Hyperactivity link with before-school care

CHILDREN who go to before-school care early in their first year of school have been found to have higher levels of hyperactivity

CHILDREN who go to before-school care early in their first year of school have been found to have higher levels of hyperactivity and behaviour such as hurting others, tantrums and fighting.

A controversial study by Kay Margetts of Melbourne University's Graduate School of Education suggests the increasing trend towards putting children in before-school care while parents commute to work has a damaging impact on their performance, both academic and social.

"Based on this result, I think it's important to limit the number of changes children have to experience when they start school," Associate Professor Margetts told The Australian.

"The child is out of home for long hours and this can make them very tired."

The study found the influence of attendance at before-school care in the early weeks of schooling increased over time, leading to a range of difficulties at the end of Year 5, including "lower levels of co-operation, self-control and academic competence and higher levels of hyperactivity and externalising behaviours".

"However, these results were not mirrored for attendance at after-school-hours care," she said.

Professor Margetts's original study found that long hours of childcare -- more than 30 hours a week -- was linked to more dysfunctional behaviour. She then went back to the children she studied at the end of their stint at primary school and found that some of those who were in care the longest were still struggling six years later.

The study also concludes that children who were in care for longer periods two and three years before starting school had lower levels of co-operation and academic competence and higher levels of externalising behaviours.

Professor Margetts based her findings on 212 children in their first year at four Melbourne state schools. Of the original 212 children, 131 were involved in the follow-up six years later.

Amid a growing debate about childcare in the wake of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's support for families that use nannies to receive childcare subsidies, Professor Margetts said that nannies and family daycare needed to be better supported by government to provide children with more intimate care.

"I'm a great advocate for the primary care-giver model," she said.

Professor Margetts said that, as childcare was now a central part of life, it was important to review the types of care available.

Her study focused particularly on children's transition and adjustment to primary school and progress in school.

It suggests that difficulties with adjustment to the first year of school for all children may be ameliorated when children and their families have many opportunities to visit and become familiar with the new school setting before starting.

"This is particularly important for children who attend full-time childcare and for whom it is frequently more difficult for them and their parents to attend organised visits to schools," Professor Margetts said.