Thea Morgan Augustine became a first-time mother in December last year.
A challenge has already developed. Since the baby was born in December, they have no guarantee of a kindergarten location in 2022.
– A neighbor who had a baby in November feels weird getting us a kindergarten spot nine months ago, says Augustine.
He has been in contact with several kindergartens in Nortre Fallow where the small family lives, but it is inappropriate to take them everywhere.
Considering a new baby
After counting it a little and considering the various possibilities, there is now a solution that stands to be the most promising so far.
– An alternative is to be pregnant again. If she can give birth to a new baby by March next year, she says, it will increase with vacations and vacations.
Another alternative is unpaid leave, which many are forced to do in the absence of day care space.
– It is inappropriate for someone living with me to take unpaid leave because he earns more. So I have to do it, and I’ll lose both salary, pension and vacation pay, he says.
Augustine hopes that the longer the leave lasts, the more he will be forced to give birth to a new baby.
– I wish we could decide when we want children according to our own rules, not according to the rules of the municipality, he says.
– The problem of gender equality
Today, as kindergarten enrollment operates, children who reach the age of one by the end of November in the year of applying for a place are entitled to it.
If the baby turns one year old in August, the baby will get a place by the end of August.
Conversely, if the baby is born in December, there is a risk of having to wait until next year.
– We should continue to have kindergarten admissions and regain the freedom of choice for families here, says Himanshu Gulati, MP for Frp.
In Parliament: Himanshu Gulati in Sorting in early April this year. Photo: Torstein Po / NTP
He believes this is a major gender equality issue as some families run the risk of having to wait several months to get a place in kindergarten.
– Most mothers take unpaid leave, and many do this. He says mothers need to have kindergarten seats ready if they want to go to work.
– Cost 6.6 billion
Elise Bjørnebekk-Waagen Parliamentary Representative of the Labor Party.
He agrees that current kindergarten enrollment would be better – but believes it will not be so easy to resolve quickly.
– I totally agree that continuous recording is the best. Our research around this shows that this will cost 6.6 billion kroner and that we will need 25,000 additional kindergarten seats. This is because you have to run the kindergartens with vacancies, have the seats ready when the new kids arrive, and insists that the biggest alternative takes place in August in relation to the start of school.
He says he hopes it will be resolved in the long run – but it is clear it will not be resolved from one year to another.
– There are major downsides to taking unpaid leave, and he says we know starting a kindergarten is good for families and children.
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