Counterpoint re: A day care plan that deserves to die, Andre Mrozek, Dec. 5.
Source:
National Post
Format:
Article
Publication Date:
8 Dec 2006
AVAILABILITY
See text below.
Re: A day care plan that deserves to die, Dec. 5
In her article in Tuesday's National Post, Andrea Mrozek of the Institute for Marriage and the Family (IMAF) voiced opposition to the kind of state-supported early learning and child care that Stephane Dion endorsed on his first day as Liberal leader. It's hard to know whether she is being disingenuous or has merely arrived at incorrect conclusions through faulty analysis. In any case, her misstatements are too glaring to be allowed to stand on the record. A selection:
- Ms. Mrozek: "80% of Canadians prefer a parent stay home with the children. This result echoes a survey conducted by the Vanier Institute in 2003."
The whole story: In 2006, the President of the Vanier Institute of the Family wrote to The Globe and Mail, describing the 80% statistic as "a number that [has] been cited time and time again to assert that Canadians do not want to support a national system of early care and education. ... The above-mentioned conclusion cannot be supported by the survey the Institute conducted."
- Ms. Mrozek: "Polls consistently show that Canadian families do not want what Mr. Dion and his party are promising."
The whole story: Ms. Mrozek cites one poll commissioned by the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, where she is manager of research and communications, to support this assertion. A more objective view is found in an analysis conducted by University of Western Ontario professor Joseph Michalski, synthesizing poll results over 20 years and other data, and concluding: "Three-quarters of Canadians agree there should be a child-care system in place for all families, but they have different preferences for types of child care." He also notes: "Participants in focus groups called for a flexible definition of the term 'child-care system,' expanding the debate beyond a simple choice of daycare versus home care." Since this 1999 analysis, a variety of polls contradict Ms. Mrozek's claim.
- Ms. Mrozek: Child care advocates believe that "state-run daycare" is "better at raising children than a child's own flesh and blood."
The whole story: This suggestion is preposterous. Research shows that parents matter, that early learning and child care matter too, as do other factors such as poverty, work/family balance and neighbourhood. That's why children's advocates have long promoted well-designed family policy, including income supports (like the National Child Benefit), improved family leaves and affordable housing -- as well as universal early learning and child care.
- Ms. Mrozek: "A 2004 study [by the OECD], written in part by Toronto-based childcare advocate Martha Friendly, ranked Canada's child care access as 'low' and made the call for 'significant energies and funding ... to be invested in the field to create a universal system.' "
The whole story: Yes, the OECD's Canada Country Note -- part of its 20-nation comparative study of early learning and child care -- was unenthusiastic about Canada's early childhood services situation, making many useful recommendations for improvements as they did to other countries.
No, I neither authored, ghost-wrote nor engineered this report. Normally, when I write something, I sign my name to it -- just like I am doing here.
- reprinted from the National Post
In her article in Tuesday's National Post, Andrea Mrozek of the Institute for Marriage and the Family (IMAF) voiced opposition to the kind of state-supported early learning and child care that Stephane Dion endorsed on his first day as Liberal leader. It's hard to know whether she is being disingenuous or has merely arrived at incorrect conclusions through faulty analysis. In any case, her misstatements are too glaring to be allowed to stand on the record. A selection:
- Ms. Mrozek: "80% of Canadians prefer a parent stay home with the children. This result echoes a survey conducted by the Vanier Institute in 2003."
The whole story: In 2006, the President of the Vanier Institute of the Family wrote to The Globe and Mail, describing the 80% statistic as "a number that [has] been cited time and time again to assert that Canadians do not want to support a national system of early care and education. ... The above-mentioned conclusion cannot be supported by the survey the Institute conducted."
- Ms. Mrozek: "Polls consistently show that Canadian families do not want what Mr. Dion and his party are promising."
The whole story: Ms. Mrozek cites one poll commissioned by the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, where she is manager of research and communications, to support this assertion. A more objective view is found in an analysis conducted by University of Western Ontario professor Joseph Michalski, synthesizing poll results over 20 years and other data, and concluding: "Three-quarters of Canadians agree there should be a child-care system in place for all families, but they have different preferences for types of child care." He also notes: "Participants in focus groups called for a flexible definition of the term 'child-care system,' expanding the debate beyond a simple choice of daycare versus home care." Since this 1999 analysis, a variety of polls contradict Ms. Mrozek's claim.
- Ms. Mrozek: Child care advocates believe that "state-run daycare" is "better at raising children than a child's own flesh and blood."
The whole story: This suggestion is preposterous. Research shows that parents matter, that early learning and child care matter too, as do other factors such as poverty, work/family balance and neighbourhood. That's why children's advocates have long promoted well-designed family policy, including income supports (like the National Child Benefit), improved family leaves and affordable housing -- as well as universal early learning and child care.
- Ms. Mrozek: "A 2004 study [by the OECD], written in part by Toronto-based childcare advocate Martha Friendly, ranked Canada's child care access as 'low' and made the call for 'significant energies and funding ... to be invested in the field to create a universal system.' "
The whole story: Yes, the OECD's Canada Country Note -- part of its 20-nation comparative study of early learning and child care -- was unenthusiastic about Canada's early childhood services situation, making many useful recommendations for improvements as they did to other countries.
No, I neither authored, ghost-wrote nor engineered this report. Normally, when I write something, I sign my name to it -- just like I am doing here.
- reprinted from the National Post
Region: