Child Care Through the Ages Term Paper

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History Of Child Care

A common refrain heard from parents and policymakers alike today is that "the children are our future," but this refrain is certainly not new. In fact, since time immemorial, humankind has been compelled to make some type of arrangements for child care by people other than parents in order to ensure the survival of the humanity over the eons, a practice that has been more effective at raising healthy and normal children during some periods of history than others. To determine the history and effects of child care services, this paper reviews the relevant primary and secondary literature to provide a background and overview of the issues, followed by a history of child care in general. Finally, an analysis of recent and current trends in child care is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning these issues in the conclusion.

Review and Analysis

Background and Overview

Child care is defined as "the nonparental care of children from birth through 13 years of age" and includes programs that are referred to as "day care," "child development," and "early childhood education" (Cohen, 1996, p. 25). These types of programs have long been offered in the United States and elsewhere before these types of services received any type of public support or funding (Cohen, 1996). Currently, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recognizes four types of child care services today as follows:

1. Babysitters: These providers generally care for children from one family and are not under regulatory control. In some instances the provider will be a spouse caring for his/her own children and also taking care of one or two additional children for the extra income. Others can be grandparents or other relatives, friends, or neighbors who are either unemployed and welcome the extra money or are not paid, but are willing to look after the children.

2. Family Day Care: This type of child care is provided in the home of the provider, is non-medical, and is for less than 24 hours. In some states a provider must attend an orientation and/or complete an application-processing seminar to obtain a license. Regulatory requirements may differ from state to state. The provider might be approved, certified, registered, or licensed under applicable state or local laws.

3. Child Care Centers: These are usually separate facilities, apart from the owner's residence. There may be more than one facility within a corporation or partnership. There may be one or more shareholders or partners involved in several facilities, each of which is organized as a separate corporation. These centers are heavily regulated in most states. These centers are required to report attendance records and other similar information. They also have large commercial kitchen operations, playground equipment, swimming pools, and large quantities of toys.

4. Home Care: Some children are cared for in their own home by a paid housekeeper, maid, governess, au pair, or nanny. The home caregiver is generally paid as a household employee. This situation is not a child care provider business. The nanny, housekeeper, etc. receive wages but do not incur expenses as a child care provider (Child care providers, 2010, p. 3).

In sum, then, child care involves having someone other than the child's parents (but which can include immediate relatives) care for and nurture children for varying lengths of time, usually less than 24 hours, until their parents are able to reassume the responsibility. An examination of how child care has been used during different periods of history is provided below.

History of Child Care

Humans have been making arrangements for the care of their children while they were otherwise occupied with work or pleasure throughout history and even before history was recorded (Al-Khatib, 2012). For instance, Al-Khatib reports that, "Before history was even history, human beings still had to raise and care for their young" (2012, para. 5). Because of the enormously hostile world in which prehistoric humans lived, the archaeological record suggests that child care then, as now ("It takes a village to raise a child") was a community responsibility (Al-Khatib, 2012). Although there are no documentary records and therefore primary sources regarding this early era in humankind's prehistory, it is reasonable to conclude that whatever child care methods were that were used were sufficiently effective to ensure the survival of the species to the present. Because child care was so important for survival, guidance was likely provided by authority figures besides parents (Richards & Brzozowski, 2006).

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For instance, Richards and Brzozowki note that, "Raising the next generation is a preoccupation of adults, and debates over how best to do it surely predate recorded history. In earlier times, religious leaders or village elders pronounced on the rights and wrongs of parenting" (2006, p. 33).

When the historical record began, the centrality of children in the lives of ancient people became well established. In fact, the importance of children to ancient peoples can be readily seen in the 17th century BCE Code of Hammurabi's early proscription against kidnapping a child: "If a man has stolen a child, he shall be put to death" (cited in Johns, 1904, p. 37). In addition, the Code of Hammurabi, the first law codified system of known law, also stipulated how wet nursing should be handled in this ancient civilization (Doolan, 2008). According to the Code of Hammurabi: "If a man gives his son to a wet-nurse and that son dies in the hand of the wet-nurse: had the wet-nurse another child 'tied' [to her breast] without the father or mother [knowing this], they shall cut off her breast" (cited in Marten & Wiggerman, 2000, p. 184). Modern historians have determined that the actual meaning of this law of Hammurabi, though, was not quite so literal. According to Marten and Wiggerman (2000), "It is not that the woman covers up the death of the first child or that she stealthily takes another baby as a substitute, but rather that she nurses a second child without the consent of the parents" (p. 184).

These types of child care arrangements were the exception rather than the rule, however, and most ancient people were unable to afford any type of outside care for their children (Marten & Wiggerman, 2000). In fact, in many ancient civilizations, including Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome, children were cared for almost exclusively in the home by the father and mother because human lifespans were relatively short compared to 21st century lifespans and children needed to be trained and prepared as quickly as possible to assume their parents' roles in their societies (Al-Khatib, 2012). In this regard, Al-Khatib reports that, "In peasant society had an average life span of 33 years and women on average only made it to 29 years. Formal education was generally lacking, so most children learned about morality, religion and more at the home" (2012, para. 3).

In fact, the Bible is replete with references to the responsibilities that parents have for taking care of their own children, including the following salient examples:

Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:6;

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. - Ephesians 6:4;

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. -- 1 Timothy 5:8; and,

He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity - 1 Timothy 3:4.

Modern conceptualizations of child care emerged from two different movements concerning children that have their basis in their ancient counterparts, with the first being focused on custodial care of children and the second focused on providing educational services and support for young people (Cohen, 1996). The first movement emerged during the mid-to-late 19th century and was characterized by day nurseries that were used for caring for the children of low-income families to allow their parents the opportunity to search for or pursue gainful employment (Cohen, 1996). These early child care facilities were usually organized by private individuals, community service organization or philanthropic organizations and were supported through private donations, modest fees assessed parents and state funding in some cases (Cohen, 1996). These early child care facilities were intended to provide a mechanism whereby young children could be assimilated into mainstream American life while offering their parents the opportunity to work (Cohen, 1996). These early child care facilities were the forerunners of what would become day care and then modern child care facilities in the United States and abroad (Cohen, 1996).

By contrast, the nursery school movement emerged during the early 20th century and was concerned with providing young people with the social, physical and emotional.....

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