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Human warmth is more important than a hot meal writes Robin Barker author of Baby Love

Robin Barker is one of Australia’s most widely read and trusted authors on parenting. She is a registered nurse, midwife and parentcraft nurse with more than thirty years experience working with families and babies.

More than 100,000 copies of her seminal Baby Love have been sold since 1994 and it has become almost required reading for new parents.

Robin has strong opinions about child care, in particular what constitutes quality care and what children actually need from their child care providers.

Read Robin’s views on Australia’s child care system and what she believes needs to be done.

A child-care crisis is nothing new. Child care has been in crisis ever since institutional non-parental care started in the 1970s. Little has changed since then to bring the group care of babies and toddlers out of crisis. The phrase "quality care" is commonly used. But what is quality care? On one level it refers to the training and experience of the care-giver, the ratio of the number of babies and toddlers per care-giver and the health and safety characteristics of the environment. But if we consider the complexity of the development of a young human, quality care is a lot more than a safe, clean environment, nutritious food, highly qualified carers and a nice place to sleep, important though these may be.
I was intrigued some years back when Eddy Groves of the child-care centre operator ABC Learning was interviewed about the quality of his centres. At that time his primary indicator of quality care was the amount of hot food thrown out at lunchtime.

As toddlers at home are happy with a sandwich and a banana for lunch, I fail to see why a hot lunch would be at the top of the scale in relation to quality care.

I am sure there are many homes with much-loved, well-cared for babies and toddlers that do not meet the standards required in child-care centres for space, hygiene and safety. And while staff qualifications may be important, think of all the first-time mothers who have never held babies before who do such great jobs.

Quality care is first and foremost about the relationship the baby or toddler has with the care-giver and the likelihood of individual needs and emotions being met and acknowledged rather than swept away in the routine of the day and the relentless demands of group care on the carers.

This increases in importance the longer the baby or toddler is in non-parental care - full-time care means the care-giver is the one who will be taking the parents' place for a great deal of the time.

The official staff-to-child ratio of one care-giver to five babies and toddlers under two, and one care-giver to eight toddlers between two and three is a licence for neglect regardless of hot meals, hygienic standards, space and so on.

Added to the unsatisfactory staff-to-child ratio is the reality that although a care-giver has a certain number to care for, frequently much larger groups of toddlers are being cared for in the same space thumping, biting and grizzling their way through the very long day.

Staff burnout and turnover is high, whether it is home-based or centre care, which makes it difficult for the baby or toddler to form a relationship.

In many group settings the staff-child-ratio is affected by sick leave or the necessity for care-givers to attend to tasks not directly related to being with their charges.

The commitment and emotional involvement expected from the care-givers is way out of proportion to the wages they earn, the recognition they receive (which is scant - frequently even from the parents whose babies and toddlers they are caring for) and the conditions they work under.

Many will, understandably, choose to avoid the emotional side of the business and concentrate on efficiency and routine. Common sense tells us that a care-giver's enthusiasm for a baby or toddler's development cannot match that of the parents' when it is something seen every day as part of the job. Expecting anything else is unrealistic.

Despite surveys showing that 60 to 70 per cent of Australians believe babies and toddlers are better off being cared for by a parent in the home, most people give no thought to the topic before having children. Once they do and their children are over that period, they heave a sigh of relief and move on, glad that it is something they no longer have to worry about.

All governments are aware that there is no sign that the community is prepared to sanction the massive increase that would be required from tax revenue to subsidise the (relatively) high costs of true quality child care or to introduce other schemes to replace group care for at least the first 18 months.

Maxine McKew, the Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Education and Child Care, is researching the nuts and bolts of child care and looking at ways to improve the service.

I would like her to give urgent priority to the two main issues of quality care, which are the staff ratios and staff wages. We will never have quality care until these issues are satisfactorily resolved.

All other "improvements" are simply tinkering around the edges.

Robin Barker is a registered nurse, midwife, parentcraft nurse and the author of Baby Love and The Mighty Toddler.

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Comment by Margaret on August 29, 2008 at 12:50: I would like to see more financial support for mums to stay home especailly in the first 2 years. I don't know why our tax system and the family assistance system treat families differently ie one is based on combineed income and one more on indivdual income.

Comment by Roxanne Elliott on August 29, 2008 at 15:10: Hi Margaret I agree with you here. The government needs to be a lot more innovative. Our system needs to be more flexible and supportive with provision for greater choice.

Comment by Eleanor on August 29, 2008 at 16:14: I agree with your comments both in the article and other postings. I am a stay at home mum for many reasons but two main ones were I could not find a satisfactory care provider for my son nor could I justify the cost to 'dump' him with unhappy strangers where he was but one of 'many, many, many unhappy kids. I have never heard any positive comments in regards to ABC Centres and have looked at nearly all centres in my area and for young children I don't believe that they should be institutionalised at that age - the whole thing is just so sad.............................................for all involved.

Comment by Gabrielle on August 29, 2008 at 16:40: I don't think there is any question about the need to increase wages for child care workers and improve legislated staff ratios in child care centres, however I find Robin's viewpoint to be extremely one-sided and certainly lacking a little reality. I do not believe that "most people" don't think about child care options prior to having children. In fact, I think it is a very difficult decision for most people and one that weighs on people's minds for many different reasons. Whether it is a financial necessity or a lifestyle choice, I believe that most mothers (and fathers too, I'd say) give a great deal of thought to what is best for their children. I don't see putting your child into care as "institutionalising" them, rather, in my child's case, care has been a place where he has grown, developed and flourished. Robin certainly makes some great points about child care legislation and improvements that should be made but I don't think the undertones of parents making an incorrect choice are useful or fair - after all, we all want what's best for the little people in our lives.

Comment by Jennifer on August 29, 2008 at 17:17: I think Robin's point on staff ratios is key. How many mums would expect a babysitter to look after 5 babies or 8 toddlers for a few hours, let alone day after day, for any money, let alone a child care workers wage??!!

Comment by MaMe on August 29, 2008 at 18:32: I agree with the staff ratio is a key factor to quality care, I'm lucky to have a family day carer, who looks after 3 toddlers only. My daughter has built a postive relationship with her, as she has spent more time compared to those with 5 kids. However I doubt if the increase on wages will push up the standard.
Apart from this, my parents are willing to assist us unfortunately they are non-residents here. It is very difficult for them to stay here. I wonder if government can implement new visa policy to allow overseas grannies. Grannies are great help in family!

Comment by Emma on August 29, 2008 at 19:32: I totally agree with Robins comments and it is great to see a respected person in the field speaking out for children. So often we talk about mother's or fathers needing to go back to work for whatever reason, money, time out etc., but rarely do people discuss why we put children in intitutionalised care , for their own needs. Who are we really putting children in care for? Is it for us or them? And if we look at it completely from a child's perspective, what needs would a Baby or Toddler have met by being put into child care? I once read a book by a very clever author 'Raising Babies' that said babies and toddlers in a child care centre recieve only approx eight minutes a day of one on one time with a carer. Does that sound like quality care to you? And I wander how many needs could actually be met in this time, especially the emotional needs, that will shape the person they will become and how they will relate to others. I am now a stay at home mum, but I worked in Long day care for eleven years prior to having my son and I believe that the ratios are the number one problem. Another problem is the large amount of extra work carers are required to do that actually takes them away from the children, including paper work and cleaning. It is a very stressful job, that even the greatest child care worker finds challenging at times, and the burn out rates are high. It is very hard to keep good staff because of the wages and working conditions. The good staff usually leave to go into teaching in schools, child care is often seen as a stepping stone to their 'real' career. If we could create better conditions, not just by increasing wages, but with better child staff ratios, more recognition as professionals, more time to do the extra jobs required, I think the child care industry could be great and parents could feel good about thier choice.

Comment by DB on August 29, 2008 at 22:16: The demand for daycare is only going to increase in our society, so it is inevitable that the system needs to be improved dramatically with the staff to child ratios in this country is sub standard for a developed country such a Australia. As mentioned in this article, many staff tend to focus on getting through the days routine rather than caring for the children’s needs. In our experience, men make terrific carers at daycare. A tustle with a fun loving male carer at daycare is just as valuable to a child in care as is listening quietly to a story. The carers who deserve a big pay rise are the ones who are always up for a cuddle and a bit of silliness.
Parents need to play a more active role in their childcare facility. If a relative or a nanny was caring for your child, then it would be acceptable to enforce your preferences in how your child is cared for. Not enough parents do that at child care and seem to happily adapt to the centres routine and methods. An active parents committee is needed to stimulate participatory feedback from parents which would invariably support underpaid and undervalued hard working staff. They do not have time (let alone the energy) to listen to all the children. Most parents at our centre are successful professionals and the facility can only benefit from the range of expertise that could be assembled monthly for an hour at a parents committee meeting. We have been astounded at how few parents make the time to be involved with the centre and are actively seeking to improve this.
Our son has been in daycare since he was 12 months old and is now three and a half. We both work full time in our own respective businesses and are blessed with terrific grandparents who are always on call. The decision to place our child into care was ours and we thoroughly researched the best options for our son. It has then been our own responsibility to address issues with his care if and when they arise and keep tabs on his behaviour. In hindsight, any unhappiness our son has expressed has been a direct reflection of my own fears and anxiety. Not his own. He is now at the door waiting for us to take him to daycare 30 minutes before we have to leave in the morning and for that his carers should be suitably rewarded.
We have great admiration and even envy for stay at home parents. What tends to be forgotten is that we all make our own choices and are all full time Mums and Dads regardless of whether we are with our children all day during the week. Being a full time parent and a full time professional is a constant juggle and invariably something has to give. Our businesses are successful and our little boy is a balanced, social, and happy and soul; so we can’t be doing too much wrong.

Comment by Julie on August 31, 2008 at 14:23: "Common sense tells us that a care-giver's enthusiasm for a baby or toddler's development cannot match that of the parents' when it is something seen every day as part of the job. Expecting anything else is unrealistic". I have to strongly disagree with this comment made by Robin Barker. I have worked in Child Care for 14 years & I NEVER tire of seeing a child take their first steps, say their first word, admire the different styles of crawling or moving across the floor and watch how their drawings go from scribble to something identifiable. I love the first time that they say your name and begin to communicate with you, and when their Parents ask their child who is their friend at Child Care or who did you play with today and they say "Julie" I feel very touched. If I was bored with watching children develop as Robin is suggesting, then I dont think that I would still be working in Child Care. We may see children develop every day, but every child is different and they all develop in their own way and at their own rate, and that is what makes every child special and what makes me want to come to work everday.

Comment by Pam on September 2, 2008 at 21:22: I work full time with toddlers and I love it. I am not there for the money but for the passion. The ratio is 1 to 6 children in my toddler room. I am able to spend time with each child and they all get equal attention, love and heaps of hugs. Parents are happy that their children love coming to play with me and all their friends.