Does everyone think childcare should be paid for?

I look at it in the same way as education. I think though that parents should take a year off each to care for their children because I think under twos benefit enormously from one on one care from a primary carer. 1st year mothers 2nd year fathers should be the norm in my humble opinion. That too should be in the form of paid paternity leave.

There’s two issues. Childcare is expensive but affordable if, two parents work in well paid jobs. These people can take the short term financial hit and having a bigger gap between children is an option if they can’t.

Childcare is unaffordable for those in lower paid jobs, hence many women give up work/ claim top ups. We need to divert some of that top tier wealth into the wages of the lowest paid workers so they can afford childcare. Never going to happen but that would be the answer.

It’s a choice to have children,with that choice comes responsibly to look after them.
no one forces anyone to have them
so why should the government pick up the tab for looking after them.
i had 4 kids ,.government does enough providing free school places

I wouldn't want to pay for people's childcare. Already I pay taxes that contribute towards schooling. If people want to have children they need to be willing to cough up to cover the associated costs.

In theory, if there is free/low costs childcare for working parents then more parents will work and therefore more taxes will be paid. More parents will pay into pensions. Parents will have more disposable income and spend it generating even more tax payments.

I'm a childminder and I don't see why I should subsidise childcare for parents which is effectively what happens when you ask the government to step in. They choose what they decide to pay (as with the current funding) and then make providers jump through hoops to make a living wage or godforbid, a profit.

There are a lot of societal and economic benefits to women being able to work, instead of priced out. Obviously they'd have more money when the kids are little but also a better pension. So more to spend. Lifting the kids out of poverty and setting them up better for their own lives.