|
Book |
Quote/Comment |
|
Early Childcare: Infants
and Nations at Risk by Dr. Peter Cook, ©1996, Chapter 9,
Some Other Child Care Issues and Risks, P145 |
Zinsmeister points out that "the
deepest problem with paid child-rearing is that someone is being asked to do
for money what very few of us are able to do for any reason other than love.
Competent baby-sitting, that is not so hard to hire. What will always be
difficult is finding people who feel such affinity with the child that they
will go out of their way to do the tiny things that make children
thrive...".
Category = Quality |
|
Early Childcare: Infants
and Nations at Risk by Dr. Peter Cook, ©1996, P145 |
In her book "A Mother's Work", Deborah
Fallows describes how, over 18 months, she spent hundreds of hours observing
in a wide variety of American day care centres. She found the average
child's experience to be frighteningly empty....
There was "much tedium*, bewilderment, many
unconsoled tears, tired teachers doing what they can to get by, a lack of
individualization in the best cases, no one really caring in the worst".
Anecdotal evidence from experienced observers suggests that the Australian
situation is often more like this than is publicly acknowledged.
*Tedium = boredom
Category = Quality
|
|
Early Childcare: Infants
and Nations at Risk by Dr. Peter Cook, ©1996,
Part Four, What Can Be Done?, Chapter 10,
Suggestions for Meeting the Needs of Infants and Their Parents, P156 |
Economic support
...Whatever total subsidy and funding is available for children in
non-parental child care should also be available to parents caring for their
own children...
(Click
here to see what you can do)
Category = Politics |
|
Early Childcare: Infants
and Nations at Risk by Dr. Peter Cook, ©1996, P158 |
If the endeavour and
resources put into seeking high quality non-parental childcare were expended
in supporting high quality parenting there would be a much greater prospect
of benefit for all concerned.
Conditions which promote sensitive, empathic parenting in early childhood
and the breast-feeding and carrying of infants should be studied and
supported.
Category = Politics |
