Kids, families will benefit from all-day kindergarten
Comox Valley Echo
February 19, 2008
Opinions By: J Renner

….First of all it's about time, there can only be a great educational benefit for our kids that come out of this, why should our kids have any less, of an education,

The opinion about all day kindergarten has been on my mind for a long time. With three children, and one turning 4, I don't understand why it has taken this long? Yes there will be money that will have to go into this, yes kindergarten teachers may have to work an extra 2 and a half hours. However there is an opinion, that some children are not ready to go all day. To be quite honest many of them have already had the experience of being in a day care all day.

Maybe some of them do need naps, however this excuse has been used for years, and sadly it really is a poor one.

Our children really do not get the educational gain they should be getting. We are also not giving them the benefit of the doubt. We assume they're not ready. Is the fact that maybe it's the parent who may not be ready to let go, or maybe kindergarten teachers who do not want to work those extra two hours?

I can't see a negative here. Number one, many parents cannot afford childcare. What educational gain or healthy interaction are children getting, for parents that may not be able to afford to put them in preschool, or day care. There are parents who have had to leave the work force, due to this. As for childcare subsidy, this is a joke all on its own. … The government needs to realize that not everyone can afford childcare. If you cannot go out to work, because 80% of your cheque goes to childcare, this should tell us something?

A positive solution as well for low income families, providing all day kindergarten, allows them to be able to have a better financial gain when they go out to work for their money, instead of working just to give 80% of it to providing daycare.

I feel this would be a great thing for our kids, getting them into school at an earlier age. All day kindergarten as well for the children, who have a hard time, this gets them ahead in learning.

…There is a great educational gain for children, there is a great financial gain for low income parents to get ahead. The government will save money as they only have to provide funding, for parents whose children, are under 4 or three, for daycare.

…There are three positives here, lets go and make it mandatory! Children have a right to be educated with out user fees!