Foster Care, Better Homes Than Orphanages

By Devaki

Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 12:05

Foster care provide better growth and intelligence for the children better than orphanages, says a new study. The researchers found that socially deprived children from orphanages experienced much gains in the growth and intelligence, when they were moved to the foster care.

Among the children who are born with the weight less than 5.5 lbs, the institutionalized children generally display compromised growth and development with more severe deficits, says the researchers.

They included a group of underweight children from the orphanages to conduct this study. The children assigned to foster care showed rapid increases in the height and weight so that by 12 months 100 percent of them were in a normal range for height. 90 percent were in the normal range for weight and 94 percent were in the normal range of weight for height.

Care-giving quality is more in foster cares when compared to orphanages. It is a predictor of the catch-up growth in children, says the researchers. The care-giving quality of these institutions could also influence the sensitivity and the positive attitudes of the children. It can boost the qualities like respect and warmth to others. The care and affection the children receive will also improve their cognitive abilities, which include memory power, verbal IQ, thinking and learning.

The study will appear in the issue of Archives of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.