Description:
Building a broad social movement...
We are child care workers working together to transform how British Columbia cares for its children and supports its families, centred on the values of unconditional respect, universal dignity, and shared responsibility in child care.
Anyone who cares for a child is a child care worker.
We are uniting all child care workers, including unpaid child care workers (such as moms, dads, grandparents, neighbours, friends) and under paid child care workers (such as nannies, family care providers, early childhood educators).
We recognize that most child care work in BC is not only unpaid, but also unrecognized and under supported. That's why we're working to bring all child care workers together to build a movement capable of ensuring that everyone in BC has enough support to care for children.
Transforming from a culture of consumption and control to a culture centred on production and respect.
We recognize children as producers of children's culture, the foundation of all culture. We recognize children's power and we work with children to expand their power as responsible members of the community. Our workshops provide time, space, and community to develop our capacity as co-leaders of a broad social movement to make transformation of child care a reality in BC and beyond
Uniting All Child Care Workers
We recognize that most child care is unpaid work, carried out by moms, dads, grandparents, friends, neighbours, and other unpaid child care workers. We also recognize that child care support workers are almost always under paid. Under paid child care workers include nannies, child care providers, family care provides, and early childhood educators.
Child care is valuable work and it's also highly valued by almost everyone in British Columbia. We know this not only because our shared cultural, social, economic, and political life depends on the provision of child care. And it is not simply because children would not thrive or survive without quality child care. We also know the value of child care because so many people provide child care without pay. We care for our children because we know this is the right thing to do, and are willing to pay the heavy price of our time and money to ensure that children are cared care.
Adequate and Equitable Child Care Supports for All
Child care is clearly both valuable and valued. So why do so many families struggle to balance time at paid work with time for family care? Why are most child care support workers paid low wages? And why aren't there adequate child care resources for all BC families and children?
The problem is not value or cost - as we value child care and willingly pay the cost. The problem is a disconnect between those caring for children and those making decisions about how resources and supports are being allocated to the community as a whole. Until decision makers prioritize early care and learning spending, too many families will continue to unfairly shoulder the costs of child care. The current system is based on "do it alone" rather than on sharing the responsibility of caring for children together.