GAMBARAN INDEKS PERKEMBANGAN ANAK USIA DINI PENGGUNA DAYCARE DAN NON- DAYCARE

Early childhood development is a crucial indicator for assessing children’s developmental quality, encompassing learning, psychosocial well-being, and health. As a key target of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), child development outcomes in Indonesia continue to show variation. The increasing number of working mothers has led to greater use of daycare services, raising questions about developmental differences between children in daycare and non-daycare caregiving arrangements. This study aimed to compare child development outcomes across these caregiving patterns using the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) 2030. A quantitative comparative design was employed involving 454 children aged 2–5 years, consisting of 123 daycare users and 331 non-daycare children. Data were collected through online questionnaires completed by parents or caregivers. Statistical analyses included independent samples t-test, One-Way ANOVA, and Bonferroni post hoc tests. The findings revealed no significant difference in overall ECDI scores between daycare and non-daycare groups (p = 0.310). However, significant differences were identified across specific caregiving types (p = 0.012), with corporate daycare demonstrating higher developmental scores than general daycare (p = 0.034). These findings suggest that caregiving quality, including consistent stimulation, responsive interaction, and emotional support, plays a more critical role in shaping child development than caregiving category alone.