ONE THING CREATIONISTS, IDERS AND DARWINISTS CAN AGREE ON:

Official: babies do best with mother (Yvonne Roberts, October 2, 2005, The Observer)

One of the longest and most detailed studies of UK childcare has concluded that young children who are looked after by their mothers do significantly better in developmental tests than those cared for in nurseries, by childminders or relatives.

The study on children from birth to three will reignite the controversy over the best way to bring up young children. It found babies and toddlers fared worst when they were given group nursery care. Those cared for by friends or grandparents or other relatives did a little better while those looked after by nannies or childminders were rated second only to those cared for by mothers.

According to Penelope Leach, a leading British childcare expert and one of the study's authors, the social and emotional development of children cared for by someone other than their mother 'is definitely less good'.

Such children tend to show higher levels of aggression or are inclined to become more withdrawn, compliant and sad. Tests included the ability to do a series of set tasks and the level of eye-contact maintained with adults.

Doesn't much matter whether God, Nature, or space aliens designed us this way.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 7, 2005 6:39 PM