Neither divorce nor day care are monolithic entities. There is a range of quality in day care from impoverished to extremely good (as there is with parenting) and there are divorces that are more amicable and cooperative than many intact marriages with children able to spend time with both parents. I am not sure about the validity of any research that purports to compare over such broad spans of quality. No one ever brings this up and yet it is true. Nancy Melucci Long Beach City College Long Beach CA njm Make a Small Loan, Make a Big Difference - Check out Kiva.org to Learn How!
In a message dated 11/2/2009 4:29:14 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, dal...@langara.bc.ca writes: Sorry that you found the post offensive. That was not my intent. It was my intent, however, to say clearly that I see no solid body of evidence that suggests that either daycare or divorce is harmful to most children. I have read The Nurture Assumption and I found it to be a creditable piece of work. Judith Rich-Harris is hardly alone in stating that the long term impact of parents is far less critical that most lay people (and many Psychologists) believe. I suggest that you read Why Child Care Has Little Impact on Most Children's development by Sanda Scarr (pdf attached) for a good review of the literature. We clearly disagree on the best interpretation of the extant literature. Since we can't do the critical study ( randomly assigning children to either daycare or homecare) I again offer my wager as a method of settling this issue. If you can easily tell who was raised in daycare and who was not you will have proved your point and gained yourself $10,000. Conversely, if there is no discernable difference to be found between the two groups when they are young adults then it would indicate that the method of child rearing is inconsequential. I look forward to your response. -Don. ----- Original Message ----- From: Joan Warmbold <jwarm...@oakton.edu> Date: Monday, November 2, 2009 3:03 pm Subject: Re: [tips] Article in WSJ on study how brain develops "without Dad." To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <tips@acsun.frostburg.edu> > This post is offensive and nonsensical. There is research that > day care, > especially extended day care during the first two years of life, > can cause > problems as well as can divorce, well I guess unless you choose > to ignore > all the research conducted in the 70's and 80's. And to imply > 'how silly > parents are to even consider that their precious darling who > spends a day > away from their parents will be scarred for life' is somehow > relevant to > this discussion is ludicrous. First of all, who has ever made that > claim?! Secondly, such a belief is a far cry from stating that > consistent, ongoing early experiences that cause stress (e.g., > day care > and/or divorce for some children) or deplete parental resources > (divorcefor some parents) can have deleterious effects on a > child's development. > > And please, please read the book by Judith Harris as it is sadly an > example of profoundly poor scholarship as well as a blatant > ignorance of > the role of certain major players in the history of psychology. > As I have > offered previously, I have made a critical analysis of her book > that I > would be glad to share with whomever. > > Joan > jwarm...@oakton.edu > > Hi Mike- > > > > Glad you agree with me that most typical childhood experiences > (dacare,> divorce, etc.) will have little or no long term effect > on the kids. > > Unfortunately, there are still plenty of "helicopter parents" > out there > > who feel that if their precious darling spent a day away from > them then > > they'd be scarred for life. I keep hoping that I'll find > someone to take > > the bait, uh I mean bet, but so far no luck. > > > > -Don. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Michael Smith > > Date: Sunday, November 1, 2009 6:31 am > > Subject: Re: [tips] Article in WSJ on study how brain develops > "without> Dad." > > To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" > > > >> "I think we have pretty well established that kids do fine > when raised > >> by two same-sex parents" > >> > >> If "doing fine" means they are alive and surviving then yes > of course, > >> and I don't think that "doing fine" can mean much more than that. > >> > >> > >> "I have a standing bet of > >> > $10,000 that no one can reliably determine whether an adult > >> was raised in > >> > day care or at home by observing their behaviour and their > >> interactions with > >> > others." > >> > >> Well, that sounds like a pretty safe bet. I doubt whether > anyone can > >> reliably determine anything about your typical adult's early life > >> experiences by observing their current adult behavior. > >> > >> -- Mike > >> > >> --- > >> To make changes to your subscription contact: > >> > >> Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) > >> > > > > Don Allen, Retired > > Formerly with: Dept. of Psychology > > Langara College > > 100 W. 49th Ave. > > Vancouver, B.C. > > Canada V5Y 2Z6 > > Phone: 604-733-0039 > > > > --- > > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > > > Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) > > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) > Don Allen, Retired Formerly with: Dept. of Psychology Langara College 100 W. 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5Y 2Z6 Phone: 604-733-0039 --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
