The email below arrived in early August 2012. I thought it deserved a wider audience so I asked the writer for permission to reprint it here. This is an issue that will not go away, and which must be discussed, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us feel or how angry. Children and their happy childhoods should not be a topic that we run away from, ever.

Childcare after the age of two is fine in moderation according to the experts. Thereafter, more and more of it is also OK, as I see it, so long as it’s in non-profit, well-resourced centres with happy, well-qualified, long-term staff. The one major problem for me, and all the others who care about the well-being of young children, is extensive care at a very young age. So here’s the email…

Hi Mem,

I am writing to you because you are the one person who has had the courage to stand up to an issue I believe is getting completely out of control.

Lately, 24 hour Childcare has shown up in the media. I was genuinely shocked to see an overwhelming show of support for what I believe is a sad reflection on our society.

There were many comments on an article I read such as “this is bliss”, “fantastic”. Who made these comments and to whom were these comments directed? How can anyone say “this is bliss” when they are talking about children waking up to strangers and babies in an overwhelming amount of care, to the point I think many may become institutionalised?

I am sad for these children, and the cavalier attitude parents have
regarding small children being completely outsourced to random strangers is shocking.

I am not living under a rock, and I understand the immense financial
pressures facing families, however, doesn’t a line have to be drawn
somewhere? Long hours of Childcare or Childcare at all for the young should be seen as a last resort and not as a standard part of raising children. I believe all children deserve a peaceful childhood & if nothing else the right to sleep in their own beds at night.

I also wanted to say we love your books and we recently had a Green Sheep birthday party for my children who I *gasp* raise at home 365 days a year. Because to me, they grow far too quickly. I am blessed.

Hope you are well,

Bridget Cash