Tuesday March 25, Macleans Magazine
March 25, 2008 - Posted in "Zero to Six"
Daycare dilemma
Private operators are under attack, despite the shortage of spaces
PETER SHAWN TAYLOR
Many daycare owners complain their industry has never been particularly profitable. But now there’s a growing move to take the profit out of it completely. Private sector daycare is under attack in many parts of the country, with vocal opponents claiming that earning a profit is fundamentally at odds with proper child care. And yet, with an apparent shortage of daycare spaces in this country, for-profit operators argue they’re the ones best able to solve the access problem. So what’s the priority — daycare spaces or daycare ideology? Read full article
http://www.macleans.ca/canadaWill the daycare experience be better for children in a non-profit daycare than in a for-profit? Our policy makers are asking the wrong question. It isn’t whether the owner is making profit or not that makes quality daycare. Similar to encouraging chefs to open excellent places to dine, we need to encourage Early Childhood Teachers to create interesting, quality private daycares. Should all restaurants be non-profit we would probably be assured of safe food but it wouldn’t be long before eating out would become bland and same-old. But instead of making all restaurants non-profit to protect our safety, as a society we’ve learned how to choose places to eat that we can trust. Likewise with daycare. Excellence comes out of commitment and passion for the profession. We can learn how to choose daycares we can trust. And we can say ‘no’ to daycares we don’t trust.
Before we ask whether or not a daycare is for-profit or non-profiit there are other questions to ask. What is the quality of the program? Are early education teachers paid well or are they underpaid? Underpaid teaching staff leads to high staff turnover and overall discontent in the workplace. Does our multicultural Canadian population have choice; is there variety and diversity of day care programs in the community? And finally, how can parents’ financial burden of paying the real cost of quality day care be relieved?
Lets ask a few more important questions about quality in our day care system. Quality in the program refers to a lot of things; nutrition in the foods served, appropriateness and challenge of active and quiet activities; availability of materials and opportunities for creative play, how music is used, current health and safety policies and opportunities to build good relationships. Many non-profit daycares have good quality programs and many don’t. Likewise with for-profit.
“Non-profit or for-profit?” is not the question that addresses the real issues.
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