Half of Finnish pre-school children go to day care

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By Jussi Niemeläinen
     
      Statistics show that only about half of Finnish children under the age of seven go to day care.
      Just over one precent of children are put into day care before the age of one. In 2003, 718 children of that age group were in municipal day care, which is the most common type of day care used in Finland.
     
In light of the results of a Swedish study made public earlier in the week, the Finnish figures might be a cause for concern. According to the study, an early start in high-quality day care was found to be beneficial for a child's development.
      Swedish Professor Emeritus Bengt-Erik Andersson followed the progress of children who had started in day care at different ages over a period of more than 20 years. He found that 70% of those who started day care at the age of five or less did well in school, adapted well, and had good social skills.
      Only 38% of those who were cared for at home fared as well. About half of Finnish children fall into that category.
     
Nevertheless, Finnish experts in the field are not losing sleep over the findings.
      "In Finland parents have the right to choose. We have a subjective right to day care, but the state also supports parents who keep their small children at home", says Anna-Leena Välimäki of the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES).
      "Subjective right" means that parents can decide whether or not to put their children into day care. The existence of a choice is a political decision.
     
So what should a parent choose?
      "Home care, if parents think that it is a good solution and that it suits the family's situation", says Tuula Tamminen, professor of child psychiatry at the University of Tampere.
      Otherwise, good-quality day care, as long as the days are not too long.
      Tamminen says that there are many studies about institutional day care and care at home which come to quite opposite conclusions.
      Bengt-Erik Andersson said the same thing. Quality usually means that there are not too many children for each member of staff, and that the environment provides stimulus, the people working there are well trained, and do not constantly change.
     
Tamminen feels that the key consideration is to maintain good quality of day care, and not to bicker about the differences between home care and day care.
      Soile Oleander, chairwoman of the Association of Kindergarten Teachers in Finland, agrees.
      "The home is the most important growth environment, but life nowadays is arranged in such a way that it is not the only one. Care outside the family does not cause problems for children if it is of high quality."
      The children of Andersson's study were in day care in the late 1970s and early ‘80s. The time could be seen as a golden age of the Nordic day care system.
      "Today, professionals no longer have the time or the possibilities to implement what they know to be good and high-quality day care", Tamminen says.
     
But how does a housewife react to the study?
      "These types of care should not be pitted against each other", says Minttu Mali of Tampere. She is member of the executive of the Tampere Association of Full-Time Mothers. A kindergarten teacher by training, she has opted to stay at home with her children.
      "Those who stay at home do not live in a barrel; children go to clubs and meet others."
      Could schoolteachers confirm or deny Andersson's findings? Not very well. Finnish privacy legislation prevents teachers from knowing if a pupil has ever been in day care.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 16.4.2005

More on this subject:
 No alarm clocks needed!
 FACTFILE: Municipal day care predominates in Finland

JUSSI NIEMELÄINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
jussi.niemelainen@hs.fi