Child care is widely known as the regular non-parental care of children while the parents are away. Many reasons, such as work, studies or simply taking a break from raising their children, lead parents to use daycare. But as both parents, especially mothers, choose to return to work as soon as possible after having children, the demand for child care increases accordingly. This increase has resulted in much research into the short- and long-term emotional, cognitive, and social behavioral patterns of children receiving non-parental care. A number of studies have focused on the mother-child relationship and the effect of child care on the development of this relationship. (Belsky, 1989; Lamb, Sternberg and Prodromidis, 1992). Attachment theory indicates that a secure relationship between the child and caregiver is important for the child to develop a flexible behavioral system and easily adapt to new situations. Bowlby (cited by Lamb, Sternberg, and Prodromidis) summarized that attachments form around the middle of the first year and become stronger later in the year. It is not surprising that studies by Barglow, Vaughn, and Molitor (1987); Belsky and Rovine (1988); Vaughn, Gove, and Egeland (1980), cited by Egeland and Heister (1995), reported that entry of infants before age 12 months into day care is related to increased risk of insecure-avoidant attachment. Assessments were based on Ainsworth's Strange Situation (Ainswoth, Blehar, Water, & Wall, 1978) to measure infant attachment to the mother. Although these children do not reject their parents' attention, they also do not seek comfort, showing no preference between a parent and a complete stranger. It is evident that using the strange situation...... middle of paper ... ..custody is recommended but with greater inclusion of home environment and child care variables. Children from advantaged families attending daycare experienced a slight positive or negative effect intellectually. While children from families considered economically disadvantaged benefited from attending daycare (Belsky and Steinberg). These children scored higher on standard tests than disadvantaged children who did not attend daycare. Child care experience appears to reduce low test scores typically associated with a disadvantaged population. However, the standard tests used were considered insufficient to predict intellectual development. The research highlighted the importance of conducting more research on the cognitive effects of child care using observation in everyday situations and not just standardized tests..