It’s 3 a.m. and a new mom is frantically searching the internet before returning to work. She’s sending her baby to daycare for the first time and imagining her helpless infant screaming while surrounded by a sea of unfamiliar faces. She wonders: Am I traumatizing my child forever?
People can be judgmental about childcare — especially grandparents, who sometimes come from the “don’t have kids if you don’t want to look after them” school of thought — but life has changed. In nearly half of two-parent families, both adults work full-time, according to Pew Research Center. That means childcare is essential.
Dr. Michael Mintz, associate director of the Child Development Program at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., says it’s time to let go of the guilt.
“Psychologists have found 10 adverse experiences that have a pretty significant impact on long-term outcome for kids, and I can assure you that daycare is not on that list,” Mintz tells TODAY.com.
Mintz, who sent his three kids to daycare, notes that you shouldn’t stress if the first few drop-offs are filled with tears.
“Think of it like sleep training,” Mintz says. “In the beginning, your kid is going be crying and so mad at you. You’ll feel like you’re doing irreparable damage to this relationship you’ve put so much time and energy into to. Then, the next morning, you go into their room and they’re smiling at you. They still love you, they still need you, and they’re still connected to you.
“It’s the same with daycare," he continues. “At pickup, your kid is going to run up and hug you."
And if you're looking for a fact to cite for your mother-in-law, you can mention that a Harvard Business School study shows that daughters of working mothers earn 23% more than daughters of stay-at-home mothers.
Below, find five other benefits of daycare for infants and toddlers:
They develop immunity
According to Dr. Sara Siddiqui, a pediatrician at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone, exposure to common coughs and colds can help build a stronger immune system over time.
"Developing immunity by being exposed to illnesses can improve immune health over the long term,” Siddiqui tells TODAY.com.
According to a 2010 study, infants who attend daycare before 2.5 years of age, are more frequently diagnosed with respiratory and ear infections than kids cared for at home, but on the flip side, they are less likely to get these ailments once they start kindergarten.
They learn adaptability
In a daycare setting, babies have to learn to settle to sleep independently, Mintz says.
"This is a very good thing!" he notes.
Meanwhile, toddlers practice independent skills, such as tidying up after themselves and putting on their own shoes.
“When my kids were in daycare, the providers would say things like, ‘You know, we think he’s old enough to be clearing his own plate,’ or ‘He should be pulling up his own pants. Are you working on this at home?’’ Mintz recalls. “They are constantly pushing for kids to reach new milestones."
They learn appropriate social behaviors
“When a toddler looks around and sees that all of their peers are sitting at a table and staying seated and focused, they will kind of pick up on those social expectations,” Mintz explains. “If they were at home, they might still be in a highchair and having food put right in front of them."
They may have an easier time adjusting if you start while they're younger
Stranger danger kicks in at around 8 months, according to Mintz.
“If you’re putting your kid in daycare at 12 weeks, by the time they get to 8 or 9 months, they’ve already formed a strong attachment with the daycare provider and they won't be scared."
They may even be more successful later in life
A 2010 U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) study showed that children in high-quality childcare scored “slightly higher” on cognitive achievement tests as teenagers.
“High-quality child care appears to provide a small boost to academic performance, perhaps by fostering the early acquisition of school-readiness skills,” James Griffin of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development said at the time.