Nation's toddlers are underfunded

Portugal spends considerably less on children under the age of five than other OECD countries, notesDiário de Notícias. In a report entitled "Childhood decides" published on 1st September, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development "concludes that as a general rule, the quality of life for minors in Portugal falls well short of the average level for developed countries," explains the Lisbon daily. However, Portugal's overall investment in childhood, "a spend of between 60,000 and 70,000 euros per child spread over the first 18 years," is deemed to be reasonable with regard to standards of living in the country."

The OECD report "is based on a wide range of indicators… not all of which are recent." Diário de Notícias reports that Portugal lags behind other countries in areas like child benefits and tax breaks for families. However, it further notes that "measures implemented by the current socialist government like the reinforcement of town hall schemes to assist schoolchildren in need have not been taken into account by the report."