Edward F. Zigler

Why the United States has failed to establish a comprehensive high-quality child care program is the question at the center of this book. Edward Zigler has been intimately involved in this issue since the 1970s, and here he presents a firsthand history of the policy making and politics surrounding this important debate. Good-quality child care supports cognitive, social, and emotional development, school readiness, and academic achievement. This book examines the history of child care policy since 1969, including the inside story of America’s one great attempt to create a comprehensive system of child care, its failure, and the lack of subsequent progress. Identifying specific issues that persist today, Zigler and his coauthors conclude with an agenda designed to lead us successfully toward quality care for America’s children.

In this analysis of childcare in America, Edward F. Zigler and Mary E. Lang examine the structural inadequacies of childcare and approach the needs of children based on age. As more and more families begin to enroll their children into childcare networks outside of their homes, it has become far too common that these environments compromise the cognitive and social development of children. In a long-awaited definitive anatomy of the American childcare system, Child Care Choices addresses the patchwork construction of a system that, at best, has become increasingly inadequate to meet the needs of a changing society. Putting the methods that have succeeded up against those that have failed in broad historical and cross-cultural perspective, the authors of this book review different approaches of childcare in the United States from colonial times to World War II and all the way up to present day. Child Care Choices provides essential information for those concerned with children and the policies affecting family life and parental participation in the work force, from parents and policymakers to corporate executives and childcare professionals.

Recommendations for infant and toddler care and development based on current brain research and its implications How much do children’s early experiences affect their cognitive and social development? How important is the parent’s role in child development? Is it possible to ameliorate or reverse the consequences of early developmental deficits? This vitally important book draws on the latest research from the social sciences and studies on the brain to answer these questions and to explore what they mean for social policy and child and family development. The authors affirm that sound social policy providing for safe and appropriate early care, education, health care, and parent support is critical not only for the optimal development of children, but also for strengthening families, communities, and the nation as a whole. Offering a wealth of advice and recommendations, they explain: • the benefits of family leave, child care, and home visitation programs; • the damage that child abuse inflicts; • the vital importance of nutrition (and breast feeding) for pregnant women and young children; • the adverse effects that occur in misguided efforts to disseminate research too early; • and more. Written by experts in the field of early child development, care, and education, the book is essential reading for parents and policymakers alike.