Improved day-care conditions wanted

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33773, 20 February 1975, Page 6

Improved day-care conditions wanted

Improved day-care conditions for pre-school children and parents are being sought by the New Zealand Federation of Parents’ Centres.

The federation will send j two recommendations to amend the Child Care Centre Regulations, 1960, to the Government, which is now reviewing the Child Welfare Act. The Social Development : Council is now having discussins on day-care, too, Mrs Nancy Sutherland told a meeting of the Christchurch branch of the National Council of Women on Tuesday.

Brieflly, the recommendi ations deal with the separation of children from their parents in day-care centres, the need for graded parentinvolvement and the need for separate facilities for children at different stages of development. ! Mrs Sutherland, past pres- ! ident of the Christchurch Parents Centre and a Christchurch City councillor, has been deeply concerned for many' years about the effect on a child’s development and stability when separated from its mother — when the mother or the child goes to hospital, when a new baby is born into a family or when a mother returns to work part or full-time. She asked the N.C.W. delegates to discuss the day care centre recommendations fully with their organisations. ' Time to act “We should be ' thinking about reaching all underfives who are sent away from home to a day-care centre,” she told the meeting. “Now is the time to act.” ,

The effects of separation from parents were worse for some children than others, but all were affected to some degree if the separation was not carefully graded, she said. The important first step was for a

. parent or parent-substitute ito stay with the child during a familiarisation period in ithe new surroundings. I “The relationship between la child and the mother must be emphasised,” she said. “It is not only important to the child, it is a source of emotional growth to the parents themselves. We must ask ourselves the question: how many hours in each day may a child be apart from its mother without detrimental effect? This is the crucial point.” Mrs Sutherland believes that a motive must be supplied for willing or “good” mothers, who are in need of help, to seek education and guidance in day-care. And a way must also be found to induce unwilling or “bad” parents to participate and make it worth their while. Optimum good “We’ve got to get rid of ‘back-yard’ care, that is unregistered and unsupervised care,” she said. “The overall aim should be the good of the children combined with the guidance of parents. By this I mean the optimum good of the whole child while offering support and education to parents, particularly disadvantaged parents.” Mrs Sutherland agrees that the Child Care Centre Regulations of 1960 put in the Child Welfare Act, set out to ensure good physical conditions for day-care space, fresh air and inside play facilities, warmth and sometimes meals and sleeping arrangements and certain qualifications for staff at any one time. “The act defines minimum care and surely our infants and young children need optimum care when away from

I home and family,” she said. I “Now that the act is under review, this is the time for ;us to put forward our considered and responsible I views on day-care to the I Government. Such views I should give proper emphasis Ito the physical and emotionlal wellbeing and the happiIness of all our children from ; babyhood to five years,” she I said. Recommendations i The federation’s recom--1 mendations to the Governjment seeking additions to Ithe Child Care Centre Regulations are as follows:Parental participation.— 1. i Where the child is being left jin the day-care centre for a i period not exceeding three Sand a quarter hours one parent (or familiar parent-subsi-tute) must spend 15 minutes with the child at the commencement of each session, unless the child has made at least 30 visits to the centre. 2. Where the child is. being Ipft in the day-care centre for a period exceeding three and a quarter hours, one parent (or a familiar parent-substitute) must be present throughout the first four weeks of care, and for a significant period during the second four weeks of care.

3. Every child-care centre must make adequate provision for the participation of the parent (or familiar par-ent-substitute) of the children under care in the educational and play programmes of the centre. The federation also asks that separate facilities and playing areas be provided where children at different stages of development are being cared for at the same time; that is for non-mobile infants, toddlers and over three-year-olds.