It is, for some families, an unavoidable aspect of modern life, but should parents who avail of childcare facilities on a regular basis fear for their child's development?
According to recent findings, which featured in the government-funded Growing Up in Ireland study and involved 11,000 families, the answer to that question is no.
The research established that a child, who is under the care of a créche or childminder, does not experience a negative effect on their cognitive development or reasoning ability.
Analysing children at the age of five, the study established that there exists no difference in cognitive ability between children cared for at home and children cared for outside the home.
The study did, however, indicate that children at the age of three who were cared for outside the home, whether by créche or childminder, for approximately 30 hours a week could be associated with a small negative effect on vocabulary.
In contrast, children, whose first language is not English, displayed small benefits as a result of their outside care.
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