Less expensive childcare and more flexible opening hours could persuade more parents to work, according to an online survey of over 4,000 households by the Flemish authorities.
Researchers used data on more than 70,000 children for the survey.
In 2019, 75% of Flemish children attended a childcare facility, in the vast majority of cases so that their parents could work.
On the contrary, a quarter of children of childcare age were not attending pre-school institutions, their parents having time to look after them themselves or resorting to informal care, by grandparents for example.
Over half of parents who were looking after the children themselves said they were not working or had temporarily interrupted their careers. More than 40% of families also considered that it was a “conscious choice” not to use formal childcare, mainly because of limited confidence in its quality.
For 20% of respondents, it was also a question of cost; 16% had not found a place and 13% had not found a place that matched their working hours.
At the same time, 22% of families who have not yet used childcare would like to do so under certain conditions. In addition, 41% of mothers and 21% of fathers say they would increase or return to work if they did.
Cost and flexibility play a particular role here. For example, almost 12% of those surveyed need childcare outside normal working hours and 13% want to be able to request and cancel a place at short notice.
In Flanders, the childcare sector has been demonstrating for months to demand at least €200 million in additional funding.
