Free, universal day-care centres advocated

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33493, 26 March 1974, Page 5

Free, universal day-care centres advocated

'By NANCY SUTHERLAND) Under present conditions, mothering is not a profession, not a career, and not a calling. It is an enormous, thankless, unpaid responsibility, for which the mother is not even adequately educated. Mothers form the biggest work-group in the country in such a position. The mother has no union, and no financial organisation to help her fight for her rights, or for those of her child.

Under such conditions, no matter what her love and instincts dictate, the. temptation to opt out is bound to increase the demand for day-care' centres. The danger to the child and to society is real, and is increasing. It is inevitable that the breakdown of selfworth and self-confidence as a mother should tempt the housewife to prove her worth as an individual by going to work. The Government and community must face the problems of the needs of the mother as a mother and as an individual the needs of and those of the child.

Mothers’ rights

At present more mothers go out to work than ever. They go because of the personal satisfaction of having a paid job compared with that of an unpaid' housewife, because of economic pres-

sure. and because the family needs added income for labour-saving devices, television, or a car. They go because they are unwilling, untrained moth- ; ers. trapped and socially isolate! There are plenty of reasons why mothers of children even under the age of three want to go to work. These mothers have needs and rights as individuals. So has the father who is raising children alone, or is the only wage earner in a family that needs a second income, making overtime or a second job necessary. But the children have the greatest need of all, and the ’ younger the child the greater the need. They are unknowing, vulnerable, helpless, and quite powerless to change the pattern laid down for them. To lay down a pattern without adequate preparation and care is a . frightening responsibility. I

Children’s needs

Every child has the right and need of a continuous and satisfying emotional relationship with one person, the mother or a person who acts in that role. If this continuous relationship, as well as health care, hot meals, pre-school education, personal attention, and social contacts, could be guaranteed for the child under five, there would be a good chance of developing the kind of adult our community needs and values most highly. The deep psychological need that all creatures have to belong to someone, strongest in the very young because it has life value (the “attachment bond”) is a stabilising social influence. All need this bond and cherish it.

State rearing If we came close to the ideal of Government-fin-anced, supervised and staffed child-care centres, it is possible that virtually every child born in the country would be sent to them. But it would be economically impossible for the State to rear all our pre-school children. The limited Russian experiment in the 1930 s and the kibbutz system in Israel have demonstrated this.

On the other hand, if these centres did not attempt to approach this ideal, they would become institutions with changing standards of care, changing hours and changing personnel. They would resemble children’s homes or orphanages, with all the wellknown psychological and physical disadvantages, which lead to delinquency and breakdown, or simply to inadequate adults and inadequate parents unable to cope with their children in turn.

We pride ourselves that institutions of this kind are a thing of the past, but are

we not running the risk of relegating the word, “institution,” to the past a.id perpetuating the same conditions under another-name? We must avoid this at all costs.

But compare this cost with the existing cost of treatment, correction and punishment. With proper preparation and care, Government money can be better spent in helping to solve these twin problems.

Graded educational courses could be established in all schools. These might cover training for living, for personal relationships, and in human development; antenatal training for girls and boys, training for husband and wife up to and immediately after the birth of a baby; intensive courses in child development, child care and related studies in association with approved nursery and day-care centres, play centres, play groups and kindergartens in the neighbourhood; and training for baby-sitting.

Training institutes could be set up for: Mothers-to-be and newly

married women. Mothers of pre-school children. incorporating nurseries, day-care facilities, play centres and kinder-

gartens. Persons working as mothersubstitutes in day care. Marriage and family-guid-ance counsellors. Developments in the home might include: The reduction of economic pressures on families with young children (the Government is already

doing this to some extent). Making the jobs of the housewife and mother j of young children financially attractive. Paying grandparents to foster or care for children in the absence of the mother or both parents’ (as in Sweden). Paying qualified mother-sub-stitutes to care for young children in the children’s own hemes.

Paying child endowment at a graded rate—for children under three, under five, and under 10, with low-cost housing. Restricting the number of children per family with legislation allowing contraceptive advice, free contraceptives, and free abortions up to 12 weeks. Employers of the parents of young children (especially mothers) might be legallyrequired to provide nurseries and day care (when the numbers of mothers warrant this), with shorter or staggered hours of work, allowing the parent to be involved in this early stage of the child’s development, when the child cannot tolerate long periods of separation without risk.