Denmark: A report this week highlighted the lack of affordable childcare in Ireland. So how do they do it in Denmark? Brendan Killeen explains.
Childcare in Denmark may be the best in the world, but a recent report which stated that it was also the cheapest ignores the huge tax burden the Danes have to bear.
Jo Riber, from Scotland, has been living in Denmark for five years, where she is married with one son. She admits to missing lots of things about home, but she will never move back, at least until her children have grown up.
"Thomas, my husband, would love to live in the UK for a while, but he has no idea of the reality of living there with young children. There is just so much more pressure in Scotland from work. Juggling family and work is much less of an issue here," she says.
Thomas, a civil engineer, works 30 hours a week, while Jo, a technical writer, works a standard 37-hour Danish week
The highest tax rate in Denmark is 63 per cent. The top rate cuts in at just above the average wage and almost 40 per cent of the people who are fully employed are in this tax bracket. Tax cuts in 2004 reduced the average rates a little, but Danes still have much less money to spend than their Irish counterparts.
The positive side is a "nanny state" in the true sense of the word which offers some of the most extensive childcare anywhere.
From the age of six months until they are in their teens, Danish children benefit from a series of state-funded programmes which include after-school care and youth clubs for older children.
Jo Riber's 3½-year-old son, Tobias, attends børnehave, or kindergarten, for 35 hours every week - something she has mixed feelings about. "It does worry me that he spends so much time in care, but the quality of the service is so good that I can live with it," she says.
Each room in the børnehave caters for 17 children and has one trained childcare supervisor and two helpers. Tobias goes on a tour every Wednesday and he also spends some time outside every day, irrespective of the weather conditions.
"Tobias's development has been incredible since he started børnehave a couple of months ago. They don't just play with the kids, they actively try to develop their social skills, and there is a lot of emphasis on independence," Jo Riber says.
"Tobias has his own clothes-basket, his own section of the cupboard. He has to know where his shoes go. It frightens me that my little three-year-old is becoming independent, but that's Danish society - there is much more of an emphasis on developing social skills than on education until the children start proper school at seven."
Denmark has one of the highest maternal employment rates in the world, but women still bear most of the child-minding responsibilities.
Anette Vraa-Jensen is married with two children, Malthide (6) and Gustav (2). She is pregnant with her third child and will soon be going on a year's maternity leave from her job with a medical company.
"Men still make more money, so my husband's career comes first. However, I want to work too. I am not housewife material, as I would go crazy at home all the time, but the facts are that the Danish system is set up in such a way that we both have to work," Anette Vraa-Jensen says.
Childcare is so ingrained in Danish culture that even parents who are not working send their children into the system.
"It's accepted here that this is the best way to 'socialise' kids and teach them how to interact with other people. If they were at home all day, they would be the centre of attention, and I think their egos would become enormous from all the special attention. In day care, they understand from early on that they are part of a community in which they have to get on with other people. Besides, if the kids were not in day care, they wouldn't have anybody to play with, because there are no other kids around," Anette Vraa-Jensen explains.
However, the high taxes mean that Danes have to watch how they spend the disposable income they are left with.
"I buy all of Tobias's clothes in Scotland, because there is no VAT on children's clothes there. So it is a lifestyle decision. People here have fewer cars, don't go out much, buy a lot fewer non-essential items every week, but overall it is a good life, especially for a child," Jo Riber says.
But whether the Danish approach can survive indefinitely is a matter of some conjecture. In a recent report - "The Global Challenge: The Case of Denmark" - the Confederation of Danish Industries concluded that Danish society was completely unsuited to the challenges of globalisation because of the burden of high taxes and a work culture which puts the family first.
On the other hand, the report says that Ireland is primed for success in this regard.
Ultimately, however, success is a matter of how one defines the word.
CASE STUDY: ANETTE VRAA-JENSEN
What type of childcare do you use?
Malthide goes to school and to after-school care at the same school for children aged 6 to 10. Gustav goes to a day nursery for children.
How many hours a week is each child in care?
They are both in day care for about 40 hours a week.
How much does this cost per week/month?
Day nursery costs about €445 for 12 months a year, which is approximately 30 to 33 per cent of the total cost. My local authority pays the rest. After-school care costs about €80 per month for 11 months a year. As we have two children in childcare, we only pay half the price for the cheapest place.
Who provides the care?
Our kommune (local authority).
How long did it take to get places?
When you start school, you are automatically offered a place in after-school care. We moved house recently and were offered a place at a nursery in the new kommune four months before we actually needed it. So we just accepted it, and Gustav started four months after that.