The families who rely on early childhood services will likely appreciate the skills and professionalism involved. But as a community, we do not value this work.
When parents are starting their babies in daycare, a common concern is whether it is good for them to be away from their primary carers for long periods of time.
Affordability targets have been surpassed with $10-per-day child care the norm in much of the country, but depending on where you live, finding care can be onerous. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits a child-care centre in Dartmouth, N.S. on April 2, 2024.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Clark
The Early Childhood Education Report offers detailed profiles capturing how each province and territory are doing with implementing Canada-wide early learning and child care.
Child-care wait lists have ballooned across Ontario since the province signed on to the national $10-a-day program, as demand due to the lower fees appears to be far outstripping the creation of new spaces in many regions. Children play at a daycare in Coquitlam, B.C., on March 28, 2018.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Governments need to co-operate to prioritize access to high-quality child care for low-income families, and sustain not-for-profit care centres with well-paid educators.
The Bureau of Statistics is considering scaling back the scope of Australia’s time-use survey in a way that will make it difficult to tell how much time we spend caring for children.
The birth of children results in large earnings losses that are not equally distributed within heterosexual couples.
(Shutterstock)
New research shows that women’s earnings are negatively impacted by having children, while men’s aren’t. The effects can be long-lasting and contribute to the gender pay gap.
Karina Gould pauses to talk to reporters as she carries her three-month-old baby, Oliver Gerones, following a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in May 2018.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Karina Gould’s parental leave is similar to that of many Canadians. Yet there are key differences, and they offer lessons on how parental leave could be redesigned to help more Canadian parents.
A person walks past a child care centre in Toronto in April 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
It makes good economic sense to lean on the neighbourhood public school in the push to expand early learning.
Too few Canadian fathers take parental leave. That’s because parental leave is framed as an employment policy rather than as care/work policy that promotes greater sharing of both paid and unpaid care work between parents.
(Shutterstock)
If more Canadian fathers are to harness the benefits of parental leave and remote work, we need to design employment and care policies in ways that recognize every family’s unique needs.
Multigenerational households are the fastest growing household type in England and Wales but living with extended family is a commitment not to be taken lightly.
The ACCC has published calculations for two children in care five days a week. More typical is one child in care two days a week. The typical cost is 5% of after-tax income, not 16%
The State of the World’s Fathers report found that men reported ‘caring about care.’
Getty Images
The latest State of the World’s Fathers report found a shift in attitudes. In 15 countries, between 70% and 90% of men agreed with the statement, “I feel as responsible for care work as my partner.”
Male domestic workers earn considerably more than their female counterparts.
Shutterstock
For vulnerable and marginalized groups, access to early learning and child care remains uncertain. Inclusive access must become a top priority to achieve affordable care for all families.
When four- and five-year-old children are provided with a full day of schooling, space is freed in child-care centres that is instantly filled by younger children.
(Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages)
Access to schooling for four-year-olds is inconsistent across Canada. Families need to know children are immersed in high-quality early learning, and they shouldn’t be exhausted searching for it.
The consumer watchdog is halfway through an inquiry into childcare prices. It found location and availability are the two most important factors informing where parents chose to send their kids.
Adjunct Professor, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at Ontario Institute for the Study of Education (OISE) and Senior Policy Fellow at the Atkinson Centre, University of Toronto