Results: Parent & Primary Caregiver Survey

Between October 10th and November 15th,

the PEC Needs Child Care Working Group (PECNCC) surveyed parents and caregivers of children aged 0-4 years on their experiences finding child care in Prince Edward County.

We wanted to collect data to support what we suspected: that there is a critical lack of child care spaces in the County. More than that, we also wanted to collect stories about how this shortage has impacted families, and show the human side of these statistics. We also wanted to hear what parents and caregivers would like to suggest to improve child care access in PEC.

We want to thank all respondents for not only taking the time to complete our survey, but also for their honesty and vulnerability in sharing their stories.

The report linked below details the survey results, and some of those stories.

Download Survey Results Here

More info:

105 respondents across 9 wards completed the online survey.
The survey was shared via the PECNCC Instagram account (@pecneedschildcare) and several community Facebook groups.
Respondents were asked to base their answers on their experiences from 2020 to present.

Sections 1 + 2

The first section of the survey collected data on respondents' locations within PEC and their wait times for child care.

The second section of the survey asked respondents to rate the following statements, as they referred to their personal experiences from 2020 to present.

Section 3

The next portion of the survey asked open-ended questions, to allow parents and caregivers to share, in their own words, how the child care shortage has impacted their families. We also invited them to share their ideas on how the municipality (or other levels of government) can and should do to improve the situation.

PECNCC pulled out common themes from the responses, and have included some of the most powerful stories from survey respondents organized by theme in the report. Some stories have been edited for brevity or clarity.

Closing thoughts

We hope that these survey results will help our entire community to better understand how parents and primary caregivers are affected by the child care shortage, and to see that change is urgently needed.

As parents ourselves, it is important for the PECNCC working group members to acknowledge the immense emotional and financial pressure that this child care shortage has had on young families, and we want parents and caregivers to know that they are not alone in this. For more information about resources and supports available for families in PEC, we strongly recommend visiting the PEC Parents community resources page.