Child care labelled as a form of abuse

Placing babies into childcare is a form of abuse, according to leading Australian children's author Mem Fox.

The author of the best-selling 'Possum Magic' said that she believed society would look back on the trend of allowing infants only a few weeks old to be put into childcare and wonder: "How ...

...we have allowed that child abuse to happen? I just tremble. I don't know why some people have children at all if they know that they can only take a few weeks off work. I know you want a child, and you have every right to want a child, but does the child want you if you are going to put it in childcare at six weeks?

She said a childcare worker had told her earlier this year: "We're going to look back on this time from the late '90s onwards with putting children in childcare so early in their first year of life for such long hours and wonder how we have allowed that child abuse to happen".

"Babies have much higher levels of stress in childcare," she added.

The 62-year-old author said that parents were sometimes disturbed by the trappings of having a baby, such as designer clothing and decorated nursery.

"But do they realise that child needs love more than anything else in the world? It needs love, time and attention," she added.

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