Non-Parental Child Care

Non-Parental Child Care

Tammy LeStourgeon

SOC312: Child Family & Society

Instructor: Rebekah Clark

October 8, 2012

In today's society, it has become more and more difficult for a family to live comfortably and enjoy the even the most essential necessities of life on the income of one family member. In most households today we find a dual family income which has made the operation of non-parental child care increasingly more common. Non-parental child care, as referred to in our text, is any care given to a child or children by any individual other than the parent(s) during which time of the day both parents are absent. There are many way within which parents provide care for their child. Non-parental child care can be in the fashion of in-home care by a nanny or babysitter, a family member or friend caregiver, or a professional day-care center. Each of these non-parental caregivers, as with the parent, is equally responsible for positively affecting the child cognitively, psychologically and socially.

The setting for a child might be in-home care by either a nanny or a babysitter. This care would be at the child's home wherein the child is most comfortable. The individual caring for the child may be that of a nanny or a babysitter. During the initial years of life, the child will be forming the attachment and developmental relationships that are vital to his/her future. If successful, the child will also create such a relationship with its in-home caregiver, allowing both a successful and trusting relationship with its caregiver as well as its maternal parent. An advantage to in-home care is that it takes place in the home where the child recognizes his/her belongings as well as surroundings, and creates less disruption in its continuity of its environment.

Another form of non-parental child care is a family or friend providing such care in their home. In this instance, the child is removed from their environment and will have to develop a relationship with their caregiver. An extended family member can often take the place of the parent in the form of child care that can developmentally and successfully influence the child. The extended family member can give the child a sense of strength and significance of the family has a whole relating back to its nuclear family. Grandparents, aunts or uncles are often the form of an extended family that the child forms an attachment that is everlasting.

Lastly we conclude non-parental care in the form of professional day-care centers. Center based care would consist of qualified staff that is licensed by the state within you reside, and would house a number of children