In a recent poll conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide, respondents were asked to rate nine different child care options on a scale of 1 to 10. When a recent Newsweek poll asked parents where they turn for advice and guidance about how to raise their children, they reported seeking guidance from grandparents, relatives, friends and religious leaders. And day care centers, which offer the care that professionals lobby the government to pay for, are the last place in which most parents would like to place their children. The fact that fewer than 15 percent of the nation's children are cared for in child care centers attests to that. The vast majority of parents are content to manage their child care affairs without government intervention.
Parents can manage their child care responsibilities.
Not according to parents. Seventy percent of parents surveyed by Newsweek said finding good day care is no problem at all. Finally, the most comprehensive survey ever conducted on child care reported that 95 percent of all low-income parents are satisfied with their current child care arrangements. The latest proposals by the professional advocates will do a lot more for those advocates than they ever will for children. Take, for instance, the center's recommendation that up to 25 percent of any new federal child care funds be earmarked for worker salaries.