The Prime Minister visited a nursery in Thisio, in the Argentio children’s shelter, where 92 infants and toddlers are accommodated every day, where he talked with the young children and the educators.

In particular, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the “Argentios Paediki Stegi” nursery school in Thisio, which has been included in the pre-school education and creative employment program, which is financed by the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family with national and European funds.

The Prime Minister, accompanied by the Minister of Social Cohesion and Family, Sofia Zacharakis, was given a tour of the premises of the nursery school and had the opportunity to talk with the children and workers of the school.

The statements of Kyriakos Mitsotakis

“The school year for nurseries and daycare centers has already started and I want to take the opportunity of my visit to “Argentio” today to reiterate our government’s commitment to substantial and practical support for families with young children, so that families can they know that they can leave their babies, their young children in nurseries and nurseries that emphasize quality first and foremost.

The Minister has already spoken about the numbers, which are important. This year we have further increased the vouchers we give for daycare centers and nurseries, for creative employment centers, for creative employment centers for children with disabilities, to which we always give first priority, and our goal is to be able to offer even more vouchers, so as to make it easier for families with small children financially and primarily to make it easier for working mothers.

It is another aspect of a multifaceted policy to deal with the demographic problem, which is being drawn up by the relevant Ministry. I will be able to say more in a few days at the Thessaloniki International Exhibition.

Finally, I want to emphasize that it is not enough just to take infants or children to a place to simply pass the time. This is not the vision we have for nurseries and kindergartens.

That is why, by working with a reputable team of scientists, we are constantly strengthening the interventions we can make at these very sensitive ages. Scientists have told us, beyond any doubt, that the basic synapses of the brain are essentially formed in the first six years of a child’s life. So what happens here and in all nurseries and nurseries matters a lot.

To repeat how much weight and importance I attach to the programs of early and early diagnosis of possible learning functions. Such problems can be much more easily detected by a well-trained staff in daycare centers. It is a new program that we are going to launch so that these children who are facing such difficulties can be identified as quickly as possible, because we know that timely, early intervention greatly increases the chances that these children will acquire after a completely normal course and normal life.

I want to once again thank you in person to all the workers in the nurseries and daycare centers. It is a job that you do with great love and I would say, as you also said, the crying that we hear is a joy, it is intertwined with the life of the nursery school.

I think the most important thing, as you know, is that parents feel safe. Security and satisfaction that they leave their children in an environment that is not just safe, but above all fertile, creative and the children may sometimes come crying, but as a rule they leave with a smile. Have a good year“, stated Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The statements of Sofia Zaharakis

“In the battle we are fighting for demographics, Mr. President, this whole harmonization of professional and family life, this helping hand that we will give to the working parent, to the mother to work, I think is very important.

This year, with the co-financed program and the regular budget, the money we give for vouchers has exceeded 379 million, which means that approximately 173,000 vouchers have been given and 105,000 of them are for parents for nurseries and daycare centers, while we pledge that for 2025 onwards the program will be in place to add 20,000 places in nurseries and daycare centers, a program of 70 million from the Recovery Fund“, the Minister of Social Cohesion and Family said for her part.

The nursery employs 15 people as staff and can accommodate 41 toddlers and 40 infants. It is one of the four stations of the “Children’s Home” Foundation supervised by the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family and it accommodates infants and toddlers with the sole condition that their mothers work. In “Argentio Paediki Stegi” the infants and toddlers who use vouchers amount to approximately 50%, while in the other three nurseries of the “Children’s Shelter” Foundation this number amounts to approximately 90%.

On Saturday at TEF

It is recalled that on Saturday afternoon, from the stage of the Vellideio Conference Center, Mr. Mitsotakis is expected to develop the government’s strategy in terms of dealing with two critical issues. It is about dealing with housing, dealing with demographics and in this context the Prime Minister’s announcements regarding support for young families, but also young citizens in general, will follow.