How To Care For Kids Isn't Like How To Build A Hadron Collider
There was this tweet a few weeks ago:
@Garybham
Church-exempt (no licensing or inspection) day care centers: in #Alabama 'Anyone can open one'
Ridiculous worry. Ask anthropologist Sarah Hrdy -- mothers and others (like grandmothers, brothers, sisters, neighbors) have been caring for others' children for, like...forever! Throughout human history. Somehow, the human race has survived.
That's probably because we have innate knowledge of how to care for rather than kill small humans.
Yet, the government is all over childcare with regulations on top of regulations, which Mercatus researcher Diana Thomas writes in USNews is driving up the cost of child care for those who can least afford it:
For most lower- and middle-class families, non-parental child care in a daycare center is a luxury that is beyond reach. In Mississippi, the cost of sending a child to daycare equals roughly 25 percent of the income of a family living at the poverty level. In Massachusetts, the same service costs on average 86 percent of the income of a family at the poverty level. The high cost of formal child care at a daycare center leaves most families looking for other options - and those options often include unlicensed, black-market providers.There's a two-class system of child care in this country: high-cost, regulated care for high-income families and lower-cost, unregulated care for lower-income families.
In a new working paper published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Devon Gorry and I investigate what causes the high cost of child care in this country. We find that the regulatory burden daycare centers must meet is one of the primary causes of the high cost of care. We argue that the most effective way for policymakers to end the existing two-class system of early childhood caregiving is to eliminate ineffective rules that don't improve quality but significantly increase the cost of child care.
via @reasonpolicy
"Ridiculous worry. Ask anthropologist Sarah Hrdy -- mothers and others (like grandmothers, brothers, sisters, neighbors) have been caring for others' children for, like...forever! Throughout human history. Somehow, the human race has survived."
None of those people ran a commercial venture. Straw Man.
And the idea that regulations should be eliminated because they are applied in excess, wrongly, or any combination thereof should obviously be wrong (the "bad apple" argument), but the fallacy is called, "division". See the same site as above.
Radwaste at August 19, 2015 10:47 PM
Radwaste, so what? The things a child needs don't change because it's a commercial venture vs the child's home. Children need food, hygiene, and love.
What don't they need? People with degrees in early childhood education. They don't need a certain number or type of toys.
Parents are capable of deciding if it's an environment that they want their children to be in. If it's not, the daycare will go out of business. Simple!
Remember, for most of history, children were raised by uneducated mothers who started giving birth at 14 or 15. They were helped out by relatives, who had also given birth at 14 or 15 and still weren't educated.
The more regulations you introduce, the higher the cost of daycare. The higher the cost, the more subsidies are needed. The more subsidies are needed, the higher the tax rates. The higher the tax rates the less profitable it is for people to actually work. The less profitable it is for people to work, the more likely they are to go on welfare, and then they don't need child care, so I guess regulate away! Only rich people need jobs..oh, wait.
Suzanne Lucas--Evil HR Lady at August 20, 2015 1:15 AM
Suzanne is exactly right. Exactly, exactly, exactly. On all of it.
Amy Alkon at August 20, 2015 4:59 AM
One fear I have with overregulation is where too much attention is spent worrying about compliance and government consequences, a false sense of security that safety has been met, and too little concern for the child because focus is misdirected.
Think of someone so worried about watching their speed to avoid tickets, that they fail to notice their kid isn't buckled in and the brake warning light Lisbon.
Trust at August 20, 2015 5:38 AM
The article itself points out that the number of licensed day cares has dropped from 4,629 in 2000 to 1,805 in 2014. I sincerely doubt the number of children in Alabama has dropped by 50%. So regulation has increased cost by constraining supply. And after putting the cost of day care out of the hands of many parents their kids are now in illegal day cares.
Rad, this is a classic example of over-regulation reducing safety instead of increasing it. Dry cleaning is probably the most classic example. The truth is dry cleaning is a dirty business. The chemicals are dangerous and harmful for the environment. So every few years we outlaw the current batch of chemicals used. But we don't offer an acceptable or approved alternative. So businesses turn to new chemicals that have never been tested. In almost every case the new chemicals have been more dangerous and worse for the environment. So poor regulations have increased danger and damaged the environment. And the trend continues today.
Ben at August 20, 2015 6:41 AM
Trust nails it. A lot of day care centers aren't focused on child care; they're focused on compliance. One thing that gets overlooked is the paperwork burden. It's never the case with regulations that the regulators trust that you are complying unless there is evidence that you aren't. You must prove that you are complying, all the time. And that means boxes and boxes and boxes of paper, or the digital equivalent. For larger day cares, it's pretty much the equivalent of one full-time person just to do the paperwork.
Also... hey, I live in Alabama. Just because someone can start a church-associated day care center doesn't mean that anyone actually does. The sword of liability still hangs over the whole thing. In practice, this means that to defend yourself, you must comply with the regulations, regardless of what the legislation says. I'm only aware of one church-associated day care center in town. Actually, the largest day care center around here is one that's on a military base and operated by the Army, which is also exempt from state regulation.
Cousin Dave at August 20, 2015 6:43 AM
I ran an in-home daycare for many years before graduating nursing school. In TX I think it costs all of about $20 to register your inhome daycare with the state. I refused to do it. It's none of the states business if people want to pay me to watch their kids. (note, that literally just put my name on a list. No home visit, no background check. Just "give us money!").
momof4 at August 20, 2015 7:51 AM
I agree that a parent should be responsible for carefully selecting a daycare. But, how many of the working poor (or even the non-poor working) have the time to thoroughly check out every aspect of the daycare?
So, I think some regulations are needed to see that the commercial daycare centers adhere to some basic requirements. Such as the number of staff to the number of children they take in.
But, I think neighbors who take in just a couple of children really wouldn't need such oversight. They most likely are known to the parents; and aren't likely to endanger the kids as much as a commercial facility might.
It might make sense to have some regulation in place that is similar to what congress does with some labor laws. Some labor rules don't apply to businesses that have less than 50 employees; but, more than 50 employees the rules start to kick in. How about daycare regulations start when someone takes in more than 5 or so kids? One adult might be able to watch 5 kids; but once you start to get near 10 then it starts with being a potential for problems that one caretaker couldn't handle.
I do wonder though; when there is a "crack down" on unlicensed daycares if it isn't because those who pay the fees, obey all the rules, aren't ticked off because they have competition who don't have to follow all the rules or pay for the license.
Truth be told though; My only concern with a neighborhood daycare is a selfish one. I wouldn't want a neighbor to open daycare in which she takes in so many kids that they are disruptive to me! Noisy kids, cars coming and going early morning and late afternoon, etc. Yep, I'm selfish that way - I couldn't care less about your kids; but, I do care about my comfort!
charles at August 20, 2015 8:32 AM
Remember, for most of history, children were raised by uneducated mothers who started giving birth at 14 or 15. They were helped out by relatives, who had also given birth at 14 or 15 and still weren't educated.
But being a parent is The Hardest Job in the World(TM)! We're always being told that!
Kevin at August 20, 2015 9:08 AM
My only concern with a neighborhood daycare is a selfish one. I wouldn't want a neighbor to open daycare in which she takes in so many kids that they are disruptive to me! Noisy kids, cars coming and going early morning and late afternoon, etc. Yep, I'm selfish that way - I couldn't care less about your kids; but, I do care about my comfort!
That's not selfish at all. Open a day care next to me and prepare to have the police called every day. Go rent a commercial space.
The article itself points out that the number of licensed day cares has dropped from 4,629 in 2000 to 1,805 in 2014. I sincerely doubt the number of children in Alabama has dropped by 50%. So regulation has increased cost by constraining supply.
Or it's simply a job that fewer people want to do.
Kevin at August 20, 2015 9:12 AM
Caring for kids is hard. But since when does something being hard mean it needs education or government regulation?
Trust at August 20, 2015 9:31 AM
You know, I've wondered... what is the difference between babysitting your friend/neighbor's kid every afternoon and having a daycare?
Answer: most government folks will say nothing.
Shannon at August 20, 2015 10:24 AM
"Or it's simply a job that fewer people want to do."
I don't buy that for a minute Kevin. Have you looked at the cost of day care? For a two income family it is the sole cost of raising a young child. Everything else is a rounding error. Have you looked at the regulations on day cares? They are ridiculous! Most don't increase safety or even quality. They just drive people out of the market to keep prices high.
And Charles, your 'selfish' concerns are quite reasonable. But they don't apply solely to child care. Anyone making a nuisance of themselves should expect to see the cops. And if they aren't making a nuisance of themselves? Do you care if there are 5 or 50 or even 500 kids next door as long as you aren't bothered? So regulations should be on the nuisances not the type of business.
Texas is a fairly business friendly state. But even there the minimum standards are over 250 pages long plus addendum and sub-booklets. To run a day care you must have some college education in both business and child development. Each 'group' of children must have an assigned care giver. Children may not have contact with children is other groups. The maximum number of children in a group depends on age (either chronological, developmental, or emotional) and varies from 4 (under 1 year) to 26 (over 9 years). If the kids are mixed in age it gets even messier. And depending on what they children are doing there are several pages of tables for how many kids can be in a group.
Note, this is in a business friendly state. I don't have the energy to see what the local LA rules are.
Ben at August 20, 2015 11:38 AM
"Radwaste, so what?"
So, read the fallacy. Use it, your argument fails completely.
Another has noted that they do not want a childcare center operating near them. I guess that means screw them and the zoning board, because there shouldn't be any regulations to Care For Our Children™.
Curiously missing is the "consequences" line of inquiry. Say Beth Ann and Sheila and Uncle Bill open a daycare. Everything's clean, and they know the schedule of every parent.
What happens when there is a personal injury?
What happens when there is a violent crime?
What happens when one toddler says Uncle Bill is too friendly?
What happened when your allergic toddler has a seizure?
What happens when there is a fire, and there was no alarm system or any standards for construction of what is, after all, a commercial property?
All of these things can happen in licensed places - but what is your idea of their alarm response, and what recourse do you have if the operators misbehave?
Oooh. You get to keep your traumatized, injured toddler at home now while you seek another nonstandardized third party operator with no checks and balances to look after her.
This is ridiculous. You will demand every protection possible for your offspring wherever you place them, and the fact that you have choices now is because there are standards for operating those businesses.
Radwaste at August 24, 2015 2:15 PM
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