"Daycare is very important for infants when parents are facing difficulties,” says Professor Tytti Solantus of the National Institute for Health and Welfare.
She adds more resources should be given to daycare and organised recreational activities for the young during a recession. Cuts should be avoided.
"If pre-natal clinics, daycare centers and schools function properly, children and the young manage to cope with the stresses of recession much better," says Professor Mika Gissler also of the National Institute for Health and Welfare. Gissler has specialized in research on the alienation of youth.
During the 1990s recession, the government of the day severely cut services for children and the young.
Services for Children Already Strained
An extensive child psychiatric survey on the consequences of the 1990s recession was carried out when researchers determined the welfare of children before and after the economic slump. A total of 1,320 children born in 1981 participated.
The Finnish Academy announced an extension of the survey on Monday. Those who previously took part are now young adults. The research showed economic hardships had a detrimental effect on child behavioural problems.
"Stability is essential for the development of children and the young," says Tytti Solantus. The previous recession confused the lives of many children.
During the previous recession, both staff and children moved around from one school or daycare centre to another. In addition, class sizes increased and teachers had to face a tougher work burden. During puberty, few recreational activities were available due to cutbacks.
Professor Solantus notes that present-day services for children and the young are even more fragile than at the start of the nineties. For this reason alone, she comments, any cuts in services would be even more damaging than then.
”Services for children are already strained to the limit,” she concludes.