Daycare has become the growth industry of the 1990s. Virtually unknown 30 years ago, it is now the primary child-rearing environment for a majority of American children. It is estimated that the average child spends 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year, for 5 years in this environment. There are no precedents for this growth and speed of development, and critical issues involving learning, safety, comfort, movement, and control have not been addressed in depth. How can architects and designers plan the best centers, centers that provide a genuine spirit of place, given available resources? This book answers this question by providing authoritative, useful information on how environments impact children and how to design and renovate functional, develeopmentally rich, pleasing centers.