A third of mums of under-threes could be putting their child's development at risk because they don’t see loving care as the priority when it comes to choosing childcare, new research has revealed.
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When looking for childcare for their inder-threes, 34 per cent of the mums polled say that "social and educational opportunities" are more important than "a close and loving bond between child and carer".
And it's not only some parents who are missing the point; current practice amongst childcare providers does not encourage bonding between infants and key workers to form a loving attachment.
Now the children’s charity WATCh (What About The Children?), which conducted the research, is calling on Ofsted and the Government to review childcare policy, to reflect the vital role a loving attachment plays in the mental, emotional and physical health of the under-threes.
The WATCh report claims latest neuroscience studies prove that child/carer relationships have the biggest impact on health and happiness – and not just in childhood, but continuing into adulthood.
The key relationship is usually with the mother but anyone who spends several hours a week with the child will have an influence – and the stronger the attachment they have with the child, the better.
Dr Pat Spungin, director of WATCh, said: “An infant needs the person looking after them to care about them - not just for them. Many mums have taken on board the need for their baby to bond with the carer when she goes back to work, but some do not prioritise it.
“But we think the best test for how good your childcare is, is to ask yourself, ‘Do they really care about my child?’. If the answer is ‘Yes’, then that is worth more than all the toys, books and busyness in the world.”
The WATCh report shows that about half of mums use some sort of childcare for their under-threes. The majority of these infants are looked after by family (mainly grandparents) where these special, loving relationships are easy to forge, but a third attend group daycare settings, where it is less easy for an infant to establish this connection with one particular carer.
Child psychologist, Penelope Leach, said: “With the outpouring of neuro-scientific information and the research built around it, we have more opportunity than any previous generation to understand that babies’ very first relationships from Day One are crucial to building both the structure and the function of their brains and nervous systems and to realise that the physical, social and emotional development that goes on in the first year or two is the foundation of everything that’s to come.
“It is the quality of their relationships with loving adult attachment figures – particularly parents but also other carers – which determines how the brain develops, particularly its social and emotional functioning.
"Frequent changes of carer, or lack of intimate emotional contact with those who are responsible for providing care, can cause stress and insecurity that permanently affects an infant," Penelope said.
WATCh acknowledges that group daycare in its current form is valuable and important for 3-4 year olds but it would like to see Ofsted and the Government implementing the following changes to under-threes provision:
- A new EYFS framework for 0-36 month olds - which is separate from that designed for the over-threes - to focus on emotional stability, not just learning.
- This should be reflected in new Ofsted criteria for under-threes, which should have attachment and loving relationships at the core.
- Group daycare settings and childminders need informing and educating about the change.
Some group daycare settings are already doing this without the bidding of Ofsted through innovative ways of structuring the environment, their training and induction processes.
WATCh promotes the importance of secure attachment in the early years and the vital role that loving care plays in brain development. It is in its 20th anniversary year.
For more information on infants and attachment go to www.whataboutthechildren.org.uk