To the Editor,
Re: Daycare must develop our children, Reporter’s Viewpoint, Jan. 24.
I agree that investing in the future generation is important, but I don’t believe it is up to some public-funded daycare to raise today’s children.
Just when did parenting become a part-time position? When was it deemed that staying home to raise a family was like taking a holiday?
I know many families that made the sacrifice of one income so one parent could stay home and raise their children. It wasn’t easy but these parents managed to raise wonderful, loving kids who have grown into responsible tax-paying adults.
Some of these children never even attended preschool, yet still managed to be good students throughout their academic lives.
I also know children who struggled academically, but had great family support and also grew into responsible, working, tax-paying citizens.
My career was in daycare. I am all for good quality daycares and I agree with subsidies for low-income families, but I disagree with universal daycare – we cannot afford it.
A quality daycare provides a warm, caring, and safe environment for children – that may be a licensed facility, a family daycare, or even grandma’s.
As long as a child’s mind and imagination are stimulated, as long as they are encouraged in their interests and kept interested, they will learn.
Whether raised by a stay at home parent or working parents, all children need to feel secure, loved and wanted – there needs to be family time and it needs to be quality time.
Many of the children who are vulnerable when they enter “the system” can often be attending a very good daycare setting – they may even know their ABCs, are able to read and can print their names.
If the home life is disruptive, and if parents cannot give their children “adequate support” their worlds will always be scrambled and they will be at-risk.
These children are usually vulnerable due to their home life, not because of the daycare they are attending.
The day we solve that problem will be the day when most everything else will fall into place as it should.
Kathryn Seaker
Nanaimo
