But it was the other finding that got the ink. Seventeen percent of children in day care more than 30 hours per week were said to be more aggressive and disobedient than children who were in day care for fewer hours. The media is having a field day with headlines implying that kids in day care are at great risk for becoming aggressive, mean bullies. The study, of 1,110 children in 10 cities by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, reported that the findings on aggression were the same for children regardless of their income levels or whether they were girls or boys. This all sounds quite alarming.
Researchers have to look much deeper to find out.
It could be that smart, verbal kids talk back more and are harder to manage than other kids. What the study does not say is that most children in long-hour day care are aggressive. While seventeen percent is a large enough number to deserve more study, the great majority of children in day care for over 30 hours are not aggressive, demanding or bullying. The loudest voice about the aggression finding is being made by the controversial researcher Jay Belsky, now at a London University. In l986, he wrote an article that created a furor.