The latest report from the Growing Up In Scotland longitudinal research, which is following the lives of 5,000 babies and 3,000 toddlers throughout childhood, found that placing children aged 34 months in childcare for long periods had negative effects on their behaviour. The effect was most significant in girls and in children whose mothers were aged under 25 when their child was born.
However, being in childcare for between 17 and 40 hours per week was found to have a positive effect on children's cognitive abilities at 34 months, with girls in particular found to have more advanced vocabularies.
The research, conducted by the Scottish Centre for Social Research, also investigated the effects of being looked after by multiple childcare providers. It found that, for children aged up to 12 months, 27 per cent of families using childcare used two providers and 4 per cent used three or more. However, this 'childcare fragmentation' had no adverse impact on child cognitive development at 34 months.
A second Growing Up In Scotland report found that children whose mothers were aged under 20 when they were born and children living in low income households had below average ability scores and experienced a smaller range of activities than other children. Children who took part in a wider range of activities had higher ability scores. The report concluded that the activities that had the most benefit were free or inexpensive, such as singing songs or looking at books.
Adam Ingram, Scotland's children's minister, said, 'There's a notion that parents need to spend lots of money on expensive toys and activities to stimulate their children, but this report shows that's just not the case. It's simple things like reading bedtime stories, kicking a ball about in the park or having a sing-along that really make a difference.'
FURTHER INFORMATION
The Growing Up In Scotland reports are available at www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications
