Children Need Their Mothers

From The Federalist:

Earlier this month, hard-left feminist Katha Pollitt also argued in the New York Times that now, at the apogee of U.S. government debt and family disintegration, is the time to socialize child care. When I discussed this idea on NPR recently, another panelist — Stephanie Coontz, a professor at Evergreen State College (yes, that one) — said the socialized daycare cause gets lots of help from our society “getting past this idea that the best thing for kids is to be taken care of privately.” 

This is precisely the opposite of what American children need. Most mothers do not want to work full time. Inasmuch as any significant demand for a nationalized child-care entitlement exists, it is largely driven by father abandonment or incapacity. Mother deprivation is not a sane response to a problem that largely exists due to father deprivation. It can, in fact, only make things worse.

We can see this simply by using our common sense, but it is also backed up by plenty of research on government early childhood programs, family bonding, and childhood development. Let’s take a look at some of the myriad evidences that nationalized child care is a horrible idea. (Read more.)

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