New research shows Quebec daycare harms children

IMFC 22 September 2015
A new study released September 21, 2015, shows that Quebec’s daycare system has negative effects on children. The longitudinal assessment was done by heavyweight academics. It uses four different, reliable data sets including data from Statistics Canada. Their findings confirm previous research showing that universal daycare poses a threat to the emotional development of children.

Here are the five need-to-know points about the new research:
1. Negative behaviours increase
Children in Quebec’s daycare program had “worse health, lower life satisfaction and higher crime rates later in life.”  The authors write: “The negative impact of the Quebec program on the non-cognitive outcomes of young children appears to persist and grow as they reach school ages.”

2. Health and life satisfaction decrease
Not only do negative behaviours increase, but self-reported measure of health and life satisfaction decrease in contrast with children who were not exposed to the program. The authors note that, “Overall, these results give strong indications of a worsening of both health and life satisfaction among those older youths exposed to the Quebec child care program.”

3. Academics do not improve
“Overall there is no strong evidence in these estimates that the Quebec Family Plan had a lasting impact on children’s cognitive development.” Canadians have been led to believe that early learning boosts academics. However, wherever modest boosts are found, they fade. This remains true of full-day kindergarten programs as well.

4. Targeted child interventions cannot be replicated in universal programs 
Perry Preschool was a study done in the 1960s in the United States. It was a small scale, expensive and targeted program for disadvantaged children and their mothers. It showed benefits for those children as a result of intensive effort, including intervention with parents.

5. Attachment research is part of the reason why—but it is overlooked 
Canadian researchers, Dr. Gabor Mate and Dr. Gordon Neufeld together wrote an important book. Hold on to your Kids: Why parents need to matter more than peers describes what good attachment between parents and children looks like. It also describes the attachment void children in North America experience today as a matter of routine.
http://www.imfcanada.org/issues/new-research-shows-quebec-daycare-harms-children