Supporting Families

The best thing I’ve read all week:

The big lesson from Quebec is that parents really do need more support, but they need the kind of support that allows them to choose what is best for their family. Mothers and fathers should get paid time off after a baby is born, and the money should come from a government insurance program, as it does in Canada, England and other countries. Companies need to be given incentives to create more part-time jobs that don’t derail careers — and then find some up-and-coming men who want those jobs. High-quality preschool programs should be available for every low-income child and perhaps universally.

Yes, this would cost money, and not a little bit. Some taxes would have to be increased, and other spending would have to be cut. (My first candidate: raise the age for Social Security retirement eligibility. Two-year-olds need more help than 66-year-olds do. But that’s a column for another day.)

The Times columnist comes to this conclusion after reading a persuasive new study on universal daycare in Quebec. The findings show that universal daycare negatively impacted children and families on average.

We’ve already talked quite a bit about daycare here and here. My take on it is that there is a huge difference between good and bad daycare. Hours spent in daycare is important. Good parenting after daycare hours can have a big impact. Differing needs of individual children have to be taken into account. (My youngest son with his special needs would have been destroyed in full time daycare.)

This Quebec study should be seen as an important political tool for getting more workplace flexibility and governmental support for families that need it. For families who want and need to care for their children themselves. It should not be used as a tool for discrediting daycare in general or for halting efforts to increase governmental support of daycare.

(Thanks again, Jeremy.)