I read an article called, “Bigger Daycare Puts More Stress On Kids.” It was posted November 14, 2008. Researchers say, “The stress hormone cortisol usually peaks in people in the morning, then decreases through the day.” Researchers have also found that “some preschoolers’ cortisol levels rise through the day when they are in full-day childcare.” Maybe there is a problem with the classes being too long and too crowded. Researchers found that “Children in classes of 10 or less were more likely to show the normal decrease, but those in classes with closer to 20 others tended to show a rise.”
Researchers conducted a study among teachers and students with questions. They took fluid samples from the students to test hormone levels. They discovered, “The study of 191 preschoolers at 12 places also found that children who are clingier with teachers had more stress. Researchers surveyed students and teachers, and collected saliva samples from children.”
They noted that, “The study appears in the November/December 2008 issue of Child Development.”
I think in bigger class room settings that the children feel like they cannot get enough attention from a teacher. The teachers are probably too busy with all 20 children and cannot give each child one on one attention. The children can also be feeling social anxiety from being around so many children. I also think that the children’s full day is too long. Children do have a short attention span. They also may feel separation anxiety from their parents so some cling to the teachers.
What do you think about this research and the results? What do you think causes their stress?
Read the article at
http://www.wbaltv.com/health/17979504/detail.html#
2 comments:
Bigger classroom settings do make it hard to really interact with the kids because of the stress level. It is harder to meet everyones needs when there is a bigger classroom which can result in stress for both the children and the kids watching them.
I do agree that it puts more stress on everyone in the room because if there's only one or two teachers in the class, and there are 20 kids, it's harder to meet all of the children's needs. And if you can't help a certain child, they may get out of hand and start screaming, making the mood in the room even more stressed. So maybe they should split up the classrooms more, or just get another teacher in there to help out.
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