High quality child care can have a lasting impact on a child’s development, behavior and cognitive abilities, according to areport released recently by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Based on the findings of the report, children who received high quality child care in the first few years of life scored higher on measures of academic and cognitive achievement when they were 15 years old. The reverse also proves to be true, low quality child care has lasting impacts too.
 
 
There have been several early childhood studies, most notably here in Michigan the Perry Preschool Study, with the same results, high quality child care makes a difference. The NICHD study shows that even 10 years after children have left child care, quality child care is still related to higher academic achievement. 
 
What does this mean to families searching for child care? What does this mean to early childhood providers? Simple – quality counts. 
 

Families searching for child care and early learning experiences for their children should search for a loving, nurturing, safe setting and ensure that setting also offers play and learning opportunities to support young children’s development. How do I know what to look for, one might ask? A safe setting is obvious, plug covers, smoke detectors, and emergency plan, etc. Less obvious are the play and learning opportunities that support a child’s development. Ask about how much TV/screen time is offered daily – did you know the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children two and under? Ask questions about meals and nutrition – did you know children under one should not have yogurt because of the bacteria? Ask about books – did you know even newborns learn from having books read to them? Great Start CONNECT has information to support finding a high quality child care experience for your child, as well as a search engine to help families find licensed child care and early learning settings. Great Start CONNECT is also the place where providers can go to update their profiles, what displays to families who are searching. The profiles help families find the right setting that fits their needs.  Providers can list for example, hours of operation, cost, types of programs offered, and experience with special needs.