Both Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton agree that day care should be made affordable but many are saying that it might do more harm than good to children in the long run. Accordingly, the extensive use of commercial day care facilities do not bring positive effects most specifically for children below three years old.
As per the latest surveys, most Americans are also skeptical about letting their children be cared for by other people. Former domestic policy analysts Carrie Lukas, who is now the managing direct of the Independent Women's Forum, said in a statement that parents instinctively know that little children need time and attention.
Steven Rhoads, a political scientist with the University of Virginia, also said in a statement that putting kids in day care could lead to anxiety, aggression, and possibly criminal behavior. Making day care affordable would let more parents be able to afford such service thus more children would suffer from the aforementioned risk factors as stated by Rhoads, The Washington Times reported.
As per a research made by the National Bureau of Economic Research, they studied the effects of an affordable child care in Quebec. Basically, day cares cost $5 per day for children younger than five years old. The study was published in 2005 and found out that affordable day care is associated with health and behavioral problems. Also, high rate of infection was recorded. A follow-up study last year found out that the behavioral effects persisted into adolescence. The teens who were exposed to the day care program exhibited more emotional and behavioral problems.
Accordingly, children in day care produce more levels of the stress hormone called cortisol. A 2006 analysis by the Early Childhood Research Quarterly found out that the higher excretion of cortisol was noticeable in children who are younger than 36 months. it is possible that they are stressed out due to group settings.
The Olympian reported that Trump proposed allowing parents to deduct the average cost of child care from their taxes. As for Clinton, she promised to limit the amount that parents pay for child care to 10 percent of their income.
The issue of affordable child care has been one of the ways to attract voters for the upcoming November general elections.
