the evidence was weak when it came to policies such as using nannies.
“A previous trial in Australia under the Abbott government failed,” he said.
While he said that the government report was an important study, he called for caution regarding the results.
“My view is not necessarily to keep children at home; remember that cognitive and language outcomes are more positive for children in child care. I would recommend that we first look at the quality of child care services from birth to three,” she said.
The number of children in childcare has fallen for the first time since the outbreak at the end of last year after a series of horrific abuse allegations emerged.
2024 Productivity Commission The report found that early childhood education and care can improve outcomes and deliver net societal benefits across the lifespan, especially for disadvantaged and vulnerable children.
This study mirrored findings that for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children from a single-parent family, and those with a language background other than English, formal childcare was associated with higher rates of developmental progress across all domains.
The report found that higher quality services reduce the average child’s risk of developmental vulnerability by about six percent compared to lower quality care.
Australian childcare centers are rated as ‘outstanding’, ‘outstanding’, ‘meets standards’, ‘working towards’ or ‘significant improvement required’.
After adjusting for other factors, the study found that children who did not attend formal child care had, on average, a lower risk of being developmentally poor in one or more areas than a child who attended a center with a “standard” quality rating.
The report highlighted that compared to children attending child care in the same quality category, those attending pre-school education were more likely to be developmentally on track in all areas.
Georgie Dent, from advocacy group The Parenthood, called for a renewed focus on improving quality in the sector because reducing working hours was not a realistic option for many families.
“When a parent is prevented from participating in the workforce, the risk of financial insecurity is much higher… and for mothers to be employed is often very good for their mental health,” she said.
The Front Project’s general manager, Dr. Caroline Croser-Barlow said poorer social and emotional outcomes may be linked to higher staff turnover, as children’s brain development thrives on strong “serve and return” relationships with adults to whom they have a secure sense of attachment.
“When a child goes to child care for four or five days, they may be seeing a lot more adults, and if they don’t have a relationship with a single educator, they may be experiencing more volatility in the workforce.”
Early Childhood Education Minister Jess Walsh said there was a $1 billion Early Education Building Fund to expand access to subsidies, as well as build better quality not-for-profit centers and give staff pay increases.
“Our 15 percent salary increase for educators stabilizes this important workforce because we know that a quality workforce is the foundation of quality early learning,” he said.
Opposition childcare spokesman Matt O’Sullivan said government research showed long hours of care could impact children’s emotional development and learning.
“Yet policy continues to push a universal, centre-based model that narrows options and does not fit every child,” she said.
“More than half of children aged zero to five – 51.2 per cent – do not use formal childcare, underlining the gap between policy and how families actually care for their children.”
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