Debate, Kindergarten | Children first

Opinions This is a debate post. The post expresses the writer’s views.

Buttons and glossy images are nice things. We can play that the buttons are money. We can stick glossy pictures on the water bottles and take decorated bottles on trips. But it is possible that we have been a little unclear, and that the city council has interpreted us a little wrong. Yes, we are creative, but no, we cannot finance the operation of the kindergartens with just buttons and glossy pictures.

Sick leave in Bergen kindergartens is high. We know that. If it is to go down, and not up, then there must be money to get substitutes when someone is away from work. Nevertheless, we are now being told that we will often have to manage without substitutes. There is not enough money to hire someone.

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Sounds the alarm: – We can’t make it go around. The parents don’t know how bad it is

So what do childcare workers do? We stretch. Spreading ourselves as thinly as we can. Collaborates across departments.

Children first. Always the children first. Our health comes in a distant second place – and suddenly sickness absence increases again. But we have to manage with those who are at work, nevertheless.

The city council’s savings measures first. No, it was wrong, I mean of course the children first.

We are stuck determined that we will give the children good days. Then it comes in handy that there are cultural offers in the municipality that are free for kindergartens. We can go to VilVite, the children’s cultural center, and even the Aquarium.

The only question is whether we can afford to use these cultural offerings. Taking the light rail to the center costs money – we don’t get far with the buttons. If we actually manage to scrape together enough for light rail tickets, let’s hope there are enough people at work that day.

The kids understand, of course. Many may think that 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds can be a bit emotional. But as soon as I explain that the reason we can’t go to VilVite is because we have to finance the city council’s cut in property tax, they come to terms with the situation immediately.

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Eivind is prone to running out of money: – Obviously demanding

Up in everything this here, it’s a bit surreal to see the city council discussing whether we should have evening-open daycare centers, or “evening-open childcare” or whatever they end up calling it.

Personally, I would have liked to have ensured that the nurseries could actually operate within the current opening hours, before we discuss completely new offers, but it is possible that I am a bit too demanding.

Fortunately, the city council has a solution to these challenges: notification of deviations. “On days when the municipal kindergartens are unable to ensure sufficient staffing, deviations must be reported,” says city councilor Daniel Hägglund.

So great. Then it will be solved.

While my colleagues and I are busy exhausting ourselves, we can be happy that we can send a deviation on that. Finally someone who addresses the issues.

The prospect of get anything other than buttons and glossy images are not so good. But we are creative. We find the solutions. We prioritize the children first, and that goes a long way.

Until then no longer going.