Wednesday 24 December 2008

We Play Trains, Mum Goes To Work, Boo Hoo!


Anyone who got a letter this morning for the generous increases in child benefit will no doubt have had this leaflet fall out with the picture of children playing which is titled " We Play Trains, Mum Goes To Work, Whoo Whoo!".

Is this the part of the labours plan to get Mothers to abandon their children with childcare, start going to college to make preparations to go back to work, or if you are lucky enough to find a job, then to come back exhausted and then start looking after the children.

Labour should recognise that bringing up a child is more than a full-time job in itself. A child needs to bond with its parents. I feel strongly about this.

A child when it is growing up needs its parents rather than being dumped at child care to be looked after by an barely qualified childcare assistant. I could not imagine my Wife taking our 2 year old son and taking him to childcare, you would have to literally peel him off her leg.

I feel because of Labours plans to get as many people into work as possible there is going to be a whole new generation of latch-key kids. I often wonder why do people have children then dump them at childcare and go back to work after three months?. I often think that the child is going to spend more time with the childcare assistant that it is with its own Mother

I have seen when I have been up to the school to collect my Daughter the children who finish school then go straight to the Before & Afterschool club to wait for a parent/relative to pick them up at 5-6 pm. The whole process starts again in the morning all in the process of going to work to earn enough money to pay for the childcare and have enough to live on.

When my Brother & I got home from school, my Dad was usually at work, my Mother was there or you could usually find her round the corner talking to one of the pensioners who lived in the block of houses next door. The point I am making is that I never had to go to any after school club [they had not even been thought of in the seventies] and wait for my parents to pick me up at 6pm. The only time I got picked up after school was either after playing football or for 1 after school detention.

Its the same old thing I said about before with the incapacity benefit, why does everything revolve round having to go to work?. People should be able to make there own choices, what happens if you want to be a homemaker?.

On the Incapacity benefit front I have not been looking what's going on with IB of late, cancelled all the google alerts as I have only going to drive myself la-la or into an early grave worrying about it. There's virtually no point looking for a job in a recession, not that there would be many jobs to suit me anyway or that can pay enough, no point going to any of the pathways to work people as I have said before because they are only in it to make a profit unless I can be convinced otherwise.

I have decided in the meantime to wait for the next brown envelope from hell and not worry until it actually comes. Thinking back to when I went to the psychiatrist when they said that there is no point worrying about things that you can not change, well I am taking that view at the moment.

I will try to enjoy Christmas and be positive for next year

have a fantastic one and a fantastic new year folks

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