News

OTTAWA, Apr 13 (Lifesitenews.com) – The federally funded National Council of Welfare (NCW) is the latest voice in the call for universally funded day-care in Canada. The cost would be in the vicinity of $6.3 billion per year. The plan would force this heavy financial burden on taxpayers including those who continue to make the necessary sacrifices to continue to provide their children with the best care available – home care. This latest government sponsored attack on stay-at-home parents comes just after the Liberal government was taken to task over its current tax discrimination policies against stay-at-home parents.

The NCW supported its initiative with a 1998 study by two University of Toronto economists who claim that “the incremental benefits of [publicly funded day care would] amount to approximately two dollars for every dollar cost to the public purse”. Critics suggest basing child-care decisions on economics rather than considerations of health and psychological well being are seriously detrimental for children.

A critique of the U of T economists’ study by the National Foundation for Family Research and Education notes that day care, especially for children under four, costs children and families a stiff price in terms of physical and psychological health. According to its research NFFRE says “Children who attend day care have increased rates of medical problems and are particularly prone to respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses.” But “the psychological risks to children are even greater than the health risks,” says the report. A meta-analysis of children subjected to day care in Canada and other countries revealed that the educational benefit to children is near zero while “children who attend day care for 20 or more hours per week seem at greater risk for emotional, behavioural and parental attachment problems, when compared with their non-day care peers.” 

Extrapolating from the data, Professor Claudio Violato, Director of Research for NFFRE, notes that “if Canada were to embark on a program of universal day care, about 250,000 children would be placed at increased risk of developing emotional and behavioural problems.” Violato suggests a valid cost-benefit analysis of publicly funded day care would have to include these factors. Scientific literature strongly suggests it would be best to direct money geared to improving care for children toward policies that allow parents to spend more time caring for their own children, says the report. “Child tax credits to families with young children, income splitting between spouses where there is one stay-at-home parent, more flexible work arrangements, and child care in the workplace” are some of the suggestions presented.

Source: The Toronto Star