As a nation we have been choosing the children we will have in the future by promoting day care, and the future does not look good. Finally, I would like to look at the financial and medical costs of day care. The financial costs can be significant. Quality day care is not cheap nor are many of the other costs associated with going to work. By contrast, the value of a mother is vastly underestimated.
Health costs are also considerable.
Young children are still in the process of developing their immunity to certain diseases, and are more likely to get sick when exposed to other children on a daily basis. While some ailments are slight, others can be very serious. Dr. Ron Haskins and Dr. Jonathan Kotch have identified day care attendance as the most significant factor associated with the increased incidence of bacterial meningitis. These and other correlations should not be surprising given the intimate contact with so many unrelated children in an environment of playing, sleeping, eating, and using toilet facilities. As we have seen in this discussion, the costs of day care are high.