The Social Affairs Bureau (IAS) has suggested that local parents refrain from putting their children into nurseries before they are 2 years old.
During yesterday’s TDM radio program, Choi Sio Yuen, head of the Society Mutual Assistance Department of the IAS, reported that nearly one-quarter out of 7,700 local babies who are currently under nursery care are younger than 2 years old.
Choi explained that children aged below 2 years old have a relationship of dependency with their parents. Such a relationship is related to the children’s mental and physical development, as well as their moral development.
Choi stated that the period before babies are 2 years old will never be compensated for once it is missed.
Currently, Macau has a total of 62 childcare centers providing a total of 11,000 positions. The number of positions corresponds to 57% of Macau’s population aged below 3 years old.
The IAS is continuously adjusting the ratio between full-day and half-day childcare. As of the end of 2020, the IAS hopes to adjust the ratio between full-day and half-day care from the current 80:20 to 85:15.
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