It's hard to definitively say if the years I went to daycare made me the person I am today, but I'm sure it had some sort of impact.
Many parents worry about going back to work and having to send their kids off to daycare.
Not only is child care expensive, costing the average American $10,000 to $20,000 per year, toddlers are also exposed to a lot of germs at a time when their immune systems are very sensitive.
To be fair, it's hard to be apart from your little one for many hours in a day, but working parents really don't have any other choice.
The good news is that daycare has benefits that may be great for your child in the short and long term.
A new study out of France found that children who attend daycare before the age of three grow up to be more successful in certain areas of life.
The study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health surveyed nearly 1,500 children from infancy until they turned eight years old.
They divided the children into three groups (children who attend daycare, children who have professional caregivers that look after a handful of kids, and children who stay at home).
Parents were asked to assess their child's behavior and overall development in their first three years in order for researchers to compare scores.
They found that children who went to daycare for at least one year had much better social skills.
"[They are] less likely to have high levels of emotional symptoms, peer relationship problems, hyperactivity/inattention, and conduct problems," the study noted, according to CafeMom.
They also noted that toddlers who went to a more prestigious daycare had more of an opportunity to develop their cognitive and language skills.
What does this really mean for both daycare children and toddlers who stay at home?
There's no guarantee that daycare children are better off than those who stay at home, but it's nice to know that there are benefits to all that money parents are spending while at work.
That being said, toddlers who stay at home with a parent have more one-on-one support, which may help them excel academically.
As for social skills, toddlers who don't spend a lot of time with their peers can socialize by playing with other kids at the park.
There's no right way to set your child up for success, it really depends on so many factors, but the fact that there are benefits to both ways is assuring.
