Local child care workers are breathing a sigh of relief after the Ontario government reversed its decision to change ratios and age groups for child care legislation.
Education Minister Liz Sandals said Wednesday that the government received “extensive” feedback on proposed new daycare regulations and they will not be implemented as posted. The government was proposing putting children in toddler rooms starting at 12 months old, and kids at 24 months into pre-school rooms with four and five year olds.
Registered Early Childhood Educator Alicia De La Hamaide started a petition against the changes locally.
"I was incredibly proud of everything that we've done from starting this petition and all across Ontario people have been making efforts to stop these changes," says De La Hamaide.
De La Hamaide says there are still changes pending so she is keeping a close eye on any proposals that come out.
"Reading it I'm being more cautiously optimistic now because there's still changes pending, we're just waiting to see exactly what they are going to be," says De La Hamaide.
She says the current infant and toddler room age ranges make sense for childhood development.
"Up until 18 months these kids they need to be transitioning into daycare, they need to be weaning off bottles, and having that lower ratio will allow staff to assist these children the best that we can," says De La Hamaide.
