A lot of your comment makes sense, but it feels like a stretch to invoke Chesterton’s Fence here? Daycare is a relatively recent invention that we do know the purpose of.
I agree invoking Chesterton’s Fence may not be exactly fit for purpose.
But since we know it’s purpose (increased workforce participation), you can choose to remove it if it makes sense for your circumstances (able to leave the workforce to take care of your child). Any positive/negative -ternalities of children in daycare (illness, immunity) are not strongly supported, but we do have about a hundred years of history saying that it’s probably not (measurably) harmful.
But also, as with most things, too many changes are happening at once. Is daycare closer to pre-industrial childrearing with larger families and village-raising, compared to modern single-family single-child care? Daycare probably mixes more germs just through larger geographic distance (smaller daycares with more continuous groups of children might work better, but also probably more expensive).
also, do we want preindustrial childcare? child mortality wasn’t great back then, and it is unclear how much of that can be linked to childrearing practices.
A lot of your comment makes sense, but it feels like a stretch to invoke Chesterton’s Fence here? Daycare is a relatively recent invention that we do know the purpose of.
I agree invoking Chesterton’s Fence may not be exactly fit for purpose.
But since we know it’s purpose (increased workforce participation), you can choose to remove it if it makes sense for your circumstances (able to leave the workforce to take care of your child). Any positive/negative -ternalities of children in daycare (illness, immunity) are not strongly supported, but we do have about a hundred years of history saying that it’s probably not (measurably) harmful.
But also, as with most things, too many changes are happening at once. Is daycare closer to pre-industrial childrearing with larger families and village-raising, compared to modern single-family single-child care? Daycare probably mixes more germs just through larger geographic distance (smaller daycares with more continuous groups of children might work better, but also probably more expensive).
also, do we want preindustrial childcare? child mortality wasn’t great back then, and it is unclear how much of that can be linked to childrearing practices.
no clear answers, only more questions