8% of parents make use of childcare centres for babies below six months: NCPE

Only 8% of parents make use of childcare centres for babies below six months of age, according to data published by the national equality agency, which on Thursday added its voice to the recent debate on caring for kids. 

In its statement, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality reiterated its call for longer, paid maternity and paternity leave in a bid to strengthen work–life balance.

It was comments by Gozo Bishop Anton Teuma that last month sparked backlash after he claimed that parents are treating their babies as “objects” by sending them to childcare centres under the age of two.

His remarks drew criticism from several, including parliamentary secretary for equality Rebecca Buttigieg and environment minister Miriam Dalli, who condemned the comments as deeply unfair and out of touch with the realities faced by modern families.

Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, WHO Europe’s Director for Country Health Policies and Systems, also warned that stigmatisation of parents – especially mothers – for sending their young children to childcare centres may discourage them from seeking support, to the detriment of both the family and the child.

On Thursday, the NCPE said that in a society where caring responsibilities continued to fall disproportionately on women, the provision of free childcare has been pivotal in enabling women to enter the labour market, progress in their careers, and achieve a greater degree of economic independence.

Childcare centres can also contribute positively to children’s well-being by offering opportunities for interaction with peers and participation in collective activities that are essential to their social and cognitive development, the commission noted. 

At the same time, the NCPE recognises that adequate quality time between parents and their children is fundamental to children’s development, as well as to parental and broader social wellbeing, particularly during infancy, it added. 

According to NCPE's own research, only 8% of parents make use of childcare centres for children below six months of age.

"Nevertheless, the findings clearly point to the urgent need to strengthen work–life balance measures that allow working parents to spend time with their children while remaining active in the labour market. 

"Parents should not be blamed when they have no viable alternative but to make full use of childcare services, including during a child’s infancy."

The same study, the commission said, shows that parents experience significant difficulties in reconciling work and caregiving responsibilities, and express dissatisfaction with both the duration and the level of compensation of existing parent-related leave policies.

This is why the NCPE reiterated the importance of extending and introducing more robust family-friendly measures.

These include extending maternity leave to six months, paternity leave to four weeks, and parental leave to six months on full pay, with three months allocated on a ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ basis.

Moreover, legal provisions and structures on work-life balance measures, such as remote working and flexitime, should be strengthened.

Only by strengthening family-friendly measures for parents in employment can we ensure the well-being of both parents and children, while safeguarding the continued participation of women and men in the labour market, it said.