At the same time as the municipal council decided to abolish the municipal supplement for home care of children under 2, the early childhood education club activities operating in Kirkkonummi were also discontinued. In the clubs, children aged 2–5 had the opportunity to play with other children and participate in early childhood education 2–3 times a week.
Could higher fees have kept the clubs running?
Since the club activities were abolished through the budget approval process, cost was certainly a factor. However, the club activities were not free for parents — a club fee was charged. Could higher club fees have covered the costs, allowing the club activities to continue?
Why does club activity serve the child’s best interest?
Club activities are also a matter of children’s best interests. Recent research agrees that at least children aged 3 and over benefit from early childhood education compared to peers who are cared for at home. Parents do not always, for one reason or another, place their children in kindergarten, but club activities like these also give those children the right to early childhood education. When it comes to children and young people, we must always consider their best interests alongside costs.
Services aimed at families with children also attract more families to the area, keeping the municipality vital and enabling more services to be provided for all municipal residents.
What is actually being saved by cutting club activities? The monthly club fee was a few tens of euros — considerably cheaper than a full-time kindergarten place. At the same time, research shows that gaps in early childhood education manifest at school age as challenges in language development and social skills. In other words: the less that is invested in early childhood education, the greater the costs that arise later in schooling and support services. That is an expensive saving.
Let’s keep Kirkkonummi a family-friendly municipality and restore the early childhood education club activities!
I have written more about early childhood education: about the home care allowance supplement , about the adequacy of early childhood education , about the shortage of kindergarten teachers and about the consequences of saving on children . Read more in my posts on early childhood education .
Published in Kirkkonummen Sanomat on 11 February 2021.
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