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The revelation that Australian children who spend 40 hours a week in childcare struggle with social competence and emotional maturity is certain to exacerbate concerns about the childcare sector.
A federal Department of Education study pinpointed the potential negative impact of 40 hours but it also found children clocking up more than 30 hours risked an increase in developmental vulnerability rates that can predict worse longer term mental health, wellbeing and academic outcomes.
But to little surprise, the study found it was the quality of childcare that mattered.
It found centres that offered lower quality care also increased the likelihood of making a child developmentally vulnerable in physical health, language and cognitive skills. Higher quality services reduced the average child’s risk of developmental vulnerability by some 6 per cent, compared to attending lower quality care, the report found.
As concerns mount about the sector, childcare is shaping as a major political policy battleground in which the Albanese government is expanding financial support for childcare and the opposition is canvassing alternatives to subsidised childcare, including vouchers for nannies or family members, income splitting, extending paid parental leave and tax breaks.
The largely for-profit industry has been hit by setbacks including the 2008 collapse of ABC Learning, and recent scandals surrounding alleged abuse after which childcare enrolments at the end of last year fell for the first time since the pandemic.
Over the years, research findings on childcare have been consistently upbeat, but the federal study finding on the impact of 40 hours a week in childcare showed the benefits of formal childcare were not necessarily uniform for all children of all ages and backgrounds.
The latest study provides no point of comparison but the alternative might be more time at home with parents who are already financially stressed, which is not necessarily ideal.
One of the simplest ways to boost the economy is to give parents access to jobs. Yet, the way we have now come to structure our society – the demands of jobs and the high cost of living and housing – mean there is little doubt that many families need two incomes and have few or no alternatives other than to rely on childcare.
For that reason, advocacy group The Parenthood’s Georgie Dent has called for a renewed focus on boosting quality in the sector because, for many families, reducing hours is not realistic. “When a parent is blocked from the workforce, there is a much higher risk of financial insecurity … and when mothers are engaged in work, it is often very good for their mental wellbeing,” she said.
Additionally, there is also research that shows that attending childcare and preschool is actually good for children, particularly if they are close to school age, so this study should not undermine parents’ faith in childcare in general.
It is up to government and businesses to ensure that parents are able to work flexibly, and to push the industry – much of it large profit-driven centres – to ensure the provision of high-quality care.
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