The Daycare Myth

For a century, America’s early childhood policy has been premised on a myth. This falsehood—which dictates that child care and education are somehow separate and distinct—not only suboptimizes the most important window into all human development, but costs American taxpayers an untold fortune. It’s time to think differently. Written in plain yet provocative language by one of the field’s most respected bipartisan policy experts, The Daycare Myth makes the case for why the early years matter; why America’s longstanding early childhood policy approach sacrifices the needs of young children in favor of promoting adult employment; and why fixing the problem makes good sense, regardless of your place on the political spectrum. With straightforward guidance for policymakers, practitioners, and parents, this incredibly timely book is a wake-up call for a nation that aspires to nothing less than the wholesale transformation of America’s early childhood landscape.

Book Features:

• Invites readers to rethink their very understanding of the early years by outlining a bipartisan case for change.
• Addresses the needs of policymakers, practitioners, and parents individually with practical implications and action steps for each.
• Melds policy with what the current science of brain development tells us about the importance of children’s early years and the critical role they play in future success.
• Challenges longstanding assumptions, calls out ineffective approaches, and outlines a new path beneficial to children and families, employers, state and federal economies, and society as a whole.

Dan Wuori is founder and president of Early Childhood Policy Solutions LLC. He serves as a strategic advisor on early childhood at The Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation and was the founding director of early learning at The Hunt Institute in Cary, North Carolina. He is a former kindergarten teacher, school district administrator, and state agency administrator.

“Dan Wuori is uniquely suited to help guide individuals’ good intentions, their desire to do right by children, in ways that align with the science of early childhood development. . . . This book has arrived not a moment too soon.”
—From the Foreword by Dana Suskind, MD, professor of surgery and pediatrics, University of Chicago, and co-director, TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health

“Dan Wuori’s The Daycare Myth makes a compelling case for why children’s experiences during the earliest years of life hold implications not only for them, but for us all. I wish I could put it in the hands of every policy maker and new parent.”
—Rachel Accurso, educator and host of Ms Rachel

“Imagine that you have the opportunity to spend in-person time with one of the best early childhood policy experts. Now imagine that he has strategies for how to change how we think and what we need to do to improve early care and education. Finally, imagine that this time becomes an engaging conversation where you have a-ha moments, cheer, sometimes argue, gain practical tips, and hear about exciting case studies that work. That’s what you get with Dan Wuori’s The Daycare Myth and so much more—it’s a desperately needed remedy for what ails the field of early childhood!”
—Ellen Galinsky, president, Families and Work Institute, author, The Breakthrough Years and Mind in the Making

"Dan Wuori's The Daycare Myth falls like an atomic bomb, destroying outdated thinking around the early years and exploring the implications of public policy. We'll be using this book for years to educate parents, policymakers, and the early childhood field."
—Berna Artis, CEO & founder, Artful Education Consulting

"The Daycare Myth is a book for the current times and a must-read for any person who has an interest in the future of early childhood education. Dr. Wuori has crafted a narrative that is both intimate and informative, and allows the reader a chance to view the world through an education policy and practitioner lens. He has fused a masterful narrative that combines research, data, and his own lived experiences into a path for others to see the light of possibilities when busting the daycare myth. He challenges us all to become more invested in developing a voice that includes advocating for ways to strengthen early childhood education across the nation."
—Dr. Edward J. Manuszak II, executive director of early childhood, Washtenaw Intermediate School District, Michigan, and founding co-chair, AASA Early Learning Cohort

"​A thoughtful, thought-provoking, rigorous, and humane affirmation of early education. In The Daycare Myth, Dan Wuori has created something very, very special."
—Catherine McTamaney, professor of the practice of education, Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development

Contents

Foreword by Dana Suskind  ix

Acknowledgments  xi

1.  Daycare Doesn’t Exist  1

A Crisis of Understanding  4

The Bipartisan Blueprint for Change  13

2.  Something for Everyone: The Bipartisan Case for Early Childhood Investment  19

The Long-Term Economic Case for Investment in Young Children  20

The Short-Term Economic Case for Investment in Young Children  26

The Bipartisan Blueprint for Change  36

3.  America’s Failing Child Care Market  41

Child Care as a Broken Economic Market  42

The Bipartisan Blueprint for Change  59

4.  How Not to Solve the Child Care Crisis: Imperfect Solutions and Policy Pitfalls  67

Public Policy Pitfalls  68

The Bipartisan Blueprint for Change  82

5.  A Wholesale Transformation of America’s Early Childhood Landscape  87

The Current Early Childhood Policy Pyramid  88

The New Early Childhood Policy Pyramid  91

Promising Practices in the States  96

Appendix A: Interpreting Claims About Early Childhood Research  103

Appendix B: Reaching Out to Your Elected Leaders: A How-To for Parents and Professionals  105

References  113

Index  121

About the Author  125