Child Care and Maternal Employment A review of Two Journal Aticles
... I have discussed in this review the topic of shared care-giving between child-care and mothers who have chosen to seek employment as studied by Gayder & Brooks-Gunn (1991). ... on the effects of cognitive development and behavior of children who are placed in child-care as a result of their mothers employment. With the growing number of mothers with young children seeking employment, and as a result, place their children in child-care, Ahnert, et, al. ... argue that these children are exposed daily to an additional set of experiences in child-care settings while also having experiences at home that differ from those enjoyed by peers who do not attend child care. Because maternal employment leads to such profound changes in an infant’s experiences and interactions, it was important for Bayder & Brooks-Gunn (1991). to know if maternal employment had any negative effects on children. Their collected data suggested if the mother were to be employed continuously during the first 3 years of childhood, it would not be detrimental and might even be slightly more beneficial than intermittent employment. ... Their data showed that a delayed entry into employment was also beneficial. ... By the time of the fourth quarter, maternal representations may be better established and changes in maternal routine may be more easily incorporated into maternal representations (Bayder & Brooks-Gunn, 1991).