This is one of those stories that spreads like wildfire: the latest in-depth study reveals that kids in daycare are more likely to be problem kids when they reach elementary school. I have a tendency to raise a Spock-like eyebrow at such studies; even a layman like me can look at the data and wonder if the report accounts for variables, or if the media is merely focusing on a juicy part of the story to catch the reader's eye. I know - crazy talk.
Turns out I'm not the only one scratching his head at the validity of both the study and the media's take on it. I was all set to fire off a heated screed over what I think is a lazy effort by both the group conducting the study and the reporters who misrepresented the information, but Slate's Emily Bazelon beat me to it. Bazelon offers up an in-depth look at the real meaning behind the study, and asks some pointed questions of the study's author, Margaret Burchinal. I don't like spoilers (if someone had told me that Nikki and Paulo weren't really dead on last night's Lost, I'd have been pissed), but Burchinal drops a bomb of a quote. She says:
"I'm not sure we communicated this, but the kids who had one to two years of daycare by age 4½—which was typical for our sample—had exactly the level of problem behavior you'd expect for kids of their age. Most people use center care for one or two years, and for those kids we're not seeing anything problematic."
The rest of the article is eye-opening, and well worth your time. Like a lot of you out there, my kid's in daycare. We got lucky - his teachers are great, the center's affordable, and Lucas really seems to enjoy it. Still, we deal with enough bullshit from people who look down on us for putting our kid in a child care center. Although I hope more folks take a skeptical look at the spin being put on that study, those attitudes that will no doubt be reinforced by this example of bad journalism aren't likely to change any time soon.
