It is believed that the future of any nation largely depends on the shoulders of the younger generation. One of the vital roles in the development of the personality of a toddler, preschool kid, or a school beginner is played by infant child care at an early stage. This aspect is necessary in a child’s development, but it is largely taken for granted and overlooked. Child care provided at an early stage in the child’s life helps the toddler develop a stronger mental, social, and psychological outlook to life.

Usually, it is seen that the infant child care system assists parents who are career oriented and have younger children to be looked after. However, infant child care does more than that, by fueling up the workforce and preparing to improve the future economic conditions of the nation. If statistical data is to be believed, more than 12 million infants and children of the country are being looked after by people other than their parents almost the entire day.

What does child care do?

• Child care feeds the growing brain of a child and lays the necessary foundation required for their development and learning, which helps the child at every stage of life.
• A child care provider is considered to be a child’s first teacher in helping with the early development of the child.
• If the provided child care is of excellent quality and is professionally conducted, it not only helps develop a good foundation for a child but also paves the path for future success in the child’s life.
• A child care provider who starts their work at the initial stages of a child’s life makes the child mentally, psychologically, and socially strong.

What do high-quality infant child care centers do?

• As the child grows, the progress in the child’s life determines whether the qualified infant child care provided has made the child grow brighter.
• Larger sections of toddlers of the country are being cared for in the in-home child care settings, which proves to be a hindrance in their development.
• 75% of the children are in the high-quality infant child care centers.

Who benefits largely from good-quality infant child care centers?

• Children who belong to families that go through great stress, have poor resources, and low income are the ones who are at stake when it comes to their proper development.
• These are the children who benefit from qualified infant child care centers.

What is the situation of the infant child care centers’ market?

• Most of the infant child care centers’ expenses are more than the college tuition fees of a child at State University.
• This situation is observed in Washington DC and 33 other states in the country.
• Understanding the opportunity, the infant child care center market is wanting to help families who are in great need of such assistance.
• However, this situation still persists to remain the same where infant child care centers are being tagged as affordable for 49 states in Washington DC.

What are the disadvantages faced by low-income families?

• Out of every 6 eligible children of low-income families, the child care assistance reaches out to only one, and the numbers continue to drop drastically.
• Tax credit, on the other hand, does not provide any solution to the problems of the low-income families.
• Because of minimum or no federal income tax liability, many such low-income families do not avail the benefit of the current child care credit.
• Even if tax benefit is provided, it is not sufficient to meet the actual cost of infant child care.

What are the reforms that can be taken to improve the condition?

• The Administration and Congress should come together and commit themselves to create a child care system that understands the role it plays in the early development of a child. It should guarantee that good quality service to children whose family’s income otherwise makes them compromise on the quality of child care system.
• This will solve the problem of the working-class parents and pave the path to the economic independence of the nation.
• This reform also guarantees that the future workforce generation, which comprises of today’s toddlers, attends schools and institutions, well equipped and ready to move toward success.