Used ethnographic methodologies in day care setting to explore potential impacts of changing roles and changing dependencies on women, children, and families. Findings suggest various supports for women and families that will enhance the environment of child care and facilitate interactive child development. (Author/NB)

Interviewed mothers (n=982) of young children to assess factors related to children's risk of abuse and neglect by child caregivers. Results indicated children were significantly less likely to be abused in day care center or preschool than in home-based child care. Strongest correlates of neglect were child's age, caregiver's age, and child care…

The purpose of this study was to compare childrearing practices of mothers and fathers who cared for their 4-year-old children at home with those who enrolled their children in group day care centers. The Child-Rearing Practices Questionnarie was administered to 50 married couples with a 4-year-old to determine their childrearing practices. Items…

Describes the national data currently available to answer questions concerning: the match between children in need of child care and the type of arrangements made for them; the proportion of children in licensed arrangements; the relationship between price of care and the family's ability to pay; and parents' preferences for type of program. (BB)

Secondary analyses indicated that maternal employment in children's first year had detrimental effects on cognitive and behavioral development. Grandmother care was beneficial for the cognitive development of children in poverty. For behavioral development, mother care was beneficial for boys and babysitter care for girls. (BC)

Children's relationships with their mothers and child care teachers were assessed by means of Q-Set procedures. Children's moods, expectations of adult responsiveness, awareness of adults' location, and reliance on adults for comfort differed in relationships with teachers and with parents. (BC)

Examined the relationships between young children's language ability and their home or day care play environments. Found that mother-child interaction pattern was the best predictor of children's language abilities, even though teachers and day care mothers engaged in better quality interactions than did home care mothers. Aspects of home…

This pilot study of the structural characteristics of daily routines of young children also explored aspects of conceptual framework and research instruments. Four data collection instruments were developed. Two of the three retrospective measures used were questionnaires for mothers about their child's routine on the previous day. The other…

Examines relations between aspects of early child care (age entered, full- or part-time structure and number of child-care arrangements and their quality) and school adjustment. Maternal education was found to be more closely associated with children's school adjustment than maternal employment, marital status, or aspects of child care. (PCB)

This article considers self-employment and providing child care as occupational strategies for mothers with young children more often than for women without young children. These strategies for women's participation in the labor force are studied in view of the influence of child care needs on employment decisions of women with young children.…

The need for good child care in the South will increase dramatically when the 1988 Family Support Act (FSA) takes effect. The FSA requires mothers receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children or welfare payments to enroll in the Jobs Opportunities and Basic Skills program and calls for states to pay for child care for mothers in the program.…

A study was conducted in a day care setting to assess whether differences in the intellectual and social competence scores of young children were reflected in the communicative behavior occurring between the children's mothers and caregivers. A total of forty-seven 2- to 4-year-old children in day care and their mothers participated. Two…

A study was conducted to examine the act of mothering from the perspective of women who chose to work at home full time, as mothers of their own children and as family day care providers of very young children at risk of abuse and neglect. Through life history interviews, the study examined the caregivers' present and past lives, and explored the…

Assessed children's satisfaction with alternative child care. Seventy-seven children, ages three to six, from six child-care centers participated in the Child Care Game Assessment. Found that children's satisfaction regarding teacher interaction was closely related to family stress events. High maternal education levels predicted more positive…

This nationwide study examined the following factors in terms of predictive relationships between home environment and child adjustment within mother-employed households: (1) marital status; (2) number of hours worked per week; (3) full- versus part-time employment; (4) mother's occupational classification; (5) family income; (6) child rearing…