Penelope Leach, the universally admired author of the best-selling classic
Your Baby and Child, diagnoses the state of child care in America and the world today.
Who is caring for today’s children? How well are they succeeding? What does care cost, and who is paying for it? Leach answers these and other urgent questions with facts and figures gathered from the most current research, brought to life by the voices of parents, including those involved in her own five-year study. She highlights the urgent need in America today for measures to raise the quality of child care and to make the best care we can provide available to all families, just as it is in most other developed nations. Setting out clearly and candidly what is known about every aspect of child care
—including the often hidden feelings and fears of parents
—Leach presents a critical case for change.
“A masterful work by a luminary in the world of child development. If implemented, Leach’s findings would revolutionize the way America cares for its young children and bring about a radical improvement in the lives of children and their parents—and in the economic, social, and intellectual well-being of our country.” —The Boston Globe
“Leach offers counsel for all of us . . . She gives us a better way to think about the [child care] decision. . . . Both child-centric and sensible.” —The Washington Post
“Will likely become the standard by which all other child-care books are measured. . . . There’s no doubt Child Care Today will become the bible on the subject.” —Booklist
“Leach looks at the things that matter. For any mother or father interested in examining their own choices in a global context, this book looks like a must-read.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Unparalleled in its comprehensiveness. . . . Should be required reading for those involved in policymaking regarding children and families.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“Until we embrace children as everyone’s responsibility, Leach insists, the ‘working/caring conundrum’ will continue to plague parents, and society will forgo the high dividends that result when an investment is made in quality child care.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
