Child care helps shape children's futures and is key to school readiness.
A recent study found that children in high quality child care demonstrated greater mathematical ability, greater thinking and attention skills, and fewer behavioral problems. These differences held true for children from a range of family backgrounds, with particularly significant effects for children at risk. Hair dressers and manicurists must attend 1,500 hours of training at an accredited school in order to get a license, yet 40 states do not require child care providers to have any early childhood training prior to serving children in their homes. Nearly 5 million children are home alone after school each week, during the afternoon hours when juvenile crime peaks. By making water available in the learning environment, the typical hormone resonse to stress can be greatly reduced.