Worked at night to think about the baby during the day
Long waiting for kindergarten space weighed heavily in the decision of Hildur Jónina Rúnarsdóttir Isaksen and her family when they decided to leave Reykjanesbær and move to Skagafjörður.
Hildur says in a conversation with mbl.is that the position of kindergarten in Reykjanesbær is unacceptable and that the municipal authorities do not do enough to meet parents.
Hildur had lived all his life in Reykjanesbær and the family built a home in the neighborhood she grew up in. The couple had taken the house through and therefore the decision not to move not easy. But when it became clear that the youngest daughter would not get pre -school space until the fall of 2026 – when she turns 27 months – they had to take action.
As mbl.is has discussed most children in Reykjanesbær Preschool stays aged 24 to 29 months. In comparable municipalities, the average age of children at the beginning of preschool is in the range of 15 to 19.7 months.
The baby gets space 16 months old in Skagafjörður
« We couldn’t just be on one salary. I was in shift work before, I was working at night to save us. But naturally it doesn’t work out at night, then come home and think about the baby, » she says.
The family moved to Skagafjörður six months ago and the decision was made, among other things, that Hildar’s sister lives there, which gives them an important hinterland. There, the youngest child gets a kindergarten space for 16 months old and the municipality also offers parent payments during the period from the age of twelve months until a child enters kindergarten.
« Since she is one year and until she enters kindergarten, you can apply for parent payments, » says Hildur, but such home payments are not available in Reykjanesbær, but payments to daycare parents.
Hildur with her husband, Halldóri Atla Ragnarsson. Hildur clearly says that the municipal council of Reykjanesbær could have done more in kindergarten.
Photo/Submitted
The debate in Reykjavik is over the situation elsewhere
Asked if she has tried to find a daycare in Reykjanesbær, Hildur says that it has really everything been booked. They were offered one space, but it was with a foreign family who did not speak Icelandic and Hildur did not find it.
Hildur says that the kindergarten issues in Reykjanesbær have been difficult for a long time, although there is little discussion about them.
« No, it’s somehow because it is always hearing the highest in Reykjavik, but this has been like this since I was with my oldest, who is 13 years old. »
Six children and one chronically ill: no priority
The family has six children, one of them chronically ill, and three daughters who are already in kindergarten. They felt that they should be a priority in the system but received other answers from the town.
« We have a long -term child too and you should be a priority for it, and because we have three girls in kindergarten for. But it just doesn’t seem to matter, » says Hildur.
She says they have tried to look to the municipal authorities but got the answers that nothing could be done to ensure space sooner.
Do you think the local government has been able to do more in kindergarten?
« Yes, quite clearly. They could have tried to meet people by offering them parent pay or something, » she says.
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