I recently wrote an opinion piece I had published on Vísir’s website (a popular news outlet in Iceland). In it I discuss my feelings on the state funding for playschools in Reykjavík and urge voters to choose political parties that understand and value the importance of adequately funding playschools.
The article on Vísir is published in Icelandic - the English version is below.
English Version of Article#
There is a city election coming up, and now is the time to speak about the troubling state of the playschool system in Reykjavík.
In my son’s playschool, a full five-day week is an exception, not the rule. Seemingly once a week the children are sent home because too many staff are away sick. This has been the reality for some time now, and the introduction of the shortened work week has only exacerbated the problems in an already brittle system. Families, many of whom do not benefit from a shortened work week, depend on this system and it is failing them.
This is not a rant against shorter working hours. I want better conditions for all workers, including those that care for the children in our society. My argument is one of basic arithmetic: if you were failing to provide a full week to begin with, and then plan to shorten working hours without increasing headcount, there is no way you can provide the level of service families need. This is not an opinion, this is just basic math.
This is not a pro-work argument either. I would spend every day with my son if I could afford to, but today we live in a society that demands not just one household income, but usually two. The economic system our leaders have let unfold requires this of us. When the playschools cannot provide service it leaves families without a paddle - both parents are expected to be working full time, but also working less than full time to accommodate for the gap in childcare services. This is incredibly destabilizing for households, doubly so for those with less-than-sympathetic employers.
The pragmatic solution to this problem is by no means mysterious to anyone that has spent more than five minutes thinking about it. The playschools need more staff. In order to have more staff, they need more funding.
What escapes me is the silence from Iceland’s more left-leaning parties on this point. Where is the frank public conversation about funding? Where is the open and honest acknowledgement about what running playschools in our economic system actually costs? I want the best care for my child, and everyone else’s children. I’m fully prepared to pay what it costs, because I don’t have any other choice in our economic system. So tell me, what does it cost?
The current situation leaves families scrambling on a weekly basis to juggle work and the needs of their children. Some will respond: caring for children is hard and time-consuming; you knew what you were signing up for. I’d say, as cliche as it may be, that children are our most important resource. Without the next generation we have nothing. Any problems we have are irrelevant if there is no one to solve or experience them. The literature on population decline is sobering - the consequences can be existential, and reversing it is not something easily done.
Iceland has not been able to maintain a stable birth rate since the 1980s. The gap has been filled entirely by immigration, and we see the same pattern in most western countries. It would be extremely naive to think that immigration is an unlimited resource. As living standards across the world improve, fewer people will feel they need or desire to leave their homes. The math just doesn’t work out, it can’t be the case that most countries will depend on immigration - someone has to be having children.
The conclusion, if we follow the logic, is that we must create more attractive conditions for parents. Children are foundational to every single aspect of our lives and continued existence. If you don’t think the best investment you can make is in making sure your society produces enough children, you haven’t done the math right.
Funding our preschools isn’t an ideological question, it’s a pragmatic one. I’m more than prepared to pay. Are the people asking for your vote prepared to do the same?