September is the time to weed out contradictions in child-care policy

Lithuania’s political left and right agree that families need support as the birth rate falls. Yet the country’s existing child-care system contains contradictions that the article says should be addressed first.

Lithuania inherited a dense network of municipal kindergartens from the Soviet era. The situation is more difficult in Vilnius, where the number of young residents is growing and children struggle to find places in municipal facilities. Almost one-fifth attend private kindergartens, while another 3% to 4% are cared for by formally registered nannies. There are no statistics on informal care provided by unemployed mothers or other relatives.

The different forms of child care receive different treatment in social policy. Municipalities maintain public kindergartens, while the central government contributes a subsidy of several hundred euros toward education costs. Parents generally pay about 70 to 80 euros for meals. Six-year-old preschool children, as well as first- and second-graders, are entitled to free lunches regardless of family income. Younger children in kindergartens do not receive the same universal guarantee.

The article questions the logic behind that division. It notes that children from low-income families may receive municipal help with meal costs when household income falls below the state threshold of 349.50 euros per person. Families must prove their financial hardship, however, until the child turns six and the state assumes responsibility for meals. At the same time, the state provides 385 euros a month to parents who can afford private nanny care. A nanny usually costs about 1,300 to 1,500 euros a month.

The proposed reform would restrict nanny subsidies to cases where no kindergarten place is available and would tie the amount to parental income. The article says even minimum-wage families should be able to hire a nanny in that situation, so they are not forced to leave work. Supporting high-income families, it argues, wastes public money. A similar concern applies to private kindergartens, where the government provides the same education subsidy as for municipal facilities and Vilnius adds another 120 euros toward fees of roughly 700 to 800 euros a month.