– Now you can be a doctor, says Monica Cassandra Andersen to her daughter Alma (1). Her doctor’s office in Molde is now a combination of nursery and office. For about two years, she and her roommate have lived in the city. They had expected to get a kindergarten place before January this year, when Andersen started his GP job, but are still without one. So did 5,722 other children before the end of last year. New figures from Statistics Norway show the waiting lists for kindergarten places. – I had expected to get a kindergarten place, and did not think that it would be so difficult, says Andersen. Photo: Remi Sagen / news Born “at the wrong time of the year” Andersen has one day a week in the office, which means she has no patients. Then she takes her daughter to work. She says that it is now just luck that they make the weekday go round, and points out that they have grandparents who help. – If we hadn’t had those grandparents, I wouldn’t have been able to accept the GP job. And the way the GP crisis is now, it would not have been optimal. – She is very social, and I want her to play with other children. It is important that she socialises, but it is not so easy to achieve when everyone else is working and in the nursery – so we have to hang out at the doctor’s office then, says mum Monica. Photo: Remi Sagen / news What also makes the nursery situation more challenging is that Alma was born “at the wrong time of the year”. She was born in January last year, and is therefore not entitled to a nursery place until August this year. So when Alma probably starts kindergarten this year, she will be one year and eight months old. The right to a daycare place The right to a daycare place applies to children who turn one at the latest by the end of November of the year in which a daycare place is applied for. If the child turns one during August of the year in which a place is applied for, the child is entitled to a place from August. If the child turns one in September, October or November of the year the application is made, the child is entitled to a place by the end of the month in which the child was born. The municipality is responsible for fulfilling the right to a kindergarten place. When the municipality makes arrangements for nursery places, consideration must be given to movement, the wishes of the users, and the need for places for children over and under the age of three. All approved kindergartens in the municipality must cooperate on the admission of children. The municipality must facilitate a coordinated admissions process, which takes into account the diversity and uniqueness of the kindergartens. The users’ wishes and needs must be emphasized in the recording. A coordinated admissions process must ensure equal treatment of children, and of municipal and private kindergartens. Source: regjeringen.no 64 people on the waiting list As of 15 December 2022, Molde municipality had 28 people on the waiting list for kindergarten places, according to Statistics Norway. By comparison, Kristiansund municipality had five on the waiting list, Moss had 198, Eidsvoll 197, Sola 373 and Harstad 95. But now 64 people are on the waiting list for kindergarten places in Molde, writes Romsdal’s Budstikke. Ellen Lyngvær Hjelset, subject manager for the kindergartens in the municipality, says they are in the process of the main admission, and that the waiting lists change from day to day. – I understand the situation she and many others are in. We understand very much that they spend a lot of time trying to get the day going, says Ellen Lyngvær Hjelset, subject manager for the kindergartens in Molde municipality. Photo: Roar Strøm / news – All capacity is used up In Molde, they first give places to those who have the right to a kindergarten place, and then they have a rolling admission for the rest who are on the waiting list without the right. But Lyngvær Hjelset agrees that they have too few places now. – All capacity has been used up in the Molde kindergartens, both in the municipal and private ones. The municipality continues to work hard to solve the challenges, she explains. Therefore, a new kindergarten will be ready by the autumn, with 25 places initially. – In the future, it will be expanded with 20 more places. Work will also be carried out to renovate the former nursery premises. – There is a lot of pressure to get this in place, adds Lyngvær Hjelset. The main admission to kindergarten Between 80 and 90 per cent of the country’s municipalities have a scheme with one main admission, usually on 1 March. Most municipalities also admit children through supplementary admissions for the rest of the year if there are places. Some municipalities only have ongoing admissions or several main admissions during the year. All children born before the end of November are entitled to a place the following year. The right applies from the month the child turns one. Some municipalities offer all available places from August. This means that children born in November can get a place already when they are eight months old. Source: Directorate of Education State Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Kjetil Vevle, says they are now looking at the regulations when it comes to the right to a kindergarten place. According to Vevle, the ministry has asked Statistics Norway to investigate the starting time for the youngest children in kindergarten. – There is something that must be ready during the autumn. Then we get more information and facts about how the situation is. Then I think it is natural that we look at any changes in the regulations, says the state secretary. Monica Cassandra Andersen created a Tiktok account called “legemamma”, where she wanted to convey that it is possible to combine life as a GP and a mother. Photo: Remi Sagen / news Plan when to give birth Andersen herself loves being both a GP and a mother, and wants the working day to be in harmony with family life. – As long as we get nursery places gradually, I think it will go very well. But the GP says this situation makes it seem like you have to plan what time of year you will give birth. – Plan if you can. It is clearly what you have to do if you move to Molde. At least with regard to kindergarten places, says Monica Cassandra Andersen.
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GP Monica has to take her daughter with her to work
