Parenting: Cameron's childhood adviser says we're all getting it wrong. Is she right?

Curryeater.

If you are not having a foreign holiday and you have time for your dc you aren't the people Jasmo was talking about. You talk to your dc don't you?
Well there are some parents who are too busy or too lazy to do this and rely on technology rather than talk to their dc.
Jasmo isn't wrong, I have come across them too. They weren't just the ones working though, some were unemployed.

Jasmo.

I can see here that you are speaking from your own experiences, what you hear, see etc.
Not all parents are like you suggest though, on certain threads on Mnet it seems to be the norm, but they are hardly representative of the whole population.
I too have experienced the same and in rl have been termed abnormal for not doing the same. But I was never the conventional type anyway.

*Want2b"

I totally agree, it seems like what I thought was available to all is only offered in my area. Do any other LEA offer free lessons and activities? Surely there must be others, perhaps known as this area is for lots of unemployed, or places of lots of culture?

Agree with that too Supermum - and there seem to be very few opportunities to take part in creative art workshops where we are. I wonder why that should be ? Looks like a gap in the market from what I've seen !

But completely agree that every child should have the opportunity to do something special and extra at least once a week. Brownies, Guides, and Beavers (at different stages) were good for us, but some places have a waiting list, and the timing of the groups (after school) and cost could be problems for some.

My children age from 32 to 11 and todays' parents seem to spend no time with their children or allow them to learn through experience or risk taking. Children are either in their own rooms with TV/laptop or at an "activity". Both parents work far too long hours (earning money to buy laptops and TVs and 2/3 foreign holidays a year) and spend too little time with their kids. I play board games with my son and when his friends come round they love it, often never having played one! These children don't eat at a table, en famille, or walk to school with mates or read real books.We need to degadget our childrens lives and get talking to them and teach them responsibility and how to take risks.. like crossing the road, climbing trees, making dens and taking public transport, the everyday stuff that builds real life experience.
My neighbours 3 year old has a tablet and a phone and the TV is on all day on the one weekday when the child isn't in Nursery. I am appalled at what I see as benevolent and indulgent neglect. Of course he can change a TV channel but is in nappies (something all toddlers were out of 25-30 years ago by the age of 2!) and he has no formed speech. Modern children have not changed that much in the past couple of generations and technology doesn't replace chatting with Mum or Dad and learning from experience. If the Government can get people to reengage with the hard and vital job of being parents and stop them palming it off on third parties/technology.. good luck to them but I won't hold my breath!

Why can't politicians focus on helping bring up the bottom (ie children who are without) rather than pass comment on children who have parents who are trying to do the best for their children.

I would love to see all children, regardless of their parents ability to ferry them around/pay, be able to participate in at least one organized activity such as music lessons, sport or art outside of school.

Tbh, Ken Loach got on my tits a bit as well during that QT.

I saw her on question time too - very annoying woman with a very smug, annoying face... on the same show as Ken Loach who I would vote for had he chosen politics instead of film!

yep, good and succinct dg.

Like your analysis there dg

Lazy, anecdotal nonsense designed to get the Tories' tame newspapers rattling on about parental (read maternal) inadequacy and how it is To Blame for everything. Thus ignoring the impact of consumerism, financial crisis and political and media hypocrisy to name just a few non-parental evils.

I suspect the group of parents she has spoken to ARE the upper middle classes who would raise these 2 issues.

Yes, there is a tiny minority of middle class DC who are over scheduled and stressed.

Is this an issue which the government needs to worry itself? No it is not.

She gives that impression on Question Time (Claire Perry) that every thought she has is New and Important.

Morethan
Local authority services are being cut and there are now very few that offer free extracurricular classes. Library services are under pressure etc.
From what I can see there are very few services and to avail of them you have to be very clued into the system.

I like the idea that parenting is somehow seen as 'untouchable' in public debate. (Hollow laugh)

Yes, I mean that talking about the value of play in children's lives is generally a discussion worth having, but it's hardly a new idea !

I'm amazed that anyone thinks this is firing up some new debate . The argument that contemporary childhoods are not 'free range' is hardly new and has been the subject of public and media debate for years. Similarly children's safety on the Internet isn't exactly a new issue that Claire Perry has 'discovered' for Cameron.

It seems to be going over much the same ground as several previous debates.

Why not ?....its unlikely it wasn't passed to him before it went public.

Just because the debate has been good I wouldn't necessarily give Cameron the credit !

I think Cameron is firing up a much needed debate and good for him. Too many things are thought of as 'untouchable'.

I think there needs to be a balance. Let your child do the activities THEY want to do, not the ones YOU want them to do. Family times is also important. I would rather spend time with my children then catching up with friends when they are at home. We like to eat as a family everyday and talk at the dinner table but appreciate this is not possible for everyone. In that case you need to catch up whenever you can. There is nothing more wonderful for me than have spent time kicking a ball with my boys or taking them to the park.
It was interesting watching This Morning on Friday with Ruth and Eamonn and Eamonn wasn't too pleased about his son going to club Sat morning, Sat afternoon, Sun morning, he was yearning for family time. Ruth on the other hand was arguing that their son enjoyed it. It's a difficult one, but what's simple is that the child's happiness and well-being should come first.

AnaisB.

Yes, I was replying to you, but also in general really. I am passionate about extra curricular activities being available to all, so at every opportunity I have I mention LEA free activities. There are so many parents who are unaware it exists. .

IfNot.
That is a huge shame, but have you checked it out? I think you need to be in receipt of certain benefits such as job seekers, tax credits but not WTC and be entitled to fsm, etc.

IfNot

^It's not the scheduling or not scheduling of activities that counts for much, it's the culture you live in, and whether respect for others and education are valued in your world, or not, and also whether your parents are coping, or, for whatever reason, they are not.
Those are the things that matter to children's development.^

Totally agree.