Parents lashed over kids’ hotel

A families advocate has called the introduction of 24-hour childcare "sad", describing it as an outcome of selfish parenting and faulty Government policy.

Bob McCoskrie, national director of Family First Lobby, said the plans of Aucklander Sandra Jane to open a 24-hour childcare facility and children's hotel in Parnell highlighted the need for a debate on current childcare policies.

Ms Jane has gained council consent to use two floors of a Heather St apartment block to run Miracles, which will cater for children aged from 3 months to 14 years.

Day care and evening babysitting facilities would be available, and children aged between 4 years and 14 years could be booked in for overnight stays.

Parents and childhood education experts said the venture was a sign of changing work patterns and family arrangements, but Mr McCoskrie said 24-hour childcare was "simply parental selfishness".

"I sometimes question why adults bother to have children if they aren't prepared to be parents. Children involve sacrifice, change of lifestyle, and more of a 'we' focus than a 'me' focus," he said.

"The sad part is we're thinking only about the adults ... no one's looking at what effects it will have on the kids."

Overseas research has found children in daycare were more likely to have behavioural problems, he said.

Mr McCoskrie accepted that some parents might need such services, but said Government policy also needed to make things easier for parents to raise their children without relying heavily on childcare.

Ms Jane said her centre would give parents vital quality time together.

"[The parents] are happier, in which case the children are happier, and if the children are happy in my kid's hotel, the parents are going to be happy. That circle just keeps going."

She had no plans for a time limit on a child's length of stay at her children's hotel, but did not expect parents to book their children in for long periods.