Watch: Rosianne Cutajar Proposes Paying Mothers To Raise Children To Tackle Malta’s Low Birth Rate
Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar proposed that the government should pay parents to raise their children for at least the first year as an alternative to free childcare.
Cutajar said that such a measure could incentivise women to have more children and boost Malta’s birth rate, which is the lowest in the EU.
“After I had my daughter, a number of mothers opened up to me about their realities,” she said. “The impression I got was that, if they had the opportunity, many would have spent at least the first year raising their children.”
Cutajar warned that sending babies to childcare soon after they are born can sometimes add to the stress of becoming a new mother.
“After a few weeks, you have to take them to a childcare centre and entrust them to a stranger, who is often younger than yourself. Although they are trained, they sometimes don’t have their own children. And it isn’t easy at all.”
“So many mothers cried for the first week after they took their children to a childcare centre, and I understand them because I experienced it too.”
The MP warned that while mothers who are financially well-off can afford to raise their children at home for a year before sending them to childcare when they return to work, the “absolute majority” don’t have that luxury.
“Many new mothers speak about this; they tell you that they want to have more children but don’t want to experience this harsh reality again.”
Recent statistics show that Malta has the lowest fertility rate in the EU, with only 1.08 live births per woman. Around a third of children born in Malta in 2022 were to foreign-born mothers, while two-thirds were born to native-born mothers.
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