CathNews New Zealand

In a report issued on 21 March The Commissioner for Children, John Angus, says that “in an ideal world care at home by parents or extended family is in the best interests of infants under one-year-old and has suggested that parents should be subsidized to stay off work and spend more time with their children during the first year of the babies’ lives

The report said that childcare, while not necessarily a bad thing, was variable in quality, and in some places  there  was a shortage of care.

The report tmakes the follwing points

• Childcare should be shorter rather than longer in duration especially for children under 12 months old.
• There is room for government policy to better support parents who make the choice to stay at home, through more flexible parental leave provisions
• The large amount being spent on childcare subsidies was only slightly less than the cost of paid parental leave for under-two-year-olds

The Minster of Education Anne Tolley noted that “many of the recommendations will involve increasing costs for services, and ultimately for parents.”

A spokesman for the Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson said extending paid parental leave was not on the cards because it was unaffordable.

Source
Stuff

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News category: New Zealand.