Do we REALLY value our children?

I read an interesting article in our little local paper the other day titled:  “Denmark vs. B.C.’s daycare values” by Diane Strandberg.  Here is an excerpt from the story:

 ”A Danish researcher is leaving B.C. with a good education about the local daycare situation.

But while sad to be leaving friends and acquaintances here during a year and a half contract job, Pernile Bjorn, the mother of two young girls, is also relieved to be heading home - where daycare is affordable, accessible and well-organized.

‘In Denmark, Bjorn said, we would sit around and talk about how to spend the budget -on organic food or whatever.  Here, it’s how do we get a budget.’

In Denmark, most children attend daycare but it’s not considered a form of parental neglect, the way it often is in Canada, she said.  Instead, most parents put their children in daycare because they see it as an important part of their child’s development.

Consequently, it’s highly subsidized and forms part of the country’s social safety net.  Parents pay only 30% of the costs; taxes pay the rest and town authorities are responsible for overseeing institutional private centres. 

In Denmark, child-care is provided for children from birth through 10 years. Parents have to sign up early to get a space for their child after a year-long maternity leave but the local authority guarantees a space. 

Danish daycare workers are paid about the same as teachers in that country-roughly twice as much as childcare workers in B.C. - and they are expected to be trained and constantly upgrade their education.  In fact, daycares, which have a high detree of parent involvement, typically have training budgets for their staff.

Bjorn speculates Denmark can afford such a system because residents pay 45% of their wages in taxes and, in most cases, both parents work.  Daycare is also such a hot political issue that many cities bend over backwards to provide good care.

The biggest difference is the Danish view that daycare is good for kids and society versus the opinion here, where it’s considered a matter of indiviual choice and not valued as highly.” 

I wouldn’t say we see parents who choose daycare as “neglectful” but I would say it’s something we don’t value enough here to give it the funding required to provide ongoing, quality care.  Our workers are poorly paid which makes a statement about the value we place on people who are caring for our children.