In this back-to-school period, the simultaneous publication of two books devoted to early childhood, and more specifically to practices in private for-profit crèches, sheds harsh light on the shortcomings of this sector. On bookstore tables, readers will have the choice between two surveys: Babyznesswritten by Bérangère Lepetit and Elsa Marnette, from Parisian (Robert Laffont, 336 p., €21, release September 7) and The price of the cradle. What the privatization of nurseries does to children (Seuil, 208 p., €18.50, released September 8) by independent investigative journalists Daphné Gastaldi and Mathieu Périsse.
Each in its own way, the two books tackle the model of private structures sheltering under the lap of four behemoths (Babilou, Les Petits chaperons rouges, People & Baby, La Maison bleue), which have experienced meteoric growth in recent years, although they still represent only 20% of cradles (about 80,000 children).
On June 22, 2022, the death of an 11-month-old girl in a People & Baby nursery in Lyon, after a lonely and exasperated professional administered a household product based on caustic soda, aroused very strong emotion. A little over a year after this tragedy, the two works show the freedom of speech for professionals (the sector employs a large number of women). The authors have collected many testimonies telling of their exhaustion, the infernal paces to which they are subjected, the bad practices of which they are the witnesses and sometimes the actresses, because of the lack of arms in the structures.
Save money
The trauma of some parents, whose children have borne the brunt of these dysfunctions in various ways (child “forgotten” in a room, entrusted to eight referents in the space of three months, found outside the establishment, bitten several times for lack of intervention from an adult…) remains alive for months. As noted by the authors of Babyznessit is reinforced by the isolation of these families, insofar as there is no group of nursery parents.
But the two books are not just an accumulation of individual situations. Beyond the difficulty of the working conditions of these poorly paid workers, reinforced by the current shortage, they tell of another reality. Financial documents and supported examples, the authors denounce the methods of private groups whose obsession with financial profitability jeopardizes the good reception of children. Overbooking, diaper rationing, food restriction, directors’ bonuses partly indexed to the expenses allocated to meals… the constant concern to save money can be read over the pages, at the risk of mistreatment.
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