|
Book |
Quote/Comment |
Motherhood - how should we care for our
children? by Anne Manne,
©2005, p. 185
|
In Australia, anyone challenging
early childcare as an unquestioned and highly desirable part of modern life
risks being considered to be in companionship with the Taliban* and clitoridectomies**.
*The Taliban ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990's. Their regime was marked
by imposition of an extremely harsh interpretation of Islamic law and
repression of women.
**clitoridectomies = Female genital mutilation
Category = Politics |
|
Motherhood - how should we care for our
children? by Anne Manne,
©2005, p. 194-195 |
Childcare advocates are often guilty of
conducting the debate as if every child at home is a child at risk, and
every daycare centre is top notch.
An (example of this is the) often-cited "fact" is that for every one dollar
invested in early childcare, seven dollars will be saved down the track in
reduced delinquency, crime and enhanced educational achievements.
This was a finding of a centrepiece show project of the childcare lobby: the
Perry Preschool.
...this (Ypsilanti study) was utterly unrepresentative of normal daycare...
Category = Politics |
|
Motherhood - how should we care for our
children? by Anne Manne,
©2005, p. 200 |
As a result of her observations, (Trudy Marshall
in Britain argued that) 'sensitivity cannot be found and sustained in group
care of infants under two'.
Category = Quality |
|
Motherhood - how should we care for our
children? by Anne Manne,
©2005, p. 202-203 |
When asked, the mothers had not a single negative
remark about the minders (daycare workers). When asked whether their child
was happy, 100 percent replied in the affirmative.
--their love for their children and the pain of leaving them led to an
idealisation of the care situation.
Category = Politics |
|
Motherhood - how should we care for our
children? by Anne Manne,
©2005, p 205 |
(One person) argued that we should feel empathy
for the feelings of pain women feel when they must leave their baby in
childcare.
...The baby's point of view had dropped out altogether.
Category = Politics |
|
Motherhood - how should we care for our
children? by Anne Manne,
©2005, p. 210 |
..about two-thirds of Australian childcare was
found to be poor or mediocre, but in numerous surveys parents pronounced
themselves 'very satisfied' with care quality.
Category = Politics |
|
Motherhood - how should we care for our
children? by Anne Manne,
©2005, p. 210 |
(Sally) Loane remarked: 'not only do we not shop
around, we seem to be overwhelmingly satisfied with our undiscriminating
choices...I cannot think of another service where we are so cavalier. When
we buy a new car we spend weeks...reading about the various makes and
styles...Why then do we not take the same care with childcare?'
Category = Politics |
|
Motherhood - how should we care for our
children? by Anne Manne,
©2005, p. 211 |
...in the literature it is not uncommon to find
mothers reluctant to use childcare for babies depicted as if they are
problematic.
...there is a significant linguistic shift from mothers 'leaving' their
babies to 'sharing' their babies. 'Sharing' is a nice word, even a feel-good
word. 'Leaving' has an echo of abandonment.
(These euphemisms idealise) early separation and crèches for babies, and
makes at-home mothers transgressors of the new world order and at least
neurotic if not quite mentally ill!
Category = Politics |
|
Motherhood - how should we care for our
children? by Anne Manne,
©2005, p. 211 |
(Daycare advocate and CEO of Kindercare Inc.
Sandra Scarr) proposes to lower existing
childcare quality to make the price affordable. She asks, 'What
is the minimal expense for childcare that will allow mothers to work and not
do permanent damage to children?'
Category =
Danger, Quality, Politics |
