Peppi Azzopardi has strongly criticised Malta’s childcare system in response to a recent homily by the Bishop of Gozo, Anton Teuma, in which he condemned childcare centres for children aged between three months and two years.
Azzopardi argued that the Bishop was not condeming parents that use childcare, as his homily was family and parent-centred, but said that childcare centres were created to sustain an economic model that prioritises profit over family life.
Azzoppardi said that parents are victims who were encouraged into work by politicians who promoted the idea that families could “have a career” while raising children by placing them in childcare.
According to Azzopardi, this model has resulted in a situation where “both parents have to work overtime… just to afford everything in life,” questioning whether such arrangements are beneficial for infants.
According to Azzopardi, families were led to believe that “whilst one works the other can decide to have a career or stay at home and raise children,” but this has since changed. He said that today, “both have to work, even overtime,” leading to a situation where parents are under constant financial pressure.
As a result, he argued, families have been left with limited options, saying, “we only ended up having one choice: to have children or not, and many are choosing not to.”
He highlighted the professional background of the Bishop of Gozo, noting that before becoming Bishop, he “worked every day, seven days a week, with families and children” and specialised in family therapy. Azzopardi said the Bishop’s position was based on experience and study, not clerical status.
Azzopardi described the current system as “an ironic, senseless situation,” where the state pays for childcare instead of enabling parents to remain at home and raise their children themselves. He praised the Bishop for having “the guts to speak up and say things as they are.”
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