Quality daycare now shapes future of Kelowna's leaders
The Daily Courier - Kelowna
January 21, 2008
Letters By: Amanda,Chair Child Care Action Team, Community Action Towards Children's Health (CATCH)

Recently, we have engaged in a conversation about the community's role in providing for children in their early learning years.

Indeed, non-parental care is a necessity for many young children -- 60 per cent of children in B.C. under the age of six have a mother in the workforce.

Supporting efforts to provide high-quality care during the early learning years needs to be on the forefront of community members' minds.

This is because the way our youngest children spend their days strongly influences how effectively children become problem solvers, stress managers, and emotionally competent adults of tomorrow.

Evidence tells us there are critical windows of opportunity between conception and kindergarten for the creation of our lifetime attitudes, behaviours, and thinking patterns.

This is the time when high quality care will make the biggest difference.

Many employers, like the City of Kelowna, frame the child care conversation around employee recruitment and retention.

While having access to stable high quality care does affect a parent's decision about working, everyone in the community should be talking about child care.

Remember, the future of our community is being laid out in the brains of infants and toddlers today.