Sweden’s model of providing universal, State-subsided childcare does not produce the best outcomes for 
children, parents or society, a Swedish author and consultant has told a conference on childcare organised by The Iona Institute.
The conference was titled After Prime Time; What Type of childcare is best for children?
Jonas Himmelstrand said that the Swedish government’s policy, in which 93pc of preschool children between the ages of eighteen months and five are in creches or other daycare centres, has not proved successful.
His comments come amid suggestions from leading members of Government to divert State money from Child Benefit to day-care.
Mr Himmelstrand said that, while Sweden topped international charts on a number of measures, recent figures showed that Swedish children were performing less well in school.
He also said that health statistics were increasingly showing that the psychological health of Swedish teenagers was increasingly poor.
Caring for children at home was strongly discouraged both socially and by government and health officials, he said.
As a result, the State had taken over the care of children, with a consequent loss of confidence by parents in their parenting skills and a diminishing of the quality of childcare as resources declined.
Also speaking at the conference, Professor Norín Hayes, an expert on childcare, said children did best when they were exposed to “quality home, quality childcare and quality school”. Having two out of these three was better than having only one, and in turn, having only one was better than having none, Professor Hayes added.
She said that a number of US studies which show impressive benefits from preschool education focused on children “largely from disadvantaged backgrounds”.
Professor Hayes also pointed out that there was research showing that long hours in childcare could lead to behavioural problems in children.
More hours in childcare, particularly when coupled with early entry into non-parental care, “has led to higher levels of behaviour problems in children at certain stages of evaluation,” she said.
Toby Wolfe, from the organisation StartStrong, which campaigns for more investment in childcare and preschool education, said that he was opposed to any further cuts to Child Benefit.
He said: “We also need to prioritise measures that help families move out of poverty. Such measures must include both financial supports, which is one of the reasons that StartStrong is opposed to any further cuts to Child Benefit.”
Journalist and author Victoria White said that she believed that Ireland needed to move to an economic model in which families could again be supported by only one income.
She said: “I think as a society we should go back to, as a big aim, looking for the ability of families to survive on one income.”