There
are about 11 caregiving styles currently in use in Canada though most children actually over the course of time are in several.
These include –
-daycare in a state-run, publicly funded standardized and licensed facility,
-daycare
in a more informal and not standardized facility,
care in a family day home
-
informal care by a trusted babysitter,
care by a grandparent or other relative,
care by an older sibling,
-care
by a nanny who lives in or by one who lives out and comes in daily
care by the parent of the child who has income from a home-based office,
-care
by a self-employed parent who is a freelance writer, jewellery maker, craftsperson or other entrepreneur
-
care by the parent who telecommutes over the Net to a job headquarters at a distance,
-care
by the parent who home-schools
-care
by the parent who takes the child to paid work such as clerking in a mom and pop store or driving a school bus,
-care
by a parent who is at paid employment only when the child is in school and who is always home when the child is,
-care
by the parent who tag-teams with the other parent to off-shift each other so a parent is always with the child,
-care
by a father who is for a time fulltime at home to take care of the child,
-
care by a mother who is at home full-time to take care of the child.
Much
political lobbying has been done to get funding for the daycare option number one above or to get tax deductions in Canada
for care by a 3rd party nonrelative. However most of the care styles currently are not funded by the state.
I view this as a serious inequality. It costs money to raise a child wherever
the child is. Either you pay someone else to take care of your child or you incur a salary loss when you take care of the
child yourself. All parents have costs.
A fair government would not only respect the right of the parent to make good choices about parenting style but would
also equally assist all parenting to not play favorites. Even when the child
is a preteen and teen, there are many who prefer to be home just in case the child needs them after school – and though
not all do feel this way, enough do that their reasoning needs explanation- and
respect also.
There
are many ways this case can be argued, including the argument that the national economy benefits from optimal care of the
next generation at all sites, or that to finally value caregiving is the last hurdle for the true equality of women.
However
I would like to summarize recent research about why so many parents choose a variety of care styles, notably the ones besides
daycare.
To
counter recent claims by daycare advocates that only daycare offers socialization skills or education of a child, or good
care, I present the following research. It is not intended to put down daycare but only to make the strong case that there
are logical reasons that parents want a wide range of options and why many do not choose daycare.
This
then is the summary of what many parents consider relevant for the ‘best interests of the child”
