What three things would you like a political party to promise parents

1. Education. Scrap sats for primary level and raise standards at secondary level so dh and I don't have to live in a rabbit hutch to stay in a decent catchment area.

2. Stop treating SAHMs like we are parasites and acknowledge that we make just as much a contribution to society as working parents (and stop being so bloody sexist about us too.)

3. Address the issue of climate change - our dds have been ill all winter and our GP says it's due to the mild winter - if this is the trend then we are going to have a lot more winters like this one.

xpis - completely agree with you on point 1 - why aren't more of these things considered police matters?

1. Education. Get serious about discipline and bullying! Exclude bullies and violent pupils permanently. If the sort of violence that's allowed to occur in schools happened on the street, it'd be a matter for the criminal courts. Why should it be different if it occurs in school - public property - and w/children (or adult school employees) as victims?

2. Healthcare service - no more postcode lottery for treatment

3. Fix the bloody tax credit 'system'.

Oh - and can I have 4 please?
I would really like to see scrapping of the unnecessarily complicated tax credit system, and instead a system where families could complete joint tax returns - so a family with 2 kids would get an extra 2 personal allowances/10% bands etc. It would recognsie the extra costs taht a family has compared to single people.

Was about to post and realised that Caligula had said it word for word. FWIW, I would not make childcare tax deductable - had exactlt this arguemnt with dh last night. By making childcare tax deductable you are incentivising parents (lets face it - mothers) to work rather than SAH. And therefore disouraging parents from SAH to raise their own children. Which is not a good thing. IMO both should be financially viable making it a true choice. A decent level of CB for the first 5 years could be used to either SAH, or subsidise childcare, depending on what the parent really wanted to do.

Definitely better financial helpfor those who want to stay at home with their children.

Increased vouchers for childcare, whether from age 2 or for longer sessions.

Education.

Been said already, but:

1. Stop hiding behind false notion of "choice" in education and recognise that (most) parents would rather that they could be confident that all schools were equally decent and they could send their child to the the nearest school without worrying.

2. Recognition for SAHPs - make it a real choice for families by allowing working partner to use SAH partner's tax code for example.

3. Better post natal care for new mothers (including breast feeding help), and better support generally for new parents. Health visitors are a fab idea in principle, but we all know that in practice they often do more harm than good, partly I think because they don't seem to have a consistent agenda and they have very patchy knowledge in many cases. Parents need to believe that they are on our side and really there to help, which I don't think is the case currently.

another for giving benefits/ allowance for better options as to whether to be sahm or working.

allowing parenting help to be available to everyone not just deprived areas.

Increased awareness and funding for mental health issues.

More child friendly hours for both parents as my dh works 8-8 5/6 days a week.

Pretty much the same as everyone else really:

End of 'postcode lottery' for education

Continuity of NHS maternity care and carer to be a reality for every mother

Increased provision for flexible working for both parents

And I'm biased too but I'd agree with peachyclair's point about childcare provision for student parents who will go on to become key workers - i.e. me!

I'd like
Help with childcare - subsidised at the very least.
Some help if you are a stay at home mum - It's a tough job and we deserve pay!
More regular maternity/health visitor checks and appointments. As a high risk pregnancy I only saw my midwife about 4 times! Rubbish.

More support / cash for special educational needs- yes I know I'm biased, but it would give more averqage kids some more space and time with their teachers too.

Childcare provision on WFTC to be available to certain students, specifically me! OK, yes I know, but I am going to train to be a Teacher in a shortage subject, so there is a payback isn't there?

Instead of just setting up more and more sure start schemes (which are temporary anyway), invest in the organisations that already are doing the work successfully... I am thinking abot Home Start in particluar, the local one is always on the verge of bankruptcy

Agree with BK - tax deductible childcare. So unfair otherwise. Huge incentive for the working parents they claim to care so much about. Childcare is MUCH more important to working parents than lunches or chauffeurs!
Also proper maternity provision - more, better midwives. A Jamie Oliver style revolution in hospital food.

cor where do i start, heres a few

mental health ie postnatal depression support

realistic support for parents at uni cos who can live off £150 per week

dental provision

more sport in school

healthy meals in education and health settings

a female priminister whos had children may help after all behind a succesful man is a good woman

Now, where did I here that before?

Education
Education
Education

• A choice RE staying at home or going back to work; tax deductable childcare or more child benefit for those who want to stay at home.

• Better discipline in schools and put all those baby bonds into helping disadvantaged schools (ot that I'm ungraeful or anything!

• Improved maternity care in inner cities - why is it that my country friends get free nuchal scans, dedicated one on one midwifery care from 8 weeks onwards and get seen more often?

Recognition of sahm's - full pension contribution, less tax for partners who work.

Recognition of the good bf does for mum & infant - less nhs contibutions for life for child.

Education - proper non-selective mixed special needs/ non special needs schools that enable all children to mix and learn to their best abilities.

agree with all points made about REAL choice in schools for our kiddies.

• more support for small and local farmers so that the supermarket giants stop strangling local British farmers( inc organic ones)
• genuine commitment to environmental issues including forcing through legislation to cut packaging,fuel emmissions etc etc
• too many more!

Good state school system and good state schools.

Flexible work policies- I mean what are we supposed to do with 2 coughy coldy kids who can't be sent to school? They're 6 so no parental leave stuff applies anymore, meaning that partner and I are faced with a choice of one of us taking last minute annual leave, calling in sick or taking them to work with us (er, no way!). None of these options go down well with work, unsurprisingly. The boys coming down with minor illnesses is often the straw that breaks the camel's back in our house, making all the balls we normally juggle quite comfortably come tumbling down in one fell swoop.

Put money into play work and leisure stuff for kids. I'd like to see more free stuff for slightly older kids- say over 8s. More adventure playgrounds and trained playworkers would be great.

Agree, make it financially viable for parents to be sah if that's what they want
Education, ban private schools ideally. OK, seriously since that's not going to happen, do whatever it takes to make sure all schools are decent.
Go further wrt flexible working regs, atm there's only the right to apply for flexible working, the legislation needs teeth so employers have to comply in certain cases.

1. Raise child benefit to a level where women have a real choice about whether to work in or outside the home.

2. Stop trying to run education from Whitehall, give up the choice crap, withdraw tax advantages from private schools and use the money to improve schools which are open to everyone, regardless of income.

3. Begin to work towards reducing the working week so that the norm becomes both partners working what is now considered part-time so that parents can function as parents as well as workers.

money, money, money