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Shared Care: Establishing a Balance Between Home and Child Care Settings
Author(s) -
Ahnert Lieselotte,
Lamb Michael E.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8624.00587
Subject(s) - psychology , child care , developmental psychology , cognition , balance (ability) , adaptation (eye) , clinical psychology , medicine , psychiatry , nursing , neuroscience
The onset of regular nonparental care for infants and toddlers has complex psychobiological and behavioral effects on their functioning both at home and in child care centers. Maladaptive behavior on the part of children who spend many hours in child care may reflect not the direct effects of nonparental care but the inability of parents to buffer the enhanced levels of stress experienced in child care. Successful adaptation demands careful equilibration of the contrasting limitations and benefits of the two environments, with parental care characterized by stress reduction and emotional regulation and providers' care characterized by emphasis on cognitive stimulation and behavioral regulation.