SAHM numbers lowest for 15 years - we need your views for Sky interview tomorrow am

I am a SAHM and although it can be hard work it is definitely what I would choose to do. I am very fortunate that we can afford for me not to go to work, but having recently had twins, and also having a two year old, my salary would never come close to covering the cost of childcare.

To be honest my current situation is my ideal but I know that I am lucky.

I agree that tax credits are bloody hopeless. I'd rather be taxed less in the first place.

I would love to be a SAHM, love it. I have no choice financially but to work 4 days per week.

Rising fuel/food/mortgae costs has pushed us to the brink, there is no slack left. I refuse to work 5 days as I want some of my time with dd...I wish it was more for me and her.

Tax credits is a labyrinthine nightmare, that form is enough to put anyone off. I thought the feminists in 60's and 70's fought for choice. I have no choice, just endless financial demands. Cost of living in this country is stupidly high, wages only average. Oh and by the way, don't forget to save for pensions, university fees, as well as paying out for every other overpriced thing

Hoochie, who do think is to blame or is responsible for your circumstances which don't allow you to be SAHM?

I am a SAHM looking for a new job (made redundant during mat leave - grrr!). We need to move to a bigger house if we are to grow our family so with house prices being spectacular in the South East I have to work, even if Govt decided to support me.

Ideal for me would be to work 3 full days a week (doing a great job for squillions of pounds!) and have 4 days with my beautiful darling.

persephone - I think the vast majority of people would support extra help for single parents, especially those who have no or limited support from former partners.

I.m not a lone parent but have been staggered at the current thinking which would more or less force single parents 'back' to work

and tbh, when I was able to use the afterschool club, in the summer hols it cost me £30 a day. (2 children) I only earn around £35 a day....so in the summer I used to feel very resentful, in effect missing out on spending time with my children for a fiver a day!

I love my job, they are as flexible as they can be but it is just so hard. I can't use family more than one day a week in the hols.

"The fact is that, in this country, anything that doesn't generate revenue is deemed worthless and a drain on resources. Children and their care are a (necessary?) evil, unless they can somehow be made to generate revenue through nurseries, etc."

And therein lies the problem. At what point did the government stop serving us and it got around to us serving the government?

The purpose of life is for living not to generate bloody revenue. Tax/government etc is supposed to serve us as a community/country by providing things we couldn't provide for ourselves - hospitals, schooling, policing, etc. Instead we're getting bled dry with insane levels of taxation to help fund massive wars and fat cat politicians.

And don't even get me started on "green" taxes which are just going to line the coffers further without being invested into any solution that might help us get out of the shit we got ourselves into .

I do hope that this comment meant enable and not compel?

"Surely the point is that we should organise society (via the elected representatives)to enable people to raise their own children (or why have them? Really?)and still have the occasional egg or glass of Rioja."

You are frightening me with the prospect of having to look after my DCs all day. I would go mad. Or get very depressed and anxious. Isn't this what happened to our mothers?

I managed 5 years SAHM on a very very tight budget and was glad I had done - the benefits to my children's emotional and social wellbeing were priceless

However, I naively thought our troubles would be over when ds2 went to school and I could get a job.

What I didn't bank on was 5 years' later my job prospects had dwindled massively; we had used up all our savings and have no safety net; my school after-school club is full so cannot use it as childcare so can only work part time and have nightmares in the school hols....

Surely the point is that we should organise society (via the elected representatives)to enable people to raise their own children (or why have them? Really?)and still have the occasional egg or glass of Rioja.

And as for nurseries..have you spent any serious amount of time in them? If you were a bored 17 year old faced with babies and toddlers, how loving and stimulating do you think you'd be? You hear people talk about how wonderful their nursery is, well what else are they going to do? Say my nursery sucks but I have to put up with it? No one tells the truth about this because it's just too grim.

as a single parent i am very against the transference of the working partners tax allowance to the non working partner - where does that leave me? by all means increase the head of household allowance to reflect a non working or absent partner, but don't discriminate against my children because their dad did a runner and doesn't contribute. how do single parents factor into the SAH argument or can women only SAH when they are supported by a partner?

money should be directed to children regardless of the marital status of their parents, or whether they can afford (almost!)to have a parent care for them at home.

@ hullygully

hullygully

LOL hullygully!

There is an element of lifestyle choice in this. I was a SAHM for 4 years when I had my eldest DD (in 1986) but the only way we could do it was for my DH to work 80 hours a week as a delivery driver.

I went back to work with a 4.5, 3 and 1yo at home and we worked shifts around them. They got to spend time with both parents but we got no time together or time off. It's only a short time, but it seems a lot of families expect "someone else" to provide rather than father change his job.

The tax allowance idea will not work. The govt is cutting the clerical staff in the tax offices by 25,000. To swap allowances like this is a very labour-intensive task that would take a lot of time/ money and staff that no longer exist. It will not happen.

The easiest and cheapest idea would be to increase the personal tax allowance for everybody to a realistic level (£10k-15k) so that lower paid people keep more of their own money, giving them more choice.

Isn't this just a natural consequence of Governmental policy to persuade more women back to the workplace?

If there hadn't been significant reductions in the numbers of SAHPs wouldn't all of the policies aimed at getting parents back to work failed?

Is it a bad thing for SAHMs to be reducing in number?

Or is WOTH bad?

It looks about right to me - 7/10 parents would have preferred to stay at home and there are 64% of those with children under 2 in work. So that looks like an unhappy 6% who are WOTH because they have to financially rather than because they want to.

There are no percentages given for the 1993 SAH figures - but looking at proportions it would seem that in 1993 there would have been a fair number of parents who wanted to work but were SAHPs.

People should just stop having children altogether. It's too expensive and a nuisance for employers. If we all stopped having them we wouldn't need all these CTCs and whatnot. And as for schools and those scum overpaid over-holidayed teachers, that would stop them moaning as well.

In order to afford decent accomodation, many people need 2 incomes, or 1.5 any way.

We are lucky - where we live it is still possible to buy a reasonable home on one medium income, so I am able to stay at home until ds and any future siblings are older.

I have never had a job that paid much over minimum wage, so what I could earn would be lost in expenditure. That might be worthwhile if there was potential for any kind of financial or personal fulfillment in my job, but tbh there isn'.

Nonsense.

Plenty of parents plan to have children; plenty of children are conceived unexpectedly for all manner of reasons.

Adults get made redundant, get ill and god knows what. Life isn't straightforward and can't be planned for the most part.

Shall I give you an example or two?

I have two little girls. My eldest was 6months when went back to work. I went back part time and she was cared for by extended family. Im currently on Mateirty leave but once the pay stops I have no choice but to go back to work.
I would love to stay at home and care for my children but in no way is this possible if we want a roof over our heads and food in tummies.
I work as few hours as possible.

I think the goverment put to much money inot gwtting parents back to work, with extended schools, working tax credits and child care vouchers. I would like to see more money into helping those that want to stay at home, if their children are under 5 years. I would not suggest that both parents stay at home but atleast one.

that is the whole point, if you cant afford them then dont compound your situation by having more children. most families i know have problems with outgoings because they have overstretched themselves.