Child care centres are often as good for the parents as for the youngsters when it comes to making friends and building a support network, according to a U.S. study.

    Researchers from the University of Chicago found that many child care centers have an overlooked function -- connecting parents with each other as informal advisers in child rearing, and with agencies that help with the challenges of parenting.

    "Parents come to school to find someone to care for their children, and they end up learning ways of taking care of each other," said researcher Mario Small, professor in sociology, in a statement.

    "When you are a parent, particularly a first-time parent, the best resource you have is another parent."

    The study of 3,500 mothers in 20 U.S. cities found that child care centers become locations where parents can build "social capital" -- the contacts they need to help with concerns such as a child's development and finding good health care and schools.

    Mothers in particular build up their network by working together on fundraising activities and going on field trips, leading to friendships in which they advise each other on a child's health or help each out when there is an emergency.

    The research showed benefits for all parents, regardless of their financial status.

    The study found mothers with children in child care centers had at least one more good friend than other mothers.

    Mothers who were financially better off and who made friends at day care centers were nearly 60 percent less likely to be depressed than those who did not make friends.

    The researchers also studied 300 day care centres in New York to conclude that parents' networks were particularly strong at child care centres that organized parties involving parents and had strict pick-up and drop-off times where parents met regularly.

    "What we found was that often the most useful friends, completely unexpected valuable contacts, come from people we meet when we have volunteered, in the case of these parents, who assisted in a field trip or helped raise funds," said Small.

    根據美國一項調查發現，在幼兒保健所不僅能幫助寶寶找到它的朋友，也能幫助父母建立可靠的人際關系網。芝加哥大學的研究人員發現，在幼兒保健所存在著人們常常忽略的一個用途--結交不同的父母以便于互相交流育兒的經驗，在這種機構的幫助下能解決很多關于育兒的難題。社會學教授Mario Small在一份報告中也表明，父母來到托兒所僅僅是尋找那些能夠看護他們孩子的保育人員而忽視了互相結交的機會。"如果當你是父母，尤其是那些第一次做父母的人，那些別的父母們將會是你最好的資源。"對美國20個城市3500個母親的調查發現，兒童保健中心是父母能夠建立他們的社會資本的地方，所有的接觸能夠很好地幫助他們解決有關兒童發展和尋求好的護理中心及學校的問題。特別是那些在籌資活動和戶外教學活動共同工作時建立人際關系的母親，尤其能夠相互交流兒童保健問題或緊急情況下互相幫助。這個調查顯示了那些對于所有父母們來說的益處，不用顧及個人的財政力量。還有那些和孩子在保育中心的母親至少比別的母親多一個有利的伙伴。那些經濟狀況良好以及能在保育中心建立人際的母親相比那些沒有建立人脈的母親會低百分之六十的狀況出現手足無措的情況。這個研究同樣對300所紐約的日保育中心所做的發現得出結論，說父母在兒童看護中心所建立的人際關系會比那些在那些中心所組織的派對上所刻意結識并且定期聯系的人際所表現得更牢靠與穩固。

    最后Small教授說"那些最有價值的伙伴往往是在義務募捐集資或者戶外教學時完全不經意結識的。"