Does everyone think childcare should be paid for?

I think childcare should at least be completely tax free, the same as pensions

Pensions aren't tax free. They are subject to the same tax rules as salaries.

30 hour funded parents working for more than the minimum 16 hours

This is at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week on average.

You get 30 hours if you work at least 16, why do you need more?

I know? That was my point.

@Cococomellon
"There is a sense of entitlement to "help" these days."

In more advanced societies this isn't seen as a sense of entitlement but as investment for the communal good. They tend to have healthier, wealthier, happier, better educated and more productive citizens with less crime, division and inequality.

That’s why those on certain benefits do get free childcare before those who work.

It’s just funding one thing over another though. As the government would have to either enforce enhanced parental leave, or increase stat paternity pay.

Thankfully DH has 6 months full paid paternity leave, as did I so we didn’t need to scrimp, but women are typically expected to take a salary cut and languish on SMP so why not men?

Having worked in education for over a decade, I think a lot of very small children would be better off looked after by a nursery or childminder all day than by their own clueless parents.

And trust me, there are people on here who would argue for that.

It's currently really unbalanced though. We paid for childcare from a year to starting school. It cost about £40k for a part time place at a high quality nursery. We used TFC for some of that cost. That could only be afforded because we have well paid jobs. It also means we have paid a lot in tax in that time, I've carried on paying off my student loan and paying into my pension.

Otherwise there is a gap with no entitlement/subsidy between paid maternity/shared parental leave of nine months to term after child turns three (two for some low income families). That means many can't afford to work for that period, leave the workplace, aren't maintaining their skills, aren't paying tax, aren't paying back student loans, aren't contributing to a pension. Then it's a struggle to get back into work and to find hours that work around that childcare availability. Within a few years you have someone, usually a woman, who has a big gap in pension contributions and who can't return to the workplace at anything like the point she left it as she hasn't been able to update skills etc.

Subsidising childcare properly would mean more money being paid in tax, less money being paid out in the future (to support future pensioners who haven't paid in enough), support more, especially women, to keep working, and provide employment for people - ideally paid properly.

If fathers had say 3 months paid after the 9 months and the woman couldn't take it, them more men would do it.

In my case my partner took SPL as he got more money then I did.

Childcare cost should be lower, not free. The NHS is struggling to deliver the care we pay for, because it's totally free.

I think childcare costs should be subsidised based on income with a maximum cap of cost, for example £1000 per child per month.

Its about pulling people out of poverty/deprivation/trauma cycles. The first three years of a child's life are incredibly important with regards to this.

To stop the circle of deprivation.

I remember speaking to a couple of my Nordic friends.

Problem families have lots of intervention to ensure their children become useful members of society. One pointed to someone I met who was actually from a problem family, they ended up being an academic with a doctorate and everything.

Free childcare is a strange idea IMO. Nothing is free, the govt would have to pay the people who are providing the service. Millions and millions and millions.

The issue is some women don’t want men to care for their children.

I see it often on AIBU, someone posts they’re doing SPL and they get judged for it, or some women see it as ‘their time’ and refuse to share even with willing partners. I’ve posted before about SPL and been told ‘well your husband might be oh so progressive but at least I didn’t have to leave my baby at 6 months’

I’d be all for forced SPL, reduce maternity leave entitlements to 6 months and then if a family wants a parent at home after this point it is the other parent if there is one (obviously doesn’t apply to single parents)

I think the prices are high and could definitely be reduced. However we do already get 20% Tax Free from the government and the 30 hours free when they turn 3.

Nurseries are already bursting at the brim. I had to reserve my second child's space before he was even born. So I think if it was made free there would be enough places for all the children anyway!

Childcare is heavily subsidised for age 3 and 2 in some cases. 30 hours is pretty good imo

No, in our current climate, i dont think it should be free.

I think our children are being neglected enough with their educations, so all monies should be ploughed into that and many other things

I dont think free childcare for all would be the blanket answer to helping women back into the workplace and the best use of our money.

Let's say I earn the National
Minimum wage of 9.50/hour. Childminder costs £5/hour.

That leaves me £4.50x40 = £180/week to pay for everything else.

Obviously not taking account of tax/NI nor child benefit here, nor many other factors.

But you can start to see how difficult paying for childcare without any government help is.

Its also a choice to play contact sports.

Should they also be denied free health care when that catches up with them?

Which benefits society when they are easy to teach at school and ultimately become useful members of society.

one child, why on earth do you think it’s worthwhile paying you to stay home when it doesn’t benefit anyone outside of your tiny bubble?

Early education, basically to break a cycle of deprivation.

I think there should be a little more funding, but not free.

The more important issue for me is normalising men looking after children - it shouldn’t be the Mother that automatically drops work. That’s where society is failing. Childcare is a shared cost, both or either parents should take the career hit not just the Mother. Choice.

There are the beginnings of legal possibilities with this - Shared Parental Leave etc - but there is a long way to go. The bigger change that needs to occur is societal. It starts with renaming groups called ‘Mums and Tots’ and ends with nobody raising an eyebrow in work if the bloke reduces hours / quits for child raising.

If the parents are not working why do they need paid for child care. Surely the free childcare should be given to the working parents?