Day care ‘increases stress hormone’

Putting children into day care may change their brain structure and function, according to res-earch published yesterday.

The study by Aric Sigman found that 70 to 80 per cent of children in day care centres showed increasing levels of the stress hormone cortisol throughout each day they were there.

His article, Mother Superior? The Biological Effects Of Day Care, proposes that higher levels of cortisol in children could have long-term implications for their adult health. He wrote that the human response to fear and uncertainty is affected by early childcare experiences, and prolonged exposure to cortisol can be toxic to the nervous system.

Dr Sigman’s report also found that the amount of attention given by a child’s mother in early childhood can alter the part of the brain involved in forming memory, and so impact on whether he or she suffers attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance.