DAY-CARE ECONOMICS, WITH TWO PARENTS WORKING
A FINE LETTER IN THE LOCAL PAPER THIS MORNING, POINTING OUT IN MICROCOSM THE SHAME OF CANADA’S DAY-CARE SYSTEM. IN A POLITICAL ECONOMY DRIVEN BY PERFORMANCE AND THE NEED FOR MOMS AND DADS (OF WHATEVER NUMBER) TO WORK TO SURVIVE, THERE’S NO DOUBT THAT “FAMILY VALUES” ESPOUSED ESPECIALLY BY SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES COMES ACROSS TO YOUNG FAMILIES AS A STICK BEHIND THE CARROT OF “OH, WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD OF CONSUMER MIRACLES IN WHICH WE LIVE!” (SUNG TO THE TUNE OF “MY COUNTRY ‘TIS OF THEE…….”).
AND WITH ARRANGEMENTS IN THE U.S. EVEN WORSE, WITH MANY CORPORATIONS LEAVING A MERE 6 WEEKS FOR MATERNITY LEAVE, ONE CAN ONLY WONDER.
THE POINT TO ALL THIS IS THE NEED FOR EFFECTIVE, CREATIVE, INNOVATIVE DAY-CARE, AVAILABLE TO ALL. THE LETTER SPELLS IT OUT IN PERSONAL TERMS…..
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Letters to the Editor
Day-care centre’s woes bring to light larger problem
The Whig-Standard
Letters to the Editor – Tuesday, February 06, 2007 Updated @ 6:51:28 PM
Discovering that Pladec Day Care would have to close has been devastating for me. (“Day care faces demise: Not-for-profit centre forced to move or fold,” Jan. 22, 2007)
My son, Sam, has been going to Pladec for a year and half, but this was not his first day care. When I returned to work after my maternity leave, my son was in a home day care with a wonderful woman who had to quit after we had only been with her for a few months, and we were very sad.
At that point, Sam had been on the wait list at Pladec for a year, and I discovered that his name was at the top. I told Angie Berman, the supervisor of the day care, what had happened with our current child care, and she said, “that is so sad, you’re heartbroken.” At that moment, I knew that this was the right day care for me. She “got me.”
Like all working parents, I need to know that my son is going to be well looked after, that there are people who know him and want to help him learn and grow and laugh and play. The dedicated, resourceful and dynamic staff of Pladec Day Care have become so important in Sam’s life.
He talks about them all the time, and when we arrive there in the morning, he whoops. “Here we are!”
This past summer, when the mould was discovered in the heritage building Pladec occupies, I decided to take a more active role in my son’s day care, particularly because I am on maternity leave now and I hoped to send my daughter, Amelia, there as well when I return to work in June.
When the board of directors asked for more parents to help with finding a new location, and all that entailed, I joined the board. When the position of personnel/vice-president became vacant, I agreed to take on this role. At first, this position was interesting and rewarding. With the news that we have to close, this role has become a depressing and heartbreaking experience. The decision to ask the members to vote to close the day care was very painful. Personally, I will have the miserable task of laying off those same dedicated, resourceful and dynamic teachers whom my family has grown to love.
When I tell people about what is happening they ask: “is there really nothing that can be done?” I reply that I can’t believe it either. None of us can.
How is it that a day care in Canada cannot afford to stay open even if it is willing to move elsewhere? The answer is clear: despite the great need, day care is not a political priority in this country. The gaps are well, gaping. For example, while the Day Nurseries Act stipulates many requirements regarding the space that a day care occupies, we have been unable to find an affordable, suitable location to meet them. In short, there is no government funding to assist us in purchasing, leasing or renting a new place.
Here is another gap: while maternity leave in Canada is for 12 months, there are almost no licensed spots for infants from 12 to 18 months in Kingston. Pladec was one of the few, and I put our name on the list when I was three months pregnant. I still keep hoping that there will be a way to save this 23-year-old day care that has served the community so well.
Jessica Hamilton
Kingston