If you’re like many working mothers, your child spends more time at a childcare center during the week than with you. The separation can be difficult, but for many women, the gut-wrenching question is what effect does it have on your child? A few years ago, a prominent study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which tracked more than 1,000 children, caused parents to panic when it linked the number of hours spent in childcare with increased behavioral problems. In follow-up work, NICHD found those problems persisted through third grade for a minority of children. But those studies don’t tell the whole story, says Patricia Lindsay Chase-Landsdale, professor of human development and social policy at Northwestern University and co-author of Human Development Across Lives and Generations: The Potential for Change.

“What they found was that, for the most part, the increase in behavioral problems was within the normal range,” notes Chase-Landsale. “Most children in good-quality or even average-quality childcare do fine.”

The children for whom childcare may have a negative impact, she adds, is a small subgroup that doesn’t have a secure parental bond at home. “If there’s vulnerability in that relationship, then you load very long hours in child care on top of it, that’s when problems seem to occur,” says Chase-Landsdale.

What’s more, for the vast majority of children, group childcare improves school readiness and builds cognitive skills. The same NICHD study that found an uptick in behavioral problems among elementary school students up to third grade reaffirmed that these kids scored better in math and reading than peers who hadn’t attended a preschool program.

“A fairly strong body of evidence suggests that good quality childcare is beneficial for all children, and even more so for children who are from disadvantaged circumstances,” says Ellen Peisner-Feinberg, Ph.D., senior scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

“A couple of studies have looked at high quality childcare for low-income families,” she notes. “The benefits were significant. For every dollar spent during the preschool years, you got back between $3 and $7 in later [societal] savings—things like reduced need for special education, decreased teenage pregnancy” and better rates of graduation. “In the big picture, these investments provide a more qualified next-generation workforce.”

It’s an area where employers can help, says Chase-Landsdale. She recommends companies give parents “cafeteria-style” choices on childcare, including vouchers. For instance, a company center can be one choice, but so can a neighborhood facility, which  may allow children to better develop friendships within their community. Bringing in an expert to give expectant parents tips on evaluating childcare centers and allowing parents a certain number of hours each quarter to visit or volunteer in their child’s classroom are lower-cost ways to improve children’s outcomes, advises Chase-Landsale.

This article was featured in the August 2011 issue of Working Mother Research Institute’s email newsletter, Working Mother Research Institute Essentials. To read additional stories from that issue, see the related content section above. To subscribe to Working Mother Research Institute Essentials, register on the newsletter page of this website.