Tragedy highlights preschool problems

The sudden death of a 2-year-old boy named Nannan last week at an unlicensed kindergarten in west Beijing has caused public uproar over the lack of trained staff entrusted to care for children. Allegedly, the boy choked on food and nobody was properly trained to offer him first-aid. Insufficient child supervision is obviously at the root of this tragic death, but it shouldn't be made the sole scapegoat in the affair.

As sad as the death of any toddler is, the odds of dying from choking are much lower than dying in a road accident. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the odds of choking are one in 96,300. By contrast, there is a greater likelihood of being attacked by an alligator. Shutting down one kindergarten and enforcing stricter regulations for others will not solve anything.

It's no secret that China's preschool day care system is weak and underdeveloped. Public kindergartens appear to be reasonably priced, but enrolling a child at one in Beijing is often a long, drawn out process. Despite the government's efforts to ban "unauthorized fees" collected by public kindergartens as reported by Metro Beijing in January, parents are often forced to resort to under-the-table deals or use their guanxi (personal connections) to skip ahead of long waiting lists.

Wealthier parents have long resorted to sending their children to private kindergartens. These often provide decent care and almost headache-free admission.

However some charge up to 3,000 yuan ($475.35) per month, which is hardly small change for most working parents. Residents in Beijing's rural districts, such as Mentougou where Nannan died last week, often have lower incomes than their urban peers, making it even more unaffordable and unrealistic to enroll their child at a kindergarten that offers a high standard of care.

Additionally, a growing number of families living in large cities cannot rely on traditional baby sitters in China - the grandparents. More people living in Beijing are not from the city, leaving their extended family behind in their hometowns. Grandparents often live far from their grandchildren, with the family reuniting only at Spring Festival. Even if grandparents do live with the family or nearby, they often require a standard of care themselves and may not be fully independent.

In reality, these families have no choice but to seek a cheaper solution for day care in the form of unlicensed kindergartens, which can charge fees as low as 200 yuan per month. While lack of supervision is a major concern of these establishments, the reality is that they provide the only affordable alternative for families of whom both parents must work.

The grim reality is that parents of children who attended the now closed kindergarten in Mentougou must search for another preschool or risk sacrificing their income to become a stay-at-home parent.

Enforcing license requirements and regular inspections of all kindergartens will only result in hiking fees for parents. The solution lies in more extensive day care reforms that include subsidizing private preschool education and expanding the network of publicly-funded facilities.

Unfortunately, none of this will bring Nannan back to his distraught family or offer them comfort during their private grief. The best we can do is learn from this tragedy and tackle existing problems.