Age at Entry in Daycare. Both the age of entry into daycare and quantity of time spent in non parental care was associated with the level of children’s problem behavior. Compared with peers in parental care, children cared for in day care centers tended to exhibit more behavioral problems, and these problems were more pronounced the earlier the children entered center care and the more hours they spent in the center each week. This was true for children in families of all income levels studied