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.

根据美国一项调查发现，在幼儿保健所不仅能帮助宝宝找到它的朋友，也能帮助父母建立可靠的人际关系网。芝加哥大学的研究人员发现，在幼儿保健所存在着人们常常忽略的一个用途--结交不同的父母以便于互相交流育儿的经验，在这种机构的帮助下能解决很多关于育儿的难题。社会学教授Mario Small在一份报告中也表明，父母来到托儿所仅仅是寻找那些能够看护他们孩子的保育人员而忽视了互相结交的机会。"如果当你是父母，尤其是那些第一次做父母的人，那些别的父母们将会是你最好的资源。"对美国20个城市3500个母亲的调查发现，儿童保健中心是父母能够建立他们的社会资本的地方，所有的接触能够很好地帮助他们解决有关儿童发展和寻求好的护理中心及学校的问题。特别是那些在筹资活动和户外教学活动共同工作时建立人际关系的母亲，尤其能够相互交流儿童保健问题或紧急情况下互相帮助。这个调查显示了那些对于所有父母们来说的益处，不用顾及个人的财政力量。还有那些和孩子在保育中心的母亲至少比别的母亲多一个有利的伙伴。那些经济状况良好以及能在保育中心建立人际的母亲相比那些没有建立人脉的母亲会低百分之六十的状况出现手足无措的情况。这个研究同样对300所纽约的日保育中心所做的发现得出结论，说父母在儿童看护中心所建立的人际关系会比那些在那些中心所组织的派对上所刻意结识并且定期联系的人际所表现得更牢靠与稳固。

最后Small教授说"那些最有价值的伙伴往往是在义务募捐集资或者户外教学时完全不经意结识的。"