A conservative lobby group has sparked debate after issuing a report from a controversial academic who claims daycare is detrimental to children.
The report, issued by Family First this morning, claims spending long periods of time in day care is detrimental to a child's long-term development.
The author of the study, Dr Aric Sigman, is also behind a 2009 study that Facebook and other social networking sites cause cancer.
When the study was released in Britain last year experts attacked Dr Sigman for “cherry-picking”, or ignoring evidence that did not support his theory.
The report claims the level of stress hormone cortisol is higher in children in centre-based care. Dr Sigman says the hormone is produced in response to fear and uncertainty, and too much of it has been linked to a lowered immune system.
“Attending daycare for an extended time… could have potential long-term consequences for their mental and physical health as adults,” the study says.
The Family First report, entitled ‘Who Cares’, looks at the increasing number of children who spend time in daycare while their parents are at work.
Professor of developmental neuropsychology at Oxford Dorothy Bishop wrote in the Guardian last year that Dr Sigman “ignores or selectively reports evidence… [and] justifies his one-sided approach to the evidence on the basis that ‘while open-mindedness has its place in academia, it is a luxury children can't afford’.”
The report has prompted calls for extended paid parental leave from industry groups.
Early childhood spokeswoman for the NZEI, Hayley Whitaker, says while high-quality early childhood education benefits children, parents should have the option to stay at home.
“[Parents] shouldn't have to feel that they're forced back into the workforce,” she says.
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