Guests of this issue:
Director of the Institute of Preschool Education of Beijing Normal University Hong Xiumin
Researcher Hu Hongwei
Researcher of the National Governance Research Center of the National Institute of Development and Strategy of Renmin University of China
Yu Yinyin
1. The demand for infant care is huge and the market supply is seriously insufficient
Guangming Think Tank: A survey shows that the current enrollment rate of infants and young children in various care service institutions in my country is only 4.1%, and nearly 80% of infants and young children are cared for by their ancestors. "Being willing but unable" care for children has become a hidden concern for a generation of parents. May I ask, why are the above problems present? What is the overall situation of the current baby care market? What bottlenecks need to be broken through?
Hu Hongwei: From a social perspective, with the establishment of the socialist market economic system, in order to promote enterprises to become the main players of market competition and alleviate the excessive burden of corporate welfare, my country has accelerated the socialization process of social security and established a social security system in the true sense. During this period, the childcare service institutions run by units gradually closed, while the childcare service institutions run by society are not sound enough in terms of quantity and quality, which has led to a serious shortage of supply in the childcare service market.
From the perspective of the family, the family has developed towards a trend of miniaturization and coreization, and its ability in infant care has also declined accordingly.
From a market perspective, the infant and child care service market has problems such as large initial capital investment, low return rate, long cost recovery cycle, and high industry risks, which also limits the development of the childcare service supply system.
From a regulatory perspective, my country's previous lack of a unified and complete policy support system and service standard system has also restricted the development and development of the infant and young child care service market to a certain extent.
At present, it is necessary to improve the supply status of my country's infant and young child care service market through systematic policy support, mechanism construction, and factor investment, improve the quality and professional level of services, and promote universal infant and young child care services; through improving systems, standards, supervision and other aspects, focus on improving service standards, standardized construction and talent team building; by improving the labor and employment market support for infant and young child parents in terms of work and salary, we will increase the guidance for infant and young child care in family.
Hong Xiumin: Some provinces and cities have begun to pay attention to the development of infant care services and guide childcare institutions to develop in a standardized and orderly manner, but overall, there are still many contradictions that need to be resolved urgently: the contradiction between high childcare supply and universal demand. There is currently a shortage of public institutions and private institutions charge high fees, which is a heavy burden for families with relatively low incomes and rigid demands; the contradiction between the growing demand for high-quality childcare and the uneven quality of childcare institutions in the family. Parents have increasingly high requirements for the quality of childcare services, but the quality of the childcare market is worrying, and the degree of professionalization and professionalization of practitioners is limited, and there are even certain health and safety risks; the contradiction between single supply services and diversified childcare needs. The current childcare services provided on the market are not only small in quantity, but also in a single form, and cannot meet the diversified needs of different families.
Yu Yinyin: Judging from the actual situation, the care of infants and young children under the age of 3 in my country is mainly based on informal care, and mothers are the main caregivers, and grandparents participate in care, with four becoming the main caregivers. Especially after the liberalization of the universal two-child policy, infant care has added more burdens to the family. At present, there is a serious shortage of infant and young child care institutions in my country. At present, the quality assurance of private institutions is insufficient, the charging prices are high, and there is no clear legal basis for approval, supervision, specifications and standards. In terms of talent training, there is a large gap in nanny teachers, a low entry threshold, and unguaranteed service quality.
2. New policies release new dividends. Market development welcomes opportunities.
Guangming Think Tank: Some netizens reported that the quality of the baby care market is uneven. The high fees for the baby care institutions with good quality are high, and the quality of the care of the institutions with low fees is worrying. What dividends has the newly issued "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of Care Services for Infants and Children under 3 Years Ages" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") released by the state for the development of the infant care market?
Hong Xiumin: Promote the standardization and professional development of care services.On the one hand, establish standards and specifications for infant and young child care service institutions, institution filing and registration systems, information disclosure systems and quality assessment systems, implement dynamic management of infant and young child care service institutions, and promote the standardization of infant and young child care service institutions; on the other hand, gradually promote the access system for the qualifications of care service personnel, and ensure and continuously promote the professional development of infant and young child care services.
increases the supply of diversified and diversified infant care services. Qualified social forces are encouraged to open childcare service institutions in various forms, local governments are encouraged to build, renovate and expand a number of infant and young child care institutions and facilities, support enterprises and institutions to hold infant and young child care services in their own venues, and encourage and support kindergartens with conditions to extend downward and recruit children aged 2 to 3. These all provide strong support for improving the structure and filling in the shortcomings of the infant and young child care market.
Establish and improve management and guarantee for infant care services. It is clearly proposed to include infant and young children's care services in relevant economic and social development plans and target responsibility assessments, and establish a management mechanism and organizational guarantee led by the national health department and coordinated by relevant departments. These measures are conducive to streamlining the management mechanism of infant care services, implementing management responsibilities, and promoting the establishment of a long-term mechanism.
Hu Hongwei: The "Opinions" is an overall plan to promote and ensure the development of infant and young child care services in my country in the new era, and brings huge opportunities to the infant and young child care service market.
is conducive to reducing industry development costs. The "Opinions" outline a complete policy support system, encourage local governments to increase support for the infant and young child care service system through tax and fee reduction, rent reduction and exemption, and at the same time proposes to include the land for infant and young child care service institutions and facilities construction in the land use master plan, urban and rural plan and annual land use plan, and give priority to guarantees, and meet the land use needs of infant and young child care service institutions through various channels, thereby reducing industry costs.
is conducive to the cultivation of professional care talents. The "Opinions" propose to expand the enrollment scale of relevant majors in secondary schools, cultivate practitioners with a high degree of professionalism, and establish a complete talent training system. These policies will help improve the level and stability of the practitioner team.
Yu Yinyin: The "Opinions" were issued in a timely manner, which released dividends for the people's livelihood needs of children: it clarifies support and guidance for family care, such as encouraging employers to flexibly arrange work hours, fully implement maternity leave policies, and carry out household guidance, parent-child activities, family classrooms and other activities; it clarifies support and guidance for community care and early education, and provides clear support from the aspects of urban and rural new community planning, land guarantee for early childhood education housing in the renovation of old communities, and complete facilities; social forces are encouraged to hold multi-form, multi-level and diversified child care institutions to meet the needs of families for infant and young children's care services.
3. Avoid "cold acceptance" to return to work so that children can have children
Guangming Think Tank: giving birth and caring for children requires a lot of energy to women, and at the same time, the work pressure has not been reduced at all, and it is possible to face various "cold acceptance" after returning to work. The newly issued "Opinions" protects parents' right to take care of infants and young children. What institutional arrangements do you think employers should make to make parents truly feel at ease and warm?
Yu Yinyin: The issuance of the "Opinions" is undoubtedly beneficial to children, parents and the nation. Henan Province officially implemented the "Henan Province Special Provisions on Labor Protection for Female Employees" on November 1, 2018, and provided full birth subsidies for female employees during the childbirth period. However, there is still a long way to go to implement good policies. At present, the labor costs of operating enterprises and institutions are getting higher and higher, and the implementation of the "Opinions" will inevitably increase the number of employees and increase operating costs. In addition, there are very few child care institutions with reliable quality and accessible prices, and the cost of child care is comparable to or even exceeding the salary level of female employees, which will inevitably cause difficulties in employment and postpartum return to work.
can encourage institutions to run their own breastfeeding rooms, etc., which not only improves the quality of breastfeeding, but also makes it easier to reserve space for some qualified transfer workers to take up their posts, and also reduces the cost of childcare. It is also possible to strengthen early childhood education courses in children's rehabilitation institutions and rehabilitation areas, use medical rehabilitation resources to perform early childhood education, and make up for the gap in early childhood education resources.
Hu Hongwei: The "Opinions" encourage and support employers to provide employees with welfare infant care support, and improve the internal institutional arrangements of the unit based on the two time nodes during and after the childbirth of employees. Employers should establish a work protection mechanism for childcare employees, implement maternity leave policies and relevant support policies of governments at all levels, focus on ensuring work content, intensity, work connection, etc., and provide necessary support for childcare employees to return to their posts.
Hong Xiumin: It is very urgent to introduce supporting policies. This is an important measure to alleviate the employment pressure of women and ensure the balance between work and family for women of childbearing age. For example, we can refer to international experience to promote the sharing of paid parental leave between men and women, and encourage men and women to share the responsibility of parenting. In February 2019, the "Notice on Further Standardizing Recruitment Behaviors and Promoting Women's Employment" issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice, the Commission for Health and Health issued the "Notice on Further Standardizing Recruitment Behaviors to Promote Women's Employment" prohibits employment gender discrimination in the recruitment process in accordance with the law and provides policy support for employment of infant women. It is possible to consider giving certain tax incentives to enterprises based on the childbirth leave of female employees to balance the rights and interests between workers and employers. It is also possible to consider paying female employees' wages during maternity or parental leave by the State Finance or the fertility fund in proportion or in a fixed amount. For women who have left their posts and returned to their families, women can be supported to return to their posts through special employment services actions and the development of public welfare positions.
4. Drawing on the stones of other mountains, we will build a good atmosphere for infant care
Guangming Think Tank: According to statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average enrollment rate of 33 countries in OECD in 2014 reached 33.77%, far higher than the current level in my country. What experiences do we have in infant care abroad worth learning from?
Hu Hongwei: Under the influence of the social development concept of "child first", child welfare and services have always been regarded by developed countries as one of the core contents of social welfare. Taking France as an example, France's infant and toddler care system is mainly composed of two parts: collective and individual, both of which are built, operated and managed in accordance with national unified standards. At present, France has formed a "three-three system" (3 months to 3 years old) infant and toddler care system, which includes day care nurseries from Monday to Friday, and also a 24-hour round-the-clock care center. These infant and toddler care institutions are generally set up in residential areas and serve community members nearby. The government provides the same policy support for public and private infant and child care institutions. France's good infant care support system is also one of the important reasons why France's total fertility rate is higher than that of neighboring Western European countries. The case of
has given us a lot of inspiration: at the macro level, we design and implement the development plan for infant care guarantee from the perspective of the national population strategy and social development strategy, and build a fertility-friendly society and an infant care-friendly society from the aspects of policy system construction, standardization and standard construction, systematic resource investment, and all-round factor incentive integration. At the policy level, the government supports the implementation of policies such as land planning, industry guidance, paid leave, and maternity allowances, establishes a periodic subsidy fund, urges the market to implement flexible working hours, and implements a support mechanism for infant and child care. At the same time, it is also necessary to realize that the construction of the infant and young child care system is a systematic institutional arrangement, which requires reasonable division of labor between the government, communities, enterprises and families. The family is the basic unit and main supplier of infant and young child care. The society should play a supplementary role after the "spillover" of service demand, encourage social capital to enter, and establish a multi-form and multi-level infant and young child care service system as soon as possible.
Hong Xiumin: The development of infant care services has become an important issue that many European and American countries pay attention to. A series of social welfare policies focusing on care services have been introduced and implemented one after another, which is worthy of reference in our country. At present, various forms of childcare service models and projects abroad provide families with flexible and diverse care service options, such as public childcare institutions, private day care centers, family care centers, etc. The community-based childcare care network is gradually being built and improved, focusing on incorporating family-style childcare services into the childcare service system of the entire society, implementing the family childcare service certificate system, and ensuring the quality of family-style childcare services.The non-profit childcare service system has been further improved, and public finance has been tilted towards vulnerable families, making full use of parental leave, parental leave and childcare allowances or reductions of part of childcare costs to alleviate the contradiction between childcare service demand and supply. In addition, some countries and regions with high economic and social development also pay special attention to infants and young children with physical and mental disabilities, learning disabilities, and slow development defects, and pay attention to meeting their special needs.
Yu Yinyin: In the process of implementing the early start plan, the United States has conducted particularly strict reviews on early education personnel, including criminal records, child abuse records, and sexual crime registration inspections. At the same time, a career assessment mechanism was introduced to test the practitioners' mental health level, professional interests, professional personality and ability tendencies. In order to further improve the quality of practitioners, the United States stipulates that the validity period of infant, toddler, and child development assistant certificates is 3 years, and will be updated every year thereafter to ensure that teachers have the latest care skills in a timely manner.
From this, we can get the following inspiration: It is necessary to strictly review the professional qualifications of carers. It is recommended to pay equal attention to nanny certificates and academic qualifications and include them in the academic education and professional title promotion sequence to ensure the quality of teachers; establish a system for renewal of infant qualifications and form a lifelong learning incentive mechanism. When formulating qualification standards for early education personnel, it is possible to consider implementing a probation period system to clarify the validity period of the qualification certificate, and to stipulate that after the validity period of the qualification certificate expires, the prescribed training must be completed before re-applying. It is also possible to consider combining the re-education mechanism with the professional title assessment mechanism to mobilize their enthusiasm for professional development.
