‘The invisible babies’: Exploring the ecosystemic challenges and opportunities of childcare for undocumented asylum-seeking infants and toddlers

Abstract

This paper examines the case of community daycares for undocumented children of asylum-seeking families in Israel named the ‘Babysitters’. It explores how lack of support and national solutions for childcare leads to temporal and unregulated childcare solutions that may risk children's lives and development. Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory is utilized in this paper to explore the challenges and opportunities of early childhood education for young children in asylum-seeking families. The analysis reveals how the lack of clear policies, absence of national responsibilities, and existing societal barriers to early childhood education compelled asylum-seeking parents in Israel to use the ‘Babysitters’ community daycares for infants and toddlers. Putative solutions that require policy change could help address youngsters' early childhood education needs in asylum-seeking families and align with human rights and international treaties.