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tent, hardworking adults they
often lack certain characteristics
of
personali~y
and individual crea–
tivi ty.
And note this: in the three
nat ions we've examined , the
Soviet Union, the People's Re–
public of China and lsrael's kib–
butzim, all provide basically com–
petent caretakers who generally
take care of the same children
throughout their tender early
years. Unlike the United States,
for example, the fami lies in these
coun tries are not so transient.
Most U .S . children in day care
will experience at least three or
four caretakers annually because
of the high rate of turnover
among day-care personnel alone.
lmpact on Infanta
How does custodia) care from this
parade of caretakers in an indif–
ferent environment affect fragi le,
impressionable young minds? Re–
member, this is an examination of
day care at its best-with compe–
tent personnel and olean, properly
furn ished facilities.
Human infants begin to learn
at birth, and befare they are a
year old , wi ll have acquired more
knowledge than they will in any
other comparable year of their
lives. Befare babies can reach out,
sorne researchers fi nd that they
have stored up, through sight ,
information about an object , and
are not totally surprised at íts
shape when able to handle it. A
baby quickly learns to recognize
mother and definitely prefers her
face and voice. (And more and
more researchers are emphasizing
the importance of the father in a
child's beginning years of life, as
well as later. )
By the time the baby is five or
six months old, all · mental and
physical abi lities acquired will
depend upon the response and
interest of parents, especially the
mother . Par ental response, of
course, increases alertness even in
tiny in fants.
A baby Ieft alone for long peri–
ods of time becomes not only lone–
ly, but also frustrated . He or she is
not able to exercise, and thus
develop, all the new skills he or she
is learning. Later the frequency
April 1981
with which the infant expresses
himself in making sounds will
decrease and the child's language
development will slow.
Infants and young children do
not thrive physically, mentally
and emotionally in day-care insti–
tutions.
Even more sobering, studies are
revealing that a child's abil ity to
form a lasting a ttachment to
another human being- his capac–
ity to love-is learned befare age
three. And that this ability to form
a lasting mutual attachment is
inexorably tied in with the formu–
lation of the child's conscience. In
other words, no human attachment
equals no conscience.
From studies over the last
twenty to thirty years infant psy–
chologist Selma Fraiberg states:
" ... we have learned that the
human qualities of enduring lave
and commitment to lave a re
forged during the first two years
of life. On this point there is a
consensus among scientists from
a wide range of disciplines.
"We are living in times," Pro–
fessor Fraiberg continues, " when
there are voices which denigrate
the human family and even ·cry
for its dissolution or its recompo–
sition.
1
cannot identify the voices
of infant psychologists among
them"
(Every Child's Birthrigh t:
! IJ
Defense of M othering).
It's
unnerving to visualize what final
impact the emotional near aban–
donment of our children will have
upon our society.
Childcare advocates would not
agree, of course. lt's a controver–
sia] subject and books and articles
expressing opposing views are
numerous, but it's hard to deny
living, breathing evidence.
The God-ordalned Famlly
Broken homes a re a tragedy.
Children need two loving, con–
cerned parents (especially their
mothers, atan early age) to devel–
op into mature adults capable of
loving and caring for other
human beings. Adults who can
enrich the lives of others with
thei r own unique creativity, who
have exercised their God-given
right, guided by loving parents, of
independent thought and ac-
tion-parents are responsible for
developing such character in their
young children.
Preserving the nuclear family
is not t he panacea for all the
world's social ills, of course. Our
tran sient mobile society has
robbed our children of the stable
extended-family ties enjoyed by
our grandparents. Therefore,
mos t young people have little
sense of the past and less regard
for the wisdom of their elders.
lt
should come as no surprise that
youths have been wandering
around for the last two decades
wondering who they are.
The modero, highly trarisitory
society we live in has made child
rearing doubly difficul t. Without
the support of the extended fami–
ly, parents' responsibilities today
have never been more important.
Children need both their parents
more than ever. To avoid future
deepset emotional problems, there
is no substitute for mothers during
those early years.
For sorne of you-too many–
you see no alternative available.
Single parents trying to single–
handedly hold your fractured
families together physically and
economically, as well as emotion–
ally. You' re caught, we're all
caught in a system we didn't
create for ourselves, but which
the majori ty are paying more
than lip service to.
For those with older children,
depending on the family circum–
stances and chi ldren's ages, it
may not always be as harmful for
women to work, but for those of
you with very young preschool
children feel ing the pressure to
make a decision you may regret,
quit feel ing inferior-you' re in–
dispensable!
There are those al ready con–
cerned about our chi ldren who
are becoming the vanguard in a
movement to turn parents back to
their children and children back
to their parents.
Write for our article reprint
series titled "Are We Neglecting
Our Youth?" for more informa–
iion on this subject. And don't Jet
anyone rob you, and therefore
your child,
of
either of your
birthrights. o
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