Publications

This COVID-19 Digest explores this 'crisis of care'. It examines the evidence that has emerged in recent years on how COVID-19 has affected the care that women and children provide and receive. 12 studies, selected from the Innocenti's Children and COVID-19 Research Library, are highlighted to provide insights into several dimensions of the crisis that are highly relevant to children's well-being and that can provide lessons for responding to other types of crises that the world is facing or will face in the future. 
 
The pandemic, associated lockdowns, and other containment measures have had a disproportionate impact on the care and domestic work of women, particularly those who experience other intersecting inequalities, including race, class, gender identity, and location. This Digest examines the impact of the pandemic on gender imbalances in paid and unpaid work, focusing in particular on vulnerable and marginalized women and girls. Whether care and domestic work are unpaid in the home or paid, limited public or private investment in care services increases the cost of meeting families' care and domestic needs. These activities are overwhelmingly carried out by women and girls worldwide, affecting their educational and employment prospects and creating gender inequalities in leisure time. They are usually carried out without any monetary compensation or are paid at low rates. They are also likely to increase in the face of shocks and stresses such as those experienced by COVID-19.

Even before COVID-19, some of the world’s richest countries were failing to offer comprehensive childcare solutions to all families. In some instances, this reflected their policy priorities rather than available resources. The COVID-19 pandemic also challenged children’s education, care and well-being as parents struggled to balance their responsibilities for childcare and employment, with a disproportionate burden placed on women. In the context of lockdown and school closures, childcare was one of the worst affected family services and had a significant knock-on effect.

This report shows how governments can help parents through paid parental leave, followed by affordable and high-quality childcare. Using the most recent comparable data, it assesses the parental leave and childcare policies in the 41 high-income countries that are part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) or the European Union (EU). The report concludes with nine recommendations for how policies can be improved to provide comprehensive solutions to all families.

Early childhood development is a driving force for sustainable development due to its multiplier effects not only on children but also on the community and society at large. Access to ECEC alone is insufficient for achieving positive child outcomes – it must also be of high quality. This Brief aims to summarize the key points of ongoing debate on this issue, and outline some of the challenges faced by high-income countries. A step towards a more holistic monitoring of ECEC would be to develop a coherent national strategy that recognizes diversity while addressing disparities; to respond to the needs of both child and family through strong partnerships with parents and ECE practitioners; and to apply measurement tools that capture a child’s engagement rather than test readiness.

A great change is coming over childhood in the world's richest countries. Today's rising generation is the first in which a majority are spending a large part of early childhood in some form of out-of-home child care. At the same time, neuroscientific research is demonstrating that loving, stable, secure, and stimulating relationships with caregivers in the earliest months and years of life are critical for every aspect of a child’s development. Taken together, these two developments confront public and policymakers in OECD countries with urgent questions. Whether the child care transition will represent an advance or a setback for today's children and tomorrow's world will depend on the response.

La génération montante d’aujourd’hui est la première dont la majorité passe une grande partie de la petite enfance dans un type de structure de garde extérieure au foyer. Parallèlement, la recherche neuroscientifique démontre l’importance capitale, pour tous les aspects du développement de l’enfant, de l’établissement de rapports aimants, stables, sécurisants et stimulants avec les personnes qui s’occupent d’enfants au cours des premiers mois et années. Considérés ensemble, ces deux éléments obligent l’opinion publique et les décideurs politiques de l’OCDE à faire face à des questions pressantes. C’est en fonction de leurs réponses que la transition en cours dans la garde et l’éducation de l’enfant se traduira, pour les enfants d’aujourd’hui et ceux de demain, par une avancée ou un revers.

Un grande cambiamento è in corso per l’infanzia nei paesi più ricchi del mondo. La maggioranza della generazione adesso in fase di crescita è la prima a trascorrere gran parte della prima infanzia in strutture che se ne prendono cura fuori della propria casa. Allo stesso tempo, la ricerca sulle neuroscienze dimostra che un rapporto amorevole, stabile, sicuro e stimolante con le persone che si prendono cura del bambino nei primi mesi e anni di vita è fondamentale per ogni aspetto del suo sviluppo. Questi due fattori pongono domande urgenti alla opinione pubblica e ai responsabili delle politiche dei paesi OCSE. Se il cambiamento nella cura dei bambini rappresenterà un progresso o un’involuzione per i bambini di oggi e il mondo di domani dipenderà dalla risposta a tali domande.

A geração actualmente em formação é a primeira em que uma maioria passa grande parte da primeira infância em alguma estrutura de cuidados for a de casa. Ao mesmo tempo, as investigações da neurociência estão a demonstrar que as relações afectuosas, estáveis, seguras e estimulantes com as pessoas que cuidam da criança nos primeiros meses e anos de vida são cruciais para todos os aspectos do seu desenvolvimento. Considerados em conjunto, estes dois desenvolvimentos confrontam o público e os autores das políticas dos países da OCDE com questões urgentes. Saber se a transição para os cuidados for a de casa irá representar um avanço ou um recuo – para as crianças de hoje em dia e para o mundo de amanhã – dependerá das respostas a essas questões.

Se está gestando un gran cambio en la infancia en los países más ricos del mundo. La generación de hoy en día es la primera en la que la mayoría recibe durante gran parte de la primera infancia algún tipo de cuidado infantil fuera del hogar. Al mismo tiempo, las investigaciones neurocientíficas están demostrando que las relaciones afectuosas, estables, seguras y estimulantes con los cuidadores durante los primeros meses y años de vida son esenciales para todos los aspectos del desarrollo del niño. Conjuntamente, estos dos avances plantean cuestiones urgentes al público y a los políticos en los países de la OCDE. Dependiendo de la respuesta que se les dé, la transición en el cuidado infantil representará un avance o un revés para los niños de hoy en día y el mundo de mañana.

The Innocenti Report Card 8 presents ten benchmarks for early childhood services. It represents a bold first step towards the ultimate goal of improving the lives of young children by enabling international comparisons to be made in the early childhood field, thereby encouraging countries to learn from each other’s experiences. The current paper provides some critical reflections on the challenges involved in establishing the principle of standard-setting in the early childhood field and suggests factors that should command our attention as the principle - as is hoped - becomes established and the process of standard-setting matures.

In comparison to the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) systems of many other advanced economies the German system can be characterised as relative uniform, when looking at programmes and providers. But in other ways, there are considerable variations. There are considerate regional differences in governance, funding, and attendance rates, in particular with respect to certain socio-economic groups. This paper describes and evaluates these differences, mainly from an economic perspective and also taking child well-being into account.

Betreuung und Bildung in der frühen Kindheit war lange Zeit im Westen Deutschlands ein Thema, das wenig Aufmerksamkeit fand. Weithin herrschte die Vorstellung, dass Kleinkinder zu Hause versorgt werden sollten. Aufgrund von Warnungen, die von Kinderärzten und Bindungsforschern kamen, wurden junge Kinder nur in dringenden Fällen in Krippen oder von Tagesmüttern betreut. Eltern, die solche Einrichtungen in Anspruch nahmen, hatten oft ein schlechtes Gewissen.

De generatie die nu opgroeit, is de eerste waarvan een meerderheid een groot deel van haar vroegste kindertijd doorbrengt in een of andere vorm van kinderopvang buitenshuis. Tegelijkertijd toont neurowetenschappelijk onderzoek aan dat liefdevolle, stabiele, veilige en stimulerende relaties met verzorgers tijdens de eerste levensmaanden en jaren cruciaal zijn voor alle aspecten in de ontwikkeling van een kind. De combinatie van deze twee ontwikkelingen confronteert de samenleving en de beleidsmakers in de OESO-landen met een aantal dringende vragen. Wordt deze overgang naar kinderopvang en onderwijs een vooruitgang dan wel een achteruitgang voor de kinderen van vandaag en voor de wereld van morgen? Veel zal afhangen van hoe op deze vragen zal worden ingespeeld