Two-year-old "Janie" takes the little, pink- knitted sweater her grandmother gave her from the small cubicle at the day-care centre. She holds it close and walks towards the outer door. It is closed. She stares at the door. It is only mid-afternoon. Janie doesn't express herself well with words yet, but her actions say she wants to go home. No one notices.And then the parents complain about losing touch with the children. Sure, it's the "generation gap", it's none of your fault...
Fourteen-month-old "Tommy", who has been in full time day care since he was six months old, approaches every adult who enters the room muttering "Mama," regardless of gender. When the wall phone rings, he toddles over to it, looks up and, with his eyes wide, repeatedly calls out, "Mama?"
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Economic pressures often force both parents into the work force while many struggle as single parents. For others, pursuing careers is often the impetus to place their children in day care. While these arguments may have some validity, they also have one thing in common -- they are all based on accommodating parents' needs. No one seems to be asking the very important question: "Is this really in the best interest of the child?"
There are better alternatives for families and children. The Christian Heritage Party proposes a $1000 a month tax credit for families to encourage one of the parents to stay home with the children. I won't be surprised if that's where the Conservatives got the idea of a Universal Childcare Benefit, which provides the parents with real money, leaving the decision on child care to the parents and only to the parents.
Sure, the UCCB is only $100 a month. It's a baby step, but it's a baby step in the right direction. We don't need institutional McDaycares that are being aggressively marketed by the left-of-centre politicians. Instead we need to create economic conditions that would allow parents to spend more time with their children. So that our next generation doesn't grow up orphans to the living parents.
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