A fun 'moving diaper' competition
entertains both adults and
children.

Children love story-telling activities
at day-care resource centers.

Day-care centers take care of
children under the age of 2.

New mothers take an infant
massage class.

Pitching women and children's welfare for a 'happiness home run'

Words by Zhang Ru-ling
Translated by Angela Cheng
Photos by Social Affairs Bureau,
Taichung City Government

"The bright moon is hanging high in the sky, where the moon goddess Chang'e resides, you are the bright pearl in our palms that we embrace and never let out of our sight. We hope that you'll be smart and capable, and can't wait for you to grow up. We hope you'll be cute, healthy and active, and never have to worry about sickness." All children are precious to their parents and, no matter how difficult their finances may be, they always give the best to their kids, whether it's clothing, food, housing, transportation or education.

A mother of two children posted this on Facebook: "Taking care of two kids at the same time has made me completely break down. I am totally unable to enjoy the fun of parental leave and just want to cry out. Should I give up my job, or send the children to day-care?" This statement triggered much sympathy among other moms, who shared that there were many families facing the same life dilemma of the dual responsibilities of parenting and work, just like burning a candle on the both ends.

Another new full-time mother also stated: "I'd like to send my 3-year-old kid to kindergarten and then return to the workplace, but there is the question of whether to go to a public school or private school?" Many families are stressed by the possibility of paying tuition, as some public kindergartens are too far from their homes. This has caused low-income families to face hard choices.

Seamless subsidies for children under 5
With social changes, Taiwan's fertility rate has decreased, raising the threat of an unbalanced future population make-up. Therefore, the government has encouraged child-bearing, in the past promoting family planning with slogans like "one is not much, two kids are just right" and a main goal of reducing growing population pressures. Now, however, two-child families have been unable to stop slowing population growth, so that "two kids are just right, and three are not much".

But raising a child in Taiwan is costly, with day-care and kindergarten fees alone costing about NT$13,000 to NT$16,000 per month. If the family has two children but only one wage earner this is unaffordable. With 70% of children attending private preschools, tuition is a big burden for many parents. With changing family structures, day-care is not just a family responsibility, with the government also needing to promote an ideal day-care environment, comprehensive support policies and a welfare system to reduce families' burdens and enhance the quality of such services.

In light of recent developments, the happiness index is growing again already for families living in Taichung. Besides receiving babysitter or day-care center services for infants under 2 years old since 2013, parents will receive "day-care services for a reasonable price" allowances of NT$2,000-3,000 per month. Taichung City Government also first plans, before other cities and counties, to offer preschool and parental subsidies for 2-to-4 year-old kids, with a maximum monthly preschool allowance of NT$3,000 and day-care allowance of NT$2,500 per month. This will allow tots under 5 years old to enjoy a seamless subsidy program and will undoubtedly attract admiration and envy from parents in other counties and cities.

Double day-care welfare and exclusive preschool allowances
It's commonly said "education should start early" and in recent years Taiwanese have been paying more attention to preschool options. Due to work, many parents have no time to take care of their children or to help them get well-prepared for elementary school. However, enrollment policies at Taichung public kindergartens follow the concept of expanding compulsory education, so that 5-year-olds have priority admission and younger kids don't. Enrollment is opened for younger kids only if it is available. Thus, the majority of 2-to-4-year-old children have not been able to enter public kindergartens and parents must choose to send their kids to private alternatives.

In order to alleviate the child-care and continuing-care burden on parents, the Taichung City Government Bureau of Education has decided to provide a NT$3,000/month allowance for these 2-to-4-year-old children to attend private kindergartens, thus reducing burdens on families who have to use this option. The Bureau of Social Welfare is also offering a NT$2,500/month subsidy to those families that have 2-to-4-year-old children without an education allowance and low income families having an income tax rate of less than 20%. In addition, for 5-year-old kids attending kindergarten, the Ministry of Education is implementing a tuition-free plan for public kindergartens and a NT$30,000 per year subsidy for private kindergartens. Doubled preschool and education allowance benefits towards expanded education will truly alleviate pressures on parents and young families.

Happiness home runs: Perfect children's welfare
Emulating the spirit of Taiwan baseball, children from newborns to the age of 5 enjoy seamless subsidies in Taichung. A "first base" hit provides a maternity allowance of NT$10,000 per child, NT$30,000 for twins, and NT$20.000/child for triplets as more, and free day-care service is offered to a maximum of 40 hours per month and 240 hours per year. The "second base" hit offers reasonable daycare subsidies and a maternity allowance for children under the age of 2. Specially-announced "reasonable day-care allowances" for Taichung residents may vary by city district, with private day-care providers not permitted to subsequently raise any fees. Subsidies of NT$2,000-3,000 for parents sending children under 2 to assist with babysitting or daycare centers, plus a daycare allowance from the Ministry of Health and Welfare means that each family can get NT$2,000-8,000 in allowances per month. The "third base" hit provides day-care or education subsidies of NT$2,500-3,000 each month for 2-to-4-year-old children.

In the end, the seamless return to home plate has 5-year-old children enjoying free-tuition benefits. If a child over 5 attends a public kindergarten or enrolls in a subsidy-qualified private kindergarten, they could get NT$15,000 in tuition subsides each semester. "Extra subsidies for economically disadvantaged children" of NT$5,000-15,000 are provided to disadvantaged families according to family income levels. The coverage of childcare subsidies in Taichung is the highest in Taiwan, so that newborn babies to 5-year-old children in the city can get various daycare subsidies whether parents care for their children by themselves or send them to a kindergarten. This continuous support for parents is expected to benefit a total of 123,625 residents, as this complete children welfare system scores a big "happiness home run".