New voice for the wee ones
Nelson Daily News
27 Nov 2006
By: Sara Newham

Nelson dads are speaking out for daycare in the hope that a new voice on the subject will get some more attention.

Economist Mike Stolte, artist and Kootenay Kids Society board member Murray Kimber, and child psychologist Todd Kettner all spoke about the value of early childhood education and called on other Dads to support the issue.

"It's coming from the perspective of Dad's. Typically it's been a women's issue and I think it's suffered because of that," said Kimber, noting that the issue has not been adequately addressed.

The three men explained that there are both social and economic benefits to having quality early childhood education.

Among the social impacts, Kettner explained is the socialization and readiness for school it provides.

"If the supports, if the challenges, if the social situations are set up, if all that is in place to steer those cognitive challenges, to have those opportunities for art and music and dance and all those kinds of things," said Kettner. "It's so much easier to enshrine that into the neuro-circuitry at a young age than it is to have some 35 year old in my office who hasn't learned to think of other people's feelings in the workplace and has been suspended for swearing at the boss."

Kettner said both of his children, now aged six and four, have benefited from having been in quality childcare and he believes that it leads to decreased problems as adults.

"If having exceptional early childhood education means I don't have a job then I'd be happy to switch careers," he said.

Stolte added that the economics of providing good childcare are also evident and indicated that 200 years ago, North American society dealt with the same issue when people in the U.S. were trying to decide if they should fund public education.

Pointing to studies on the issue, Stolte said there is at least a seven to one return on investment by providing quality childcare to children under the age of five. He explained that it boosts school grades, self esteem, and provides social skills that can cut down on social and health problems related to crime.

"Right now in Canada we spend very little money on early childhood education. Numbers show that it's somewhere around $2,500 for kids zero to six whereas we spend $50,000 to keep someone in prison for a year," said Stolte. "If we were to put more resources into early childhood education we'd have a lot fewer problems further down the road and there's a lot of studies that validate that conclusion."

Stolte said people are staying at home instead of entering or returning to the workforce because they cannot find adequate childcare.

"They're quitting their jobs, they're turning down work because they can't find the spaces for childcare. It's a chronic problem but it's now reached crisis proportions," he said.

While he acknowledged that families can use additional money, Kimber called the $100 per month taxable child care benefit that the Conservative government introduced "laughable." He said that it costs an average of $600 a month per child for daycare and explained that the benefit does not address the lack of child care, which in the Nelson area, is severe.

Kimber added that he is not advocating to put children in daycare, but rather that there is quality daycare spaces needed and would like to see something done about it. ...

When asked if they thought their voice might be heard louder than mom's, the men agreed that it should not be the case but hope their voice might increase the awareness on the topic and help push through a private member's bill to enshrine children's right to childcare.

"I think that at the very least what it should do is double the impact. If it was a mom's issue then now it's a mom's and dad's issue," said Kettner. "By definition that's doubling the number of people speaking out and supporting it. Part of what I hope is it's a new voice."

Affordable national child care clears another hurdle: MPs narrowly vote to support bill that could become law next year