April in Review

During the month of April, as part of a continuation of my Families Forward Grant project, I began to research the topic of global childcare, in preparation for an article I'll be publishing during the month of May. The research I've been conducting and the information I've gleaned has been illuminating, and it's clear that the system of childcare in the United States leaves many families with few options. There are many countries with systems of childcare more comprehensive and accessible than ours, and at the same time, there are developing countries that struggle with issues of childcare on a much larger, more grave scale. According to ODI.org, there were 671 million children under the age of five in 2016, and the number has obviously only continued to grow since. Around the globe, the domestic work of women, including child-rearing, goes uncompensated, and women continue to bear an enormous burden, as only a very small percentage of the world's population can afford to outsource their childcare. Globally, there are over 35.5 million children under the age of five being left at home without adult supervision, and in parts of Ethiopia, for example, more than 50% of rural girls aged 5-8 are stuck caring for their younger siblings. Meanwhile, in the United States, children whose parents can afford to send them to preschool are unknowingly awarded a type of "head-start" that children in more impoverished countries aren't privy to. In developed nations, studies on the "importance of play" are ubiquitous, while in developing nations, working mothers are struggling to find supervision for their children, not worrying about providing their young children with "maximum stimulation" or "socratic playtime." Clearly, the range is vast, and I'm looking forward to finishing my article, which breaks down the issue of childcare on a more "nation-to-nation" basis.

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