About us (English)
このページでは浦安保育フォーラムと保育園父母会の役割と活動内容をご紹介します。
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What’s “Urayasu Hoiku Forum”?
Established in around 1985, Urayasu Hoiku Forum, meaning Urayasu Day-Care Forum, is a liaison network of seven parents associations organized on seven day-care centers publicly operated by Urayasu city, Chiba.
“Why don’t we help each other in child-raising?”“We can make a day-care center a better place for our kids if we work together!”
These thoughts of parents led to the establishment of parents association
in each day-care center, and subsequently to the establishment of Urayasu
Hoiku Forum (formerly, Fubokai Renraku Kai). Current member parents associations
include Todaijima, Nekozane, Higashino, Irifune, Tomioka, Hinode and Takasu.
Day-care centers are indispensable for the children and their parents
who are not able to take care of their children by themselves during the
daytime due to their work, sickness, or other reasons. Day-care centers
should be the place where these children are properly cared for so that
they are healthy and happy mentally and physically. We, the parents, hope
day-care centers to be the most reliable partner for us in our child-raising.
Our goal is to put together the thoughts and expectations of the parents
toward day-care centers to make day-care centers better for our children.
What does Urayasu Hoiku Forum do ?
Urayasu Hoiku Forum consists of the following three groups;
“Kaicho-kai” is a group of the presidents of each member association.
The members exchange information on each day-care center and share current
issues.
“Taishi-kosho bunka kai” is responsible for negotiation with Urayasu city.
Semi-annual meeting with city officials covers discussions on issues and
requests that were raised in the annual parent survey.
“Gaibu Koryu bunka kai” exchanges information and cooperate with other
similar organizations for improvement of day-care centers. The group takes
initiatives of collecting signatures for petition to improve day-care
centers.
Working parents are busy. Is it worth doing?
Yes, it’s worth sparing your precious time! One person’s requests tend to appeal little, but if each and every parent is united as a group and brings requests to the city together, it would be much more powerful and effective. Over twenty years, we have continued our activities and talked to the city. Our efforts as well as the understandings and supports of the city and the city council have resulted in the following major achievement.? Provision of full lunch: previously children over three years had to
bring their own rice for their lunch every day since only side dishes
were provided.
? Provision of rented futon: previously parents needed to bring futon
for their children into a day-care center on Monday and bring it back
home on Saturday.
? Extension of open hours gradually from 8 am〜6pm to 7am〜7pm.
? All seven day-care centers accepting 8 week old babies (soon after statutory
maternity leave) during 8:30am〜4:30pm since 1998.
? Accepting children who are not fully recovered from an illness at “Panda
Room” since 1999.
? Opening new day-care centers.
? Employing male child minders, who are now VERY popular among children
? Accepting 8 week old babies until 7pm since 2003.
? No increase in the fee for day-care service in recent years
? At least two minders taking care of a class
The social situation surrounding day-care centers has been changing dramatically
in recent years; serious shortage of day-care centers, various deregulation,
privatization of publicly operated day-care centers, unification of a
day-care center and a preschool, specific budget for operating costs of
day-care centers being incorporated into general budget, etc. These issues
should affect the nursery where your children go.
A day-care center is the life itself for a child who spends almost a whole
day there, and day-care has a great influence on mental and physical health
and growth of a child. Why don’t you join us in thinking and acting together
for the improvement of day-care and day-care centers in Urayasu