Low-income parents’ adult interactions at childcare centres

ABSTRACT

Little is known about the extent and nature of low-income parents’ interactions with other parents and staff at childcare centres, despite the potential for these interactions to provide emotional, informational, and instrumental support. This study interviewed 51 parents at three childcare centres in low-income neighbourhoods in New York City. Twenty-six per cent of parents reported talking with other parents at drop-off and pick-up, and another 35% reported meeting with parents outside the centre in addition to talking with them at the centre. Parents’ extent of interaction was related to how long they spent at drop-off and pick-up, their participation in centre activities, and their sociability in general. All parents reported interacting with teachers and administrators, and described them more often than other parents as good sources of information and advice. We discuss the implications for parents and centre-based childcare providers.

KEYWORDS:

• Childcare
• parents
• social support
• centre-based care
• parent–teacher interactions

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr. Jeanne L. Reid is a Research Scientist at NCCF. She earned her doctorate of education in Early Childhood Policy from Teachers College at Columbia University, and her Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School at Harvard University. Her research focuses on issues of equity and excellence in early care and education, particularly the policy implications of socio-economic and cultural diversity in preschool classrooms.

Dr. Anne Martin is a Senior Research Scientist and the Coordinator at the National Center for Children and Families. She earned her doctoral and masters degrees in public health from Columbia University. Her research has focused on the effects of early intervention, the interplay between maternal and paternal supportive parenting, child care/classroom quality, adolescent sexual behavior, and young childrens early self-regulation and cognition.

Dr. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Child Development at Columbia Universitys Teachers College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons. She also co-directs the National Center for Children and Families. Her specialty is policy-oriented research focusing on family and community influences upon the development of children and youth.

Notes

1. One parent did not talk with parents at drop-off or pick-up, but reported doing playdates twice a month. Because this represented fairly regular socialization, we included this parent in Group 3.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.