私は東京の郊外に住む三十代の会社員で、五歳の娘と一歳の息子を育てています。朝はいつも戦争のようで、起きてから家を出るまでの一時間半に、朝食の準備、子供たちの着替え、保育園バッグの確認をすべて済ませなければなりません。夫と分担しているとはいえ、どちらか一人が早朝の会議で先に家を出る日には、残された方が朝の家事をすべて引き受けざるを得ません。
I'm a thirty-something office worker living in the Tokyo suburbs, raising a five-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son. Mornings are always like a battle: in the ninety minutes between waking up and leaving the house, we have to finish breakfast prep, get the kids dressed, and check the daycare bags. Even though my husband and I split the work, on days when one of us has to leave early for a meeting, whoever stays behind has no choice but to handle the entire morning routine alone.
特に大変なのは夕方のお迎えです。会社の終業時刻は十八時ですが、保育園の延長保育は十九時までと決まっており、退社した瞬間から駅まで全力で走る日も少なくありません。電車が一本遅れただけで間に合わないこともあり、その日は同僚に頭を下げて会議を抜けるしかないのです。
The afternoon pickup is especially tough. My company's workday ends at six, but the daycare's extended hours close at seven, so there are plenty of days I sprint full speed to the station the moment I clock out. A single delayed train can make it impossible, and on those days I have nothing to do but bow my head to a colleague and slip out of a meeting early.
去年の春、息子を認可保育園に申し込みましたが、結果は不承認でした。私が住む区では、零歳児クラスの倍率が三倍を超えており、共働きの世帯にもかかわらず点数が足りなかったのです。仕方なく、駅から少し遠い無認可の園に預けながら、認可園の空きを待つことになりました。
Last spring I applied to put my son in a licensed daycare, but the application was rejected. In my ward, the competition for the infant class runs more than three to one, and despite being a dual-income household, our points still came up short. Reluctantly, we ended up enrolling him at an unlicensed center a bit far from the station while we wait for a spot at a licensed one to open.
待機児童の問題をめぐっては、行政も少しずつ動いてはいるものの、保育士の不足が解消されない限り、抜本的な解決は難しいと言われています。給与水準の低さや責任の重さに見合わない労働環境のため、せっかく資格を取っても現場を離れてしまう人が少なくありません。そのしわ寄せが、結局は子供と親に及んでいるのです。
When it comes to the waitlist problem, the government has been making small moves, but unless the shortage of childcare workers is resolved, people say a fundamental solution will remain out of reach. The pay is low and the working conditions don't match the weight of responsibility, so even people who get certified often end up leaving the field. The fallout from all this lands, in the end, on the children and the parents.
共働きの私たちにとって、一番の悩みは子供の急な発熱です。朝、登園の直前に体温が三十八度を超えれば、その日の予定はすべて崩れます。在宅勤務が可能な日はまだしも、対面の会議が入っている日は、夫婦のどちらかが半休を取らざるを得ません。
For a dual-income family like ours, the biggest worry is a sudden fever. If our child's temperature spikes above 38 degrees right before drop-off, the whole day's schedule collapses. On days when I can work from home it's manageable, but if I have an in-person meeting on the calendar, one of us has no choice but to take a half-day off.