A Survey of the Opinions of Mothers, Proprietors and Caregivers on Day Care Services for the Children of Working Mothers

Abstract

This study investigated the opinions of working mothers, proprietors and caregivers on services provided by day care centres in Ibadan. Sample consists of Two hundred and ninety-five respondents (220 working mothers, 50 Caregivers, and 25 Proprietors). They were randomly selected from the various government ministries, corporate organisations, and 25 Day-care Centres within Ibadan North Local Government. The mothers responded to Mothers' Daycare Opinion Assessment Scale (MODOAS, r =0.94), while caregivers and proprietors responded to Daycare Proprietor/staff Opinion Questionnaire (DAPOQ, r =0.92). Five research questions were raised and answered in the study. Data were analyzed using simple percentages. The findings revealed that 91.8% of the working mothers agreed that day care services for their children were inevitable, 90.9% believed that day care services should be of high quality standard. Findings also revealed that working mothers (88.6%) entertained fears that children might shift mother's love to caregivers, and 84.1% were dissatisfied with Children/staff ratio at most day care centres. All the mothers agreed that day care centres have a big role in their children's development, and if properly designed, can enrich their children's lives. Findings also showed that all the proprietors agreed that parents are expected to pay special attention to children at home, while 96% of the caregivers added that children often contact some health problems from other children in day care centres. Based on the findings, mothers were given tips on how to get the best care centres for their beloved children.

International Journal of emotiaonl psychology and sport ethics Vol. 9 2007: pp. 13-27