Child care in Denmark: “Children – some facts”

Document produced by the Danish Social Democratic Party

Read the suggestions to improve the lives of children in Denmark 


We believe that it is important to use children’s everyday lives, and the conditions affecting their lives, as the starting point and create solutions with the aim of improving children’s welfare.

Welfare for children is about creating the best possible conditions for the development and well-being of each child.

This includes children’s right to a decent physical environment, healthy food, the right to exist in a socially safe world of adults and contemporaries, and their right to physical expression through play and interesting activities. These are the rights of children put into practice. We call it ‘children’s right to quality’.

More than 80% of all children aged 0 to 6 attend some form of day care. Prevention is a central part of Danish social democratic children’s policy, as the strengthening of the relations between parents and the new-born child are, as well as the increase of special educational support in day care services which will enable to spot children at risk even earlier than they do today.

We want a healthier life for children. Fighting obesity, in particular,

- The creation of stable networks of contact for children
- Ensuring substance and quality in children’s lives
- Increasing the effort to help children and families at risk

There is a growing conflict between working life and family life, and many children’s families experience everyday lives lacking in quality. Children demand attention, extra care and support, or their behaviour is of a kind that requires special efforts by the professional. Children and their parents are hit by welfare reductions because of city councils’ limited economy. Children do not take sufficient physical exercise; this can lead to serious consequences for their physical development including obesity, learning difficulties and a reduced immune system.

In particular there are several thousand children and their families from ethnic minority groups who are financially hurt by the maximum level of benefits. This results in poverty, deprivation and the risk of poor development in children’s health.


FACTS:

- More than 80% of infants currently attend day care services
- Increasing numbers of day care centres introduce more days of closure due to economic reasons
- Almost 25 per cent of girls and 20 per cent of boys aged 6 to 8 are overweight
- More than 18.000 young children receive specialist help. Two thirds in need of this support are boys. Almost half is due to speech impairments. One third is due to language difficulties.



SIX AIMS TO IMPROVE CHILDREN’S LIVES

We have created six aims that must become the basis of a new children’s policy in Denmark.

As future government we want to implement these aims in the sequence we prioritise. We have developed a 10-year investment plan in Danish children aged 0 to 6.

1. All children shall have clear-cut rights of quality when they are in day care services; among others, there has to be more staff, healthier food and a better environment for play, expression and development.

2. We have to reduce the number of sick days in young children attending day care services. The target is to reduce this by at least 20 per cent.

3. Children of non-Danish ethnic background should attend day care services as much as Danish children do.

4. Day care services must be of such high quality that the number of children in need of specialist support when they start school is reduced to a maximum of 5 per cent.

5. More children have to be of a healthy weight when they start school. The number of children who are overweight must be reduced by at least 30 per cent.

6. The participation of fathers during children’s first years of live must be increased so that fathers on average take 8 weeks paternity leave with their child.