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All childcare in France is subsidised, more affordable than here and tailored to suit each individual family, writes David Robbins
Serious Francophilia -- love of all things French -- began in earnest in the 1970s, when Irish people began to take holidays there in large numbers.
On their return, Irish people would rave about the French road system, the rail system, the health system, the education system, and that was before they got on to the food, wine and scenery.
More recently, the French attitude to young children has been held up as an example of the way a culture can produce well-behaved, well-mannered young people.
In her book, French Children Don't Throw Food, published earlier this year, American journalist Pamela Druckerman explored the French system of early parenting and childcare.
What she found made uncomfortable reading for followers of the Anglo-American child-centred school of child-rearing.
French babies sleep through the night, eat anything put in front of them, don't have tantrums, and their mums are not constantly exhausted.
The reason? The French system does not indulge instant gratification. Babies are made to wait for everything, even if only for a little while. It is not assumed that the child is the only consideration in parental life.
The same, no-nonsense approach informs their childcare system. It is assumed that mothers will want to work, or at least to have substantial time away from their children. Over 75pc of French mothers go back to work after their first child; the number declines the more children they have.
France has a complicated system of state-aided childcare. It is delivered by the local authority, and therefore can vary from region to region and from city to city. Overall, there are three levels of pre-school care.
The most basic is the halte-garderie, which "is not a full crèche", explains university professor and mother-of-two Karin Fischer. "It is aimed at families where one partner isn't working. The mother can drop her baby in for up to three half-days a week just to get some time to herself."
Halte-garderies are subsidised by the local authority, but they are not free. Depending on the area, fees are between €2.50 and 80 cent per hour.
Next up is a proper municipal crèche, which is again operated by the local authority.
Christine Lorre, a university lecturer living with her husband and three children in Paris's 10th arrondissement, has sent all her children to crèche.
"You apply to the marie (town hall) for a crèche place, and you are told that you are zoned for one of the municipal crèches. There is a shortage of places, so you cross your fingers," says Christine.
"The wealthy arrondissements have a better ratio of crèches, so there is a better chance of getting a place. But Bertrand Delanoe, the mayor of Paris, campaigned on the issue of a fairer distribution of crèche places, so it's getting better," she adds.
What you pay for your crèche place is means-tested and depends on your income. If you're a top earner, the fee is close to €600 per month per child; on a more moderate income, it's about €400.
That compares to Irish figures of €995 (Dublin southside), €600 (Galway) and €830 (east Cork).
"The crèche system is really great," says Christine. "What you pay doesn't cover the crèche's expenses -- the city contributes a lot. I think it's crucial to have a policy like that."
The third approach is to avail of the system of assistance maternelle -- a kind of subsidised child-minding.
Karin explains: "The assistance maternelle is run by someone who is properly trained in child care, who is allowed to look after a set number of children in her own home. It is for the under-threes, and when my kids were doing it, it cost about €500 per child a month from 9am to 4pm."
In Paris, however, the cost of the assistance maternelle is higher. "We call them nannies," says Christine, "and they cost a lot more than a crèche. Yes, they are registered and subsidised, but they could still cost about €800 a month."
-reprinted from the Irish Independent