Running head: DAYCARE FOR INFANTS AND CONSEQUENCES DEBATE 1

Daycare for Infants and Consequences Debate

Isaac S. Sotomayor

Pasadena City College

Author Note

Contact: Isotomayor@go.pasadena.edu
DAYCARE FOR INFANTS AND CONSEQUENCES DEBATE 2

Abstract

The effects of daycare on the development of infants and their attachments is explored through

attachment theory. Infants experiencing continued loss of attachments may cause hesitation in

the formation of new attachments. Traditional daycare does not lend itself to the healthy

development of infants under the age of one.

Keywords: Daycare, Infants, Psychology, Primary Attachment, Secondary Attachment,

Dissociation, Non-Parental Child-Care, Stress, Anxiety, Disrupted Attachment

DAYCARE FOR INFANTS AND CONSEQUENCES DEBATE 3

Daycare for Infants and Consequences Debate

Infancy is an important developmental stage both psychologically and socially, thus the

inclusion of non-parental daycare at this stage in life will detrimentally affect the bond between

parent and child. Understandably, modern society makes it difficult to be able stay home for

many parents, but the time they spend away from their newborn and infant children is some of

the most valuable. Human socialization and bonding are formed during infancy due to a need for

a stable parental figure to provide a sense of security. I will argue that daycare during infancy

interferes with the healthy development of a parent-child bond primarily through the lens of

attachment theory and how the disruption of developing attachment can cause short and long

term detrimental effects.

Attachment theory posits that infants and toddlers seek out attachments to relieve an

innate response of stress or anxiety (Bowlby, 2007 p. 310). Primary attachments are those who

have the strongest bond to the infant, whereas secondary attachments are those which the infant

will turn to after their primary attachment (Bowlby, 2007 p. 309). The purpose of these

attachments is to cause a sense of security and provide comfort, but by introducing an infant to

daycare at such an early stage, a disrupted attachment may occur. A disrupted attachment is

where the infant’s primary attachment is not to the mother or father, but to an outside source, like

a daycare attendant (Bowlby, 2007 p. 313). The infant will bond to the daycare attendant rather

than a parent if it spends more time with the attendant than with the parent. The problem with

this is that once taken home by the parent, the infant will feel a sense of anxiety and stress due to

being removed from its primary attachment (Bowlby, 2007 p. 313). Bowlby (2007) states the
DAYCARE FOR INFANTS AND CONSEQUENCES DEBATE 4

situation of a child being removed from a primary attachment before the verbal phase as one

where they will experience an anxiety of which they cannot describe the origin later in life (pp.

313). In contrast to the loss of a primary attachment, the loss of a secondary attachment is not as

severe, but the nature of daycares would lend frequency to the event (Bowlby, 2007 p. 313).

Frequently losing attachments can cause the infant to become reluctant to form new secondary

attachments (Bowlby, 2007 p. 314). The care provided by the limited staff at daycares is divided

among the other infants, making it difficult to satisfy the needs of the individual infants. The

brain is still developing during infancy and the quality of care is correlated to how the brain

physically forms, which affects the personality they exhibit throughout childhood (Bowlby, 2007

p. 310).

While it is understandable that parents may need to work away from their children, the

institution of daycare risks the healthy development of attachments in infants. Should the need

arise, I recommend that the care of the infant be handled by someone the infant can bond with

without fear or anxiety of separation like a grandmother. Daycare may provide for basic care

such as social interaction and food, but the negative effects of the unreliable nature of these

attachments are not enough for a developing infant’s psychology as it may associate these

attachments as primary (or even secondary). The potential psychological and emotional damage

from having attachments come and go with frequency would harm the infantsdevelopment for

years on a subconscious level (Bowlby, 2007 p. 310).

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References

Bowlby, R. (2007). Babies and toddlers in non-parental daycare can avoid stress and anxiety if

they develop a lasting secondary attachment bond with one carer who is consistently

accessible to them. Attachment & Human Development, 9(4), 307-319.

doi:10.1080/14616730701711516