EXCERPTS

A child-care program is needed on P.E.I. for numerous reasons.

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As a mother, I had the privilege of having my daughter taken care of on a daily basis at home by her grandmother. I enrolled my daughter at the age of three into a local playschool program to prepare her for the fast-approaching school years. She attended play school for two years at age three and four before entering kindergarten at age five.

The reasons I chose to send my daughter to playschool and kindergarten were not because I had to; it was to prepare her to enter the school system socially, intellectually and emotionally.

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Like I said, I was fortunate enough to have the best of both worlds. In the beginning years, my daughter was cared for by her grandmother, but later she experienced child-care programs that provided her with skills that she can build on to take her through life.

The unfortunate thing about child-care programs on P.E.I. is we need more. They have to be affordable and accessible to families. When I enrolled my daughter into a playschool program I was fortunate I had done it early. In order to get my child in an adequate kindergarten program I registered her at the age of two. That is three years prior to her attending and I was the second last seat for that class for her kindergarten year.

I feel every child is entitled to a good start in life. An early childhood program is a step in the right direction.

* Stacy Delaney is a member of the the Canadian Union of Public Employees' national child-care working group.

- reprinted from the Charlottetown Guardian