Experiences with full-time child care attendance on young children in Norway: Parents' and early childhood teachers' views.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how parents and the pedagogical staff view advantages and disadvantages of full-time daycare for one-year-old children in Norwegian daycare facilities. The study examines what age parents and staff consider the optimal age for daycare attendance. Furthermore, the study examines the experiences of parents and staff with regard to young children in daycare, particularly experiences with regard to the tiredness of children in daycare. In addition, the study examines the degree to which parents and the pedagogical staff share common expectations and operate with common development goals for the child’s early development.

The authors conclude that parents and the pedagogical staff agree that there are advantages of daycare facilities. However, the study shows that parents are likely to overestimate the advantages of daycare for the learning and socialisation of the youngest children. Moreover, the study shows that both parents and staff find it difficult to answer what is the ideal age for enrolling in daycare, as there may be individual differences between the children. Overall parents and staff believe that 12-18 months is an appropriate age for daycare attendance. Furthermore, the study finds that both parents and staff are worried about the number of hours the children spend at the daycare facility. According to parents and staff, it is obvious that most children are tired after a long day at a daycare facility. The children are picky, whiny, less patient and cling to their parents. According to the parents, it is difficult for the child to relate to so many other children during the day, and the level of activity at the daycare facility is too high. On the other hand, many parents value these activities, as they provide the children with many interesting experiences at the daycare facility, and therefore parents do not feel obligated to initiate different activities at home. In addition, the study shows that the pedagogical staff have a high degree of empathy towards the individual needs of the children. In other words, the study shows that the early childhood teachers are very well aware which child in the group of children needs rest, and how this child can be given the necessary help to relax.

A total of 35 Norwegian daycare facilities took part in the study. The data material consists of qualitative semi-structured, open interviews with 35 staff members and 41 parents from the daycare facilities included in the study. The interviews were recorded and later transcribed. The material was then analysed on the basis of elements from a grounded-theory approach.

Undheim, A.M. & Drugli, M.B. (2012). Experiences with full-time child care attendance on young children in Norway: Parents' and early childhood teachers' views. International Research in Early Childhood Education 3(1), 1-40. Undheim, A.M. & Drugli, M.B. (2012). Age for enrolling in full-time childcare: a qualitative study of parent and caregiver perspectives. Early Child Development and Care 182(12), 1673-1682. Undheim, A.M. & Drugli, M.B. (2012). Perspective of parents and caregivers on the influence of full-time day-care attendance on young children. Early Child Development and Care 182(2), 233-247.