CHILDREN OF THE DREAM REVISITED - 70 YEARS OF COLLECTIVE EARLY CHILD-CARE IN ISRAELI KIBBUTZIM

This article focuses on kibbutz care for infants and young children. It reviews (a) past and present practices of collective education within the context of its historical background and guiding principles and (b) the results of developmental research regarding the impact of multiple caregiving and group care on children's socioemotional development within the framework of attachment theory. The research results indicate that, from a psychological point of view, collective sleeping is a problematic aspect of kibbutz child rearing. However, group care and multiple caregiving of high quality do not necessarily interfere with the formation of close relationships between parents and children or with the development of social skills.