We are concerned about the lack of collective, on-site childcare for LASA Congresses. Without it, parents are unable to take advantage of opportunities at the Congress. We believe that the current LASA childcare policy—which requires parents to individually contract with babysitters—does not work well for various reasons:
1. It is difficult for parents to screen babysitters in an unknown city in advance (particularly for parents who are foreign and don’t speak the local language).
2. When there is lack of a common space for children, they are stuck in hotel rooms, and without their peers. Collective childcare is safer.
3. A $100 subsidy does not address the first two concerns, especially with individual hourly rates $20/hour or higher.
Many professional associations offer on-site collective childcare at their conferences. We encourage LASA to look at these models. Parents would be happy to make advanced reservations and payment for childcare.