ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
Childcare services remain a major concern due to the ongoing incidents of abuse and neglect. This has a significant impact on the safety and well-being of children, especially when it comes to unregistered childcare centres that continue to operate independently in Malaysia. Parents who encounter and are caught up in such situations often find that their concerns are not adequately addressed due to a lack of evidence and weaknesses in the formal complaint channels associated with unregistered childcare providers. Worryingly, gaps in law enforcement and policy also allow unregistered childcare operators to continue to operate without adequate oversight and escape their legal obligations as childcare providers. This paper will look at the inadequacies in the current monitoring system that highlight the relevance or absence of parental voice, legal and policy enforcement challenges, and economic constraints that result in limited choices for parents in the decision-making process of available childcare services. This issue is still fresh and new, requiring a proposed qualitative approach to investigate parents’ experiences when choosing childcare centres in Malaysia and provide solutions to this critical issue that still exists.
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