An Idea

[longforthesun]

I have thought for a long time that perhaps it would be a good idea for the goverment to introduce family loans. What i mean by this is a loan for a family due to have a baby (like student loans). Most people struggle at some point financially when children are small due to one parent reducing hours or giving up work all together and most of them return to work when the children are older so wouldn't it be great for this country to provide these familys with a loan that like student loans was to be repaid when you are in full time employment. Now i know some people will say you choose to have kids so why should the goverment support you well at the end of the day this country needs family's to have kids so we have future Dr's Nurses, politicians bin men etc. Anyway hope no one minds me posting this but just wondered what other folk thought of this.

[missjennipenni]

Where would the funds come from?

[belfastgirl23]

Not so sure really - I think student loans have already caused a lot of problems with young people thinking it's normal to be in debt and then not exactly realising that it will have to be paid back...well that's my view anyway...personally I'd put financial management training in place instead.

[longforthesun]

I am all for teaching kids in school money management i think this would be great. My thinking was that if there could be some way giving these loans to couples having kids it could ease the financial burden on them and i am sure the vast majority of honest people would be more than happy to repay via an increase in their tax code over a number of years so the loans would pay for themselves.

[Ishtar]

Interesting, but I don't think it would be a go-er to be honest. As a SAHM I wouldn't want to feel that I either owed money or that I was obliged to go back to work to repay a loan. Just my opinion, but at least this way it's my choice as to whether I work or not.

D.

[belfastgirl23]

I know what you mean about easing the financial burden at the time but then it would increase the financial burden later on when they might want to be saving for the kids to go to college or moving to a house big enough for growing kids...swings and roundabouts I guess.

[missjennipenni]

What if you decide to have more than one child? Would the loans just pile up on top of each other, or would you just spend teh rest of your life being in debt?

[Becles]

What about people who choose not to work? Would their loans just get written off?