I started my professional involvement with day nurseries in the mid-1970s and it was tough then to get people to recognise that any out-of-home childcare could be safe and maybe even positive for some children and families. Unfortunately, we seem now to have hurtled in the opposite direction, such that it is unacceptable in some quarters to state the realistic situation that the experience of young children in group daycare is very varied - now, not decades ago. And yes, that the poor experience of some children is harming their development.
Jay Belsky experienced significant criticism for his fair and balanced concerns about what could happen to very young children who were not spending sufficient time with their family. It must be possible to raise these worries without being accused of 'attacking' women - an allegation made twice in Rosemary Murphy's rejoinder. I can see no evidence in Steve Biddulph's article of any such attack, nor in the actual book or his website.
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