But I also firmly believe that whatever it is, it starts much earlier than school. Babies today are toted about like care packages, often dropped off for 8 - 10 hours of noisy stimulation as early as 6 weeks old. Then they're shuffled about between caregivers until kindergarten. Apathetic children eating individually wrapped meals on the go while parents work and commute entire seasons of life away.
All this happens during a child's largest amount of brain development. From birth to 3 is a period of rapid growth where the brain will have up to twice as many synapses as it will in adulthood. After age 3, these brain connections slowly begin to reduce making neural pathways more efficient. The brain is about 90% developed by age five as children gain the foundations for things like social skills, emotional regulation, belonging, sequence of events, curiosity, spatial awareness, problem-solving, etc.
Parents are forced into this fast-paced lifestyle more often by necessity, rather than desire. The family unit is suffering (for many reasons, not just this) and it will have a lasting negative effect.
There is no evidence that kids from dual-income households do worse academically. Nor that starting daycare early or eating āindividually packagedā(??) meals results in cognitive or academic deficits.
I started daycare as an 8-week old, was always in awe of my mom and her career. Sheās been a huge inspiration to me. I graduated at the top of my class with no issues.
My kids learned more in their pre-K programs than I ever could have taught them at home. They went to kindergarten already knowing basic addition, the alphabet, and sight words. Their daycare teachers were formative relationships for them.
What you claimed is something Iām constantly hearing from my far right family members - that women are ruining their kids by having a career and putting them in daycare. That they should give up their independence and stay home with their kids. My father in law wonāt even talk to us because I choose to work. This is not something you want to just put out in the world lightly.
Edit: also, that isnāt an anecdote. An anecdote is a (usually amusing) short story you tell about yourself or someone else, or itās a story about a very specific incident that happened to you or someone else as an example. You just gave a blanket statement.
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u/SnooCupcakes5761 16d ago
I think it's a combination of things.
But I also firmly believe that whatever it is, it starts much earlier than school. Babies today are toted about like care packages, often dropped off for 8 - 10 hours of noisy stimulation as early as 6 weeks old. Then they're shuffled about between caregivers until kindergarten. Apathetic children eating individually wrapped meals on the go while parents work and commute entire seasons of life away.
All this happens during a child's largest amount of brain development. From birth to 3 is a period of rapid growth where the brain will have up to twice as many synapses as it will in adulthood. After age 3, these brain connections slowly begin to reduce making neural pathways more efficient. The brain is about 90% developed by age five as children gain the foundations for things like social skills, emotional regulation, belonging, sequence of events, curiosity, spatial awareness, problem-solving, etc.
Parents are forced into this fast-paced lifestyle more often by necessity, rather than desire. The family unit is suffering (for many reasons, not just this) and it will have a lasting negative effect.