There are contrasting results of the association between center-based care attendance and child development, mainly related to how the time of entry and permanence in the program relates to developmental outcomes. Using latent class analysis in a nationally representative sample of Chilean children between 6 and 35 months old (n = 3,992), and controlling for the child’s age, maternal education, mother’s marital status, and household income, we identify three different timings of entrance in center-based care programs. The three timings of entrance were defined as early-entry (16%), those children who are more likely to enter before they are 6 months old; middle-entry (16%), those who are more likely to enter when they are between 6 and 18 months old; and late-entry (68%), those children with a low probability of enrollment any time before they are 35 months old. We found that children from the early- and middle-entry classes had higher language development when compared with children from the late-entry class. Still, only those from the middle-entry class showed higher general development in the Battelle test. In contrast, children in the early- and middle-entry classes presented higher scores in the Child Behavior Checklist’s externalizing behavior scale than children in the late-entry class. Our findings highlight the existence of a likely linkage between the timing of entry to center-based care and child development. It is essential to understand the potential advantages of center-based care in younger children, especially in enhancing their vocabulary and general development, and the potential negative association of early-entry with problematic behavior.

以中心为基础的护理出勤与儿童发展之间的关联存在对比结果，主要与项目的进入时间和持久性如何与发展结果相关。通过对具有全国代表性的智利 6 至 35 个月儿童样本 ( n = 3,992) 进行潜类分析，并控制孩子的年龄、母亲教育程度、母亲的婚姻状况和家庭收入，我们确定了三种不同的入学时间以中心为基础的护理计划。三个入学时间被定义为提前入学（16%），即更有可能在 6 个月大之前入学的儿童；中间进入者（16%），那些在 6 到 18 个月大时更有可能进入的人；和晚入学(68%)，即在 35 个月大之前任何时候入学概率较低的儿童。我们发现，与晚入学班的孩子相比，早班和中班的孩子有更高的语言发展。尽管如此，只有中产阶级的人在巴特尔测试中表现出更高的总体发展。相比之下，早班和中班的孩子在儿童行为检查表的外化行为量表中的得分高于晚入学的孩子班级。我们的研究结果强调了进入以中心为基础的护理的时间与儿童发展之间可能存在的联系。必须了解以中心为基础的护理对年幼儿童的潜在优势，特别是在提高他们的词汇量和一般发展方面，以及早期进入与问题行为的潜在负面关联。