Mem Fox calls child care for young children child abuse
The recent comments in Adelaide’s Sunday Mail by leading children’s author Mem Fox have caused an almighty uproar. And rightfully so!
Mem Fox author of such children’s classics as Possum Magic and Where is the Green Sheep? described child care for young children as tantamount to ‘child abuse’ and something that Australia would look back on with regret.
As a childcare professional and mother I do believe that the ideal situation for a child of six weeks is to be at home with Mum or Dad but I do not believe that if that child should need to go into care that it is equal to child abuse!
The comments made by Mem Fox are offensive on so many levels. To mothers, fathers and families and to child care providers around the country.
First let’s look at some facts.
According to a study undertaken by the Bureau of Statistics in 2005, the percentage of children under the age of 1 year in formal childcare (long day care, family day care, with a registered nanny) was just 7%. That is 7% of all children in childcare.
And 47% of children under 1 year attended childcare for 10 hours a week or less.
So there are very few babies in full time care in Australia.
From my perspective as a childcare worker, who for 10 years worked in infant and toddler rooms, I have only ever had one baby under 3 months in my care and that child was in for 3 days a week. Not full time care.
There has been ongoing debate about whether child care is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for children.
A recent Edith Cowan University study, undertaken by Dr Margaret Sims, measured levels of cortisol (a hormone resulting from stress) in 156 selected children from 16 centres.
While children from caring homes were stressed when placed in poor-quality care centres, stress levels did decline in children from disadvantaged homes, despite the low levels of care.
Good quality centres positively affected children from both types of homes, with the stress levels of disadvantaged children falling drastically. Sims states:
‘I don’t want to say poor-quality child care is OK because it’s not. But for some children poor-quality child care is better than what they’re getting at home. If they go into really good quality care, however, you see an even bigger drop in their cortisol levels.’
So the research shows that high quality care is good for children.
Although I believe Mem Fox’s comments to be inflammatory and quite unfounded, they do raise the point about the importance of quality childcare and paid maternity leave in Australia.
If there was a system of government sponsored paid maternity leave in Australia, fewer young children would need to be in childcare.
And when the government and society fully recognizes the importance of high quality early childhood care, child/ staff ratios would be lowered and child care workers would be paid a better wage which would attract more people to the profession, lower staff turnover and encourage more child care workers to become qualified.
Again, good quality child care can have excellent benefits for children. When we recognize that quality is so much more important than profit, major improvements can be made in the early childhood sector.
In my experience, child care workers are quite a selfless bunch. They work in a profession that can be highly stressful, emotionally demanding and is poorly paid and they do it because they love the children and families they work with. Mem Fox’s comments are insulting to both childcare workers and the children’s parents.
And most importantly, mothers and fathers do not need to suffer the guilt that Mem Fox heaps upon them.
To say that children are only in childcare so their parents can gain financially and materialistically is naïve, short sighted and out of touch.
In these tough economic times many families need duel incomes just to keep up with interest rate increases and basic costs of living. For many families it’s not about handbags and holidays.
There is also the plain fact that parents often need to be someone else beside a parent. We know that work can provide stimulation for parents increasing their wellbeing and happiness. And parents who are happy pass that happiness onto their children.
Parenting can be a tough job; a break from your children can be a haven in your week and sometimes another point of view or opinion from a qualified person can be a real bonus. This is one of the benefits that child care can offer - another person gets to know you and your child and that person can help you better care for your child. It’s can be a win - win situation for parents and children.
I’d like to finish off with comments made to The Australian by Maxine McKew, Parliamentary Secretary for Early Education and Child Care on the statements made by Mem Fox:
“Who needs another guilt trip? That would be my first comment. The fact that more women than ever are in the workforce, having babies and more children than ever are in formal childcare is an extraordinary vote of confidence in the system,” she said.
“Something like 57 per cent of women are back in the workforce by the time their child is 18 months of age. Now Australian women aren’t stupid, they make discerning decisions about the quality of care that they have for their children.
“There’s an inflammatory side to her comments which as I say, I hope sensible women will ignore her comments quite frankly.”
Thanks Maxine. I agree wholeheartedly!
Emma Anderson
Childcare professional and mother
September 6th, 2008 at 3:14 am
Thank you for your compassionate and logical article. I came across it after searching for “Mem fox childcare”, after several people this week told me about her comments, as I have a baby under one in childcare. Some of them were outraged… others questioned my decision to return to work. My own mother has said I should not work till my baby is three! Thanks Mem Fox… not. My husband wants to throw her books out.
If I had known that there would be so much pressure on me to not work with a baby, I would not have decided to have a baby at all. While I love him terribly now, I would never have quit a career I love to have a baby.
September 7th, 2008 at 2:41 am
Great article Emma - I am so sick of these arty types with the Messiah complex. Perhaps Mem should just stick to what she does best, write books. The old argument of Working Mums versus Stay at Home Mums seems to have vanished so is this the new version of it.
My daughter was in part-time child care (day a week) on and off from about 1 years old, my neice was 6 weeks old when she started child care one day a week moving on to 3 days by the time she was 3 years old. Both girls are now 17 years old and very balanced, responsible and productive young ladies with no hang-ups other than the usual teenage ones.
September 8th, 2008 at 11:20 am
yes, really excellent article, bringing some rationality and evidence to the debate!
im not at all surprised to hear that people would feel like throwing out books by mem fox (or boycotting buying them). its a perfectly reasonable reaction, but just a shame given how much the littlies seem to love them! weve got a number here, and i enjoy reading them as much as my toddler.
i have to say, i feel great every time i drop my daughter off at childcare. the place has such a great vibe, and i leave for work knowing she has a day full of stimulation and entertainment far beyond what i can provide on my own. it makes me feel really good to know she is getting a dose of that each week.
i am also a product of full-time childcare from the age of 3 months, one of the abused according to mem! funnily enough, i seem to have turned out all right.
September 17th, 2008 at 4:00 am
Can I please ask people to be calm? As a mother of 3 children under 5 years and having first accessed childcare when my youngest was 4months old (1 day a week initially ) I am a parent who should be in the “camp” of being angry with Mem Fox for her comments. But I am not. I actually agree with some parts of what she says. Lets be reasonable.Is child care “abuse”? Of course not. Will the child be traumatised by the experience? Probably not. But the fact remains putting a newborn into group care 5 days a week for 8-10hours a day is NOT in the best interest of the child. A baby of that age just wants its mother/father/primary caregiver. If we try to reject this basic fact we are deluding ourselves. Rather than focus our “anger” at Mem Fox why not focus it instead on the governments of this country (both labor and liberal) who have ridden on the backs of parents for too long. Rather than give us access to paid maternity leave they effectively leave us to it, hence mothers and father been forced back to work far too early and hence the use of childdcare for newborns. Ive just chatted with my friend from Sweden. His wife was at home for 9months (paid) maternity leave with their son and recently he finished work to commence his 9months (paid) paternity leave. So people - leave Mem Fox alone. She didnt quite say things the “correct way” but the gist of what she says is true and lets focus our “anger” positively - on bringing change to Australia’s maternity leave policies.
http://www.babysitterdirectory.com.au
Australia’s FREE online directory for babysitters & Nannies
September 25th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
In the following opinion piece please do not personalise my use of the word “you” and ” your”. I use these pronouns in a group scenario, so that people who show the behavior can self identify with the topic.
Child Care- an Unnecessary Evil.
So it seems that childcare workers are being underpaid. These workers have to suffer low pay because other workers like you who earn more are committed financially beyond your means. Nobody made you have children or made you consume debt beyond your means, nobody made you buy homes and cars you can’t afford to pay with one wage. Because of your greed and your overwhelming desire to consume you now expect other people to pay the bill to look after your children. You’ll be the first to whine about loss of morality and increased social decay, to feel threatened by youth who have no self respect and no respect for the society in which they live. You give up your responsibility to parent your children to strangers then wonder why your children’s values are so different to your own. You send your children to care 10 or more hours a day, 5 days per week, you send them when thay are ill and infecting other children, you expect others to solve problems for you which you have created for yourself. You expect other taxpayers to subsidise all this while you go and work to pay for your lifestyle which you can’t afford. Your greed has pushed up accommodation costs to levels where they are unaffordable for many and yet you continue to eat, consume and become obese. Now that your greed has pushed up house prices and food so high that you can’t afford to pay you decide it’s time to start whining and trying to blame somebody else for your situation.
You have done all this to yourself, maybe it’s time to reconsider your priorities, time to refocus on what really matters. Make time to spend with your children, take time to guide and educate your children, to give them values, teach them manners and ethics. If you do this then your children will have better, happier fulfilled lives. Remember your children’s future is far more important than your career and new shiny goods. Take the time and raise your own children.
Seamus Hanes
September 29th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Hey Seamus Hanes,
I agree with you too. Good to have people speaking out for the rights of the children and not for the parents and tax-man (yes, he does love those working moms dollars). Well, maybe I am just an old-fashioned mom in some ways, but I enjoy raising my child myself for the precious few early years. I can never recapture those years and nor can my child. We can get our car and house. Later.
October 28th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Interesting to know.
January 29th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Its obvious Mem Fox is on another planet. I have been in the childcare industry for the past 12 years with my own centres at http://www.jillys.com.au
The children in my centres are well balanced and totally love attending the centre. The staff nurture them, the children socialise with their friends and arrange games between their peers. In a nut shell they love daycare.
Mem Fox needs to do some actual research, may be even some work experience, instead of sitting in her chair dreaming up shock-jock articles that totally demean the female workforce in childcare.