368 Eunice Avenue, Dieppe NB E1A 5V6
Tel : (506) 387-8738 ■ Fax : (866) 595-3101 ■ E-mail : jody.dallaire@rogers.com
www.nbccc-csgnb.ca 

MYTHS AND REALITIES ABOUT CHILD CARE

Myth 	Mothers should not work		
Reality 	The reality is that mothers do work. Over three quarters of mothers with young children work in New Brunswick. Many families today find that two incomes are essential to maintain a sufficient standard of living.	

Myth	Children will suffer if they are not cared for by their mothers	
Reality	This is a classic "maternal deprivation" theory, which maintains that mothers are the only people that can take care of their children. In reality, children do spend - and always have spent - substantial periods in the company of other adults, i.e. fathers, grandparents, relatives, friends and neighbours. 

Mothers have always shared the responsibility of caring for their children with other adults out of practical necessity. Mother-child bonding is not at risk simply by virtue of a mother working.	

Myth 	We did not need child care in my day	
Reality 	Two decades ago, parenting and work patterns of families were very different. Work patterns were more stable and extended family members such as grandparents were available to help out with child care needs. 

In 2002, only 15% of New Brunswick households consisted of a husband in the workforce and a spouse at home full time. Many grandparents themselves are still active in the workforce and are therefore unable to provide care for their grandchildren. Child care is a necessary support for the majority of today's young families.	

Myth 	You had them, you look after them	
Reality 	Having children is not purely personal. Society gains from sharing the concerns of parents for their children since these children are tomorrow's taxpayers, citizens, caregivers and productive workers. 

For example, compulsory public education recognizes the important social resource found in an educated workforce. Just as society as a whole benefits from education, it will also benefit from the provision of quality child care.	
Myth 	Individual parent vouchers or child care tax breaks are the answer to today's child care needs 	
Reality 	Tax breaks and vouchers do nothing to increase the supply of child care or more importantly, the quality of child care. 

A voucher or a tax break assumes you can find a quality child care option in your community that meets your family's needs. What we need is the support to develop options for individual communities.	

Myth	Child care benefits only working parents and their children 	
Reality 	For decades stay at home parents have used nursery school programs, used flexible drop in programs for emergency care, occasional care or respite care. An integrated child care system supports all parents whether they choose to work outside the home, work from home or be home caring for their children.	

Myth	Our province can not afford child care programs 	
Reality	New Brunswick cannot afford not to develop child care programs. It's a "pay now, or pay later" scenario. Support families now in raising healthy children, or pay the costs in treatment services later. 

Communities will pay the cost of support to families who can not cope with the pressures of work and family responsibilities or for children that have been damaged, either emotionally or physically due to poor quality child care arrangements. 

In the worst case, it can be the payment of a child's life due to a fatal accident involving a child who would not have been in a critical situation if quality child care choices were available. This is the cost that no person, family community, province or country can afford.	

Myth	Child care alone will solve the problem 	
Reality 	It is absolutely true that child care is not - and can not - be a cure-all. 

Child care services should be part of a wide-ranging set of family and employment policies designed to assist parents in meeting their child rearing responsibilities. For many communities, child care is the missing link towards a child's safety and access to opportunities that support optimal child development.