In a country that presents the family as a priority, the steps taken by the government to ensure its survival are minimal
The question of who will look after the children during the summer months and on school holidays has returned to the forefront of the debate in recent days.
The catalyst was the fact that this year, the first school bell is taking a long time to ring. With children in public preschools and elementary schools set to cross the school threshold on September 14, since, according to the law, elementary schools open for students on the second Monday of September.
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The fact that schools close for summer break in mid-June, and the school year begins in mid-September is something that inevitably concerns thousands of families every year. This is because annual leave ends, and businesses, services, and offices return to their normal work routines. But what about the children?
Who will safely look after the children? What happens when there are no grandparents or other trusted friends to keep the children occupied for more than 8 hours until their parents return from work?
The options available to parents in September are extremely limited, since most summer schools have closed by the end of July and do not operate in September.
The vacation puzzle doesn’t add up when combining both parents’ vacation days. The math is simple: an average of 22 days for the father and 22 days for the mother equals 44! Schools, however, are closed for 81 days. These 81 days include summer vacation, school holidays—not public holidays—such as Easter, Christmas, the Three Hierarchs, the Archbishop’s Feast Day, the local feast day, the Ascension, and the Feast of St. Barnabas. The 22 days allocated to parents must also exclude the days when children are sick during the school year and are required to stay home for the sake of both their own health and that of their classmates.
And if we also consider single-parent families and parents of children with special needs, the situation there is even more difficult.
Parental leave is an option for some parents; however, the fact that the process for receiving the benefit takes time puts a strain on the family budget.
Given these circumstances, the recent post by Krista Theofanopoulou—a working mother of many children and an influencer—about the problems faced by the majority of parents was telling. However, it sparked a wave of backlash in educational circles and among a segment of society that took offense at parents complaining about this social problem, which families with young children experience every year.
However, the survey conducted by the online group Family Network—coordinated by Ms. Theofanopoulou and involving 3,000 citizens—demonstrated the scale of the problem.
One of the most significant findings of the survey is that 10.4% of elementary school children have had to stay home without adult supervision during this period. It is illegal and a criminal offense if the lack of supervision puts the child’s safety or health at risk; however, parents have no other choice. At the same time, the survey notes that 66% of parents find it very difficult to cover the cost of summer school.
These findings should be a cause for immediate concern for the relevant authorities, who must seriously commit to finding solutions.
The summer schools proposed as a solution are not accessible to everyone. And the numbers are there to confirm this. There are large municipalities with six elementary school districts and only one summer school.
Certainly, the role of the school is to provide a well-rounded education, and the acquisition of skills—not merely to provide childcare during the summer months; however, the state has a duty to protect the institution of the family through other means.
Of course, we do not downplay the efforts that have been made. In recent years, steps forward have been taken, but they are too small for us to be proud of them.
We live in a society that proclaims that the family is a priority, yet at the same time, the steps taken by the government to ensure its survival are minimal and do not address the needs of all families.
For example, while parents were publicly highlighting the problem they’ve been facing for twelve whole years, until their children entered middle school, reports and accusations against modern parents poured in: “They’re bored with their kids,” “schools aren’t daycare,” “if there were boarding schools, they’d send them there so the parents could have a good time.”
It’s sad and disappointing to see working mothers—who care for their families, get involved in the community, and demand what should be a given—being treated with such disdain.
“Modern moms have woken up,” they say, and they want it all.
Well, no—today’s moms haven’t even had a chance to sleep yet. From the day their child is born, they face challenges that by 2026 should already have been resolved. Maternity leave, searching for and finding a daycare center, is one of the major problems for new families.
There are many parents out there who don’t mind taking care of their children, who want to spend quality time with them, and who have a wonderful time with their children.
All of these factors play a significant role in the low birth rate, the decline in Cyprus’s population, and the fact that there are more elderly people than young people. Add to this future equation the pension system of the coming years and the foreign workforce that will be called upon to work to meet our country’s needs. Then, please don’t ask for change—it will be too late.
