MSE News: Government urged to help struggling families on childcare

Ferdy147

anguk wrote: »

That's absolutely shocking! I really feel for families now struggling, it really makes you wonder if it's worth working.

Clearly it isn't in that instance.

Agree with your other points about the 'must have it now regardless of whether I have the money' attitude.

Marisco

anguk wrote: »

It also had a lot to do with greed. When credit became easily available everybody wanted everything now! Back when we first started out in adult life you could get a mortgage of about 3x the main salary plus 1x the second salary and that was enough to buy a nice flat or 2 bed terrace. You'd furnish your home quite often with second-hand stuff or things given by your family (our first flat had nothing new in it!). Then as the years went by your income rose and your family got bigger so you moved on to a nice 3 bed semi and replaced your old stuff with new as and when you could afford it. Each time you moved you went up the property ladder.

But when credit became readily available many people didn't want the starter home with second-hand furniture, they jumped straight in to the bigger house with the big mortgage. And of course they furnished it all with lovely things, all on credit. Banks were at fault for encouraging people to get massive amounts of credit but people were greedy too.

Absolutely spot on! Whatever happened to "do without until you've saved enough to buy"????

Lizling

Marisco wrote: »

Absolutely spot on! Whatever happened to "do without until you've saved enough to buy"????

Simple. For many of us, it became impossible to ever save enough to buy.

Ferdy147

Lizling wrote: »

Simple. For many of us, it became impossible to ever save enough to buy.

Then the 'do without' within the sentance you've quoted would apply.

There's things I can't afford so I do without. There's things I can afford but don't need so I do without.

We have no automatic right to have something when we can't afford it unless that's basic food/shelter/safety requirements.

clearingout

Marisco wrote: »

Or one could stay home and look after the kids, so there would be no reason for the gov to shell out on childcare!

and what about those of us who are single parents, who's ex husbands are self employed and therefore untouchable by the CSA, who have weekly childcare costs at greater than our weekly wage? would you prefer us to stay on benefits or get off our backsides and work with some government support?

Ferdy147

clearingout wrote: »

and what about those of us who are single parents, who's ex husbands are self employed and therefore untouchable by the CSA, who have weekly childcare costs at greater than our weekly wage? would you prefer us to stay on benefits or get off our backsides and work with some government support?

If your weekly childcare costs are more than your weekly wage then surely there's no point in working and you'd be better off at home? Personally I'd rather you stayed at home and raised your own child as you surely could do a better job than childcare. If the net effect of you working is it costs the taxpayer more (because your childcare is more than you earn) then I'd rather you stayed home as that would be best for your child.

The issue here is that more government support for childcare will result in higher childcare costs so the net benefit will be negligible or negative.

Marisco

Ferdy beat me to it. Surely if childcare costs are more than a wage, it's pointless going to work?? When I said one could stay at home, I was talking about couples. But to be fair, Ferdy does make a good point, what is the point in working if the gov are going to line the pockets of the nurseries? It would be far better to give the money to the parent, and let them do the job themselves, as a lesser cost.

JimmyTheWig

Surely what is needed is a massive investment in government run, affordable childcare.
If the government ran it then there would be no problem with costs spiraling as there wouldn't be the incentive for the government to charge the government extra.

clearingout

I understand your points. From my point of view, I am educated and intelligent. I am languishing at home, fed up to the back teeth and frankly, bored out of my mind. I spend all day on my own with a small child and picking up and dropping off the other two. My friendships are limited as I had to move area following the divorce. I have never been a stay at home mum. I have very part-time work on an ad-hoc, consultancy basis, but never enough hours to claim Working Tax Credit, hence the childcare issue.

I am about to change career into teaching (in a shortage area) which will improve my financial situation after the first year but not before. For the first year, I'll be on a trainee salary (just over £15K) and will have one child in full time childcare, two in school but will have to make use of before and after school clubs. If the government doesn't support me with childcare, I can't do this on-the-job training. I live in an area where the only other work, realistically to fit around the children, is minimum wage care work or supermarket work. I don't consider myself above this, don't get me wrong, but I have skills and years of experience that is useful to the school environment and, as I said, I'm looking at teaching in what has long been a shortage area.

I didn't ask to divorce or be left with the sole care and financial responsibility of the children. I am trying to make the best of my life and move on, including doing a huge amount of soul-searching and working out how best I can fit working around my children. I think teaching is probably as good as it gets. It frustrates me that the court system failed me financially in the divorce, that the CSA continues to fail to get my ex to pay even a nominal amount of maintenance and that as a result, I'm supposed to 'accept my lot' and just stay at home and do minimum wage work. I am better than that and I deserve better than that. My children deserve a mum with a bit of self respect and standing in her community. At the start of my divorce, I had a child in a private school. That same child is now entitled to free school meals. I am not asking for handouts or freebies or anything else. I just want support to get my life in order to make me self-sufficient.

I am not suggesting anyone who has posted here would call me a benefit scrounger. But if in 20 years time, I've just sat at home on the pretext of looking after my children, doing a bit of work here and there, I think you'd have the right to be angry at me. I'm not getting any younger and I need to build a pension so yes, I could wait until the youngest is in school (another two years) but that's two years less contributions, less career building, more missing out and financial difficulty for my children. I deserve to take something out as I've put in and will continue to put in with this 'break' if supported with childcare. What's so wrong with that?

t4mof

I have 2 school age children (7 and 9) and no family nearby to help with childcare.

We earn just over 50k between us and our childcare costs equate to just under 10% of that per year - and they're both in school! That £4500 is made up of 3 after school club sessions a week and 3 days a week all day in the school holidays for both children. We then organise our holidays to fit around the rest of the school hols/inset days etc.

We're lucky in that we work for a flexible company meaning OH is able to work 3 long days and 2 short days a week and pick them up from school and I'm able to work 9.30-5.30 each day so I can take them.

If we needed to pay for 5 days of breakfast club and 5 days of after school club as well as the 3 days holiday care, it would have a huge impact on our income and we just couldn't afford it - and we have a decent household income. I don't know how parents with under 5s manage!