Day Care is not so good?!?

I imagine there has been a lot of talk in the blogosphere about this new study by the National Institute for Child and Human Development that correlates time spent in child care before age 5 and later behavior problems at the sixth grade level. I'm sorry if my absence from the discussions lately results in my repeating points that have already been made. But I have to weigh in on this one.

This finding comes as no surprise to those of us who spend a lot of time with children.

I'm looking at a Wall Street Journal article summarizing the study. The conclusions?

Perhaps there is too much emphasis on academics. Maybe there is not enough sense of community in the classroom. Competition for toys may be rewarding aggressive behavior. The adult supervisors may not be sufficiently engaged. Ahem. Don't you just want to scream, "Maybe the kids just wanted to be with their moms!!!"

For heaven's sakes do you need to be a rocket scientist (or social scientist) to figure this one out?
Why is it so taboo to even suggest that maybe kids really do need their moms. Maybe it really does matter if mom is able and willing to make the sacrifice to stay home and care for her own children. In a well-reasoned, well-written article in the WSJ this thought never even occurred to the author? I imagine it is what everyone is secretly wondering.

At least this author did include one conclusion of the study that does indeed point to the superiority of care at home. "Being in large groups of kids is simply stressful. 70-80% of children in day care centers show increasing levels through the day of cortisol, a stress hormone linked to poor behavior." How can it be concluded that it's the large groups and not the separation from Mom? No one wants to ask the question, it seems.

The story of The Emperor's New Clothes certainly comes to mind.....