Universal Child care for 1-2yo

In the early 2000s Norway started a process that would double child care enrollment rates nationally for 1-2yo children. Since research on the benefits of child care at this early age does not suggest any particular benefit, we explore the possibility of health benefits and costs.

In this paper we will be looking at the physical and mental health of children exposed to the reform using administrative data from 2006 to 2020. The former can improve or worsen; it is not absolutely clear whether early exposition to more viruses will be beneficial or not to these toddlers. We expect the latter is likely to worsen, although there is space for ambiguity here as well. Attachment theory proposes that this is a salient feature for children up to age 3. If child care at ages 1 and 2 hurts the capacity of these children to attach securely, then they may have mental health issues later on.