Child Care
- As of 2002-2003, 54 per cent of Canadian children between six months and five years were in some type of non-parental child care. The definition of non-parental care includes care by relatives in the home. [1]
- As of 2002-2003, 52 per cent of children in child care were "full time" (30+ hours per week). Again, this includes care by relatives in the home. [2]
- 90 per cent of Canadians feel that, in two-parent situations, ideally, one parent should stay home and take primary responsibility for raising preschool children. Where staying home is not possible, the first child care choice is one's partner, followed by a parent, then another relative, then home-based child care, then daycare centres, then friends and sitters. [3]
- 77.9 per cent of parents of young children, when offered the choice between having one parent stay home to care for their child(ren) or placing them with a competent caregiver, chose the former. [4]
- Child care in Quebec (only province in Canada to have a provincial daycare system) costs between $11,500 to $15,700 per child. [5]
- An estimate of the real costs of Ontario’s early learning plan by Dr. Charles Pascal, if fully implemented, shows an annual cost of just over $6 billion annually. [6]
- Research shows both positive and negative outcomes the result of time in institutional care. Positive outcomes tend to be associated with targeted disadvantaged populations. Negative outcomes include poor socialization and behavioural problems:
- Increased "externalizing problems and conflict with adults". [7]
- A lack of improvement in "problem behaviour" for economically disadvantaged families the result of junior kindergarten attendance. [8]
- Higher vocabulary scores the result of good quality non-parental care, also more behavioural problems. [9]
- No applicability of child care research to widespread benefits for all children, rather, benefits are limited to targeted populations. [10]
- "Positive gains in pre-reading and math skills, but negative social behaviour: [11]
- Quebec is the only Canadian province to have a provincial daycare system. Research shows children there are safe but not learning. [12]
PDF:
Child Care
Endnotes
- Bushnik, T. (2006). Childcare in Canada. Ottawa: Minister of Industry. Retrieved December 9, 2009 from http://www.statcan.ca/english/research/89-599-MIE/89-599-MIE2006003.pdf
- Ibid.
- Bibby, R. (2005, February 10). Press Release: Child Care Aspirations. University of Lethbridge. Retrieved December 9, 2009 from http://www.vifamily.ca/newsroom/press_feb_10_05_c.html
- Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. (2006, April 1). Canadians Make Choices on Child Care. Canadian Family Views, No. 1, p. 3. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from http://www.imfcanada.org/issues/canadians-make-choices-about-childcare
- Lefebvre, P. and Merrigan, P. (2005, March). Low-fee ($5/day/child) regulated childcare policy and the labor supply of mothers with young children: a natural experiment from Canada. Centre interuniversitaire sur le risque, les politiques économiques et l’emploi. Working Paper 05-08, p. 22. Retrieved November 9, 2009 from http://132.203.59.36/CIRPEE/cahierscirpee/2005/files/CIRPEE05-08.pdf
- Mrozek, A., Walberg, R. (2009 November). The cost of a free lunch. Ottawa: Institute of Marriage and Family Canada.
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Early Child Care Research Network. (2003). Does Amount of Time Spent in Child Care Predict Socioemotional Adjustment During the Transition to Kindergarten? Child Development, Vol. 74, No. 4, p. 969-1226.
- Pagani, L., Larocque, D., Tremblay, R., Lapointe, P. (2003). The impact of junior kindergarten on behavior in elementary school children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, Vol. 27, No. 5, p. 423-427
- Belsky, J. et al. (2007). Are There Long-Term Effects of Early Child Care? Child Development, Vol. 78, No. 2, p.681-701.
- Buckingham, J. (2007). Child Care: Who Benefits? The Center for Independent Studies, No. 89. Retrieved December 10, 2009 from http://www.cis.org.au/issue_analysis/IA89/ia89.pdf
- Loeb, S., Bridges, M., Bassok, D., Fuller, B., Rum¬berger, R. (2007). How much is too much? The influence of preschool centers on children’s social and cognitive development. Economics of Education Review, Vol. 26, No. 1, p. 52-66.
- Japel, C. Tremblay, R. Côté, S. (December 2005). Quality Counts! Assessing the Quality of Daycare Services Based on the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. Institute for Research on Public Policy. Vol. 11, No. 5.