Day Care Children Have High-Risk for Illness

Children in day care, especially infants and toddlers , are at increased risk for acquiring and spreading infectious diseases, compared to children not in day care.  They have more respiratory, gastro-intestinal, skin and epidemic childhood infections, e.g., meningitis, than are children in home care.  Infectious diseases are more common and more severe and more complications occur in the younger ages.  Important also is the fact that day care-related illnesses, e.g., hepatitis A, may be spread to members of the household and to the community at large.

Reed Bell, M.D., “Health Risks From Daycare Diseases," cited by  Gregg Jackson, Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies, p.160

More Day Care Dangers

Psychologist J. Conrad Schwarz, who with his colleagues studied three- and four-year olds, concluded that children who spend excessive time in day care as infants are more physically  and verbally aggressive with other children and adults, as well as being more physically active.  They're also less likely to cooperate with adults.

Gregg Jackson, Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies, p.159

Day-Care Danger

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that preschool children were from 4 to more than 12 times as likely to contract meningitis if they attended a day-care center than if they were cared for at home.  The incidence of other diseases also rose with the growth of day care.  Studies have indicated that psychological problems are also more prevalent among children in day-care centers.

Thomas Sowell, "The Vision of the Anointed," pg.175

A Problem with Day Care

The large body of research on separation anxiety in working mothers supports the view that maternal attachment increases with the time a mother spends with her baby, and decreases when she spends less time. Thus, programs that essentially relegate parents to the role of part-time caretakers [e.g. day care] may inadvertently subvert the parental competence and healthy family functioning they purport to promote.

Dana Mack, The Assault on Parenthood: How Our Culture Undermines the Family, p.186-187