Early Child Care and Children’s Development Prior to School Entry: Results from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care

Effects of early child care on children’s functioning at the age of 4 1 / 2 years were examined in the NICHD (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Study of Early Child Care, a prospective longitudinal study of more than 1,000 children. Even after controlling for multiple child and family characteristics, children’s development was predicted by early child-care experience. Higher-quality child care, improvements in the quality of child care, and experience in center-type arrangements predicted better pre-academic skills and language performance at 4 1 / 2 years. More hours of care predicted higher levels of behavior problems according to caregivers. Effect sizes associated with early…