to be shocked at those who went on strike today and took their kids along to hold the placards????

[Thruaglassdarkly]

I am a teacher of 12 years on a break to look after my small kids. I'm married to a teacher also and we now live on one wage, which just about does us fine if we're very careful, so I feel quite lucky about that. Obviously, the pension cuts will affect us and we're not overly happy, but we are both against the idea of striking for many reasons, not least because it'll hurt many people - the kids, many parents who need to take a day off etc etc. We don't think that we should impose on others for our own gain, in short.
So, I have a lot of friends who are teachers who think otherwise. They took their kids on the protests today, took photos of them holding placards and put them on FB. AIBU to find this all a bit distasteful??? I think that these same children- should public sector workers get their way - will be facing a massive tax bill in years to come, way beyond our imaginings. Is it right therefore, to stick a placard in their hands when they are 5, 6 or so and photograph them "protesting"???? It seems a bit cynically exploitative to me and I'm so shocked that my friends have taken advantage of their kids in this way to make a political point. No flaming please - just reasoned debate. Many thanks.

swc, I am talking about teachers' children.

Tongue, meet cheek- cheek, meet tongue.

It's good for children to learn about democracy. It's a very precious thing - none of us would have the right to vote without protest and you can see in Greece and Italy how easily democracy is overthrown, in the very birthplace of democracy, fgs, let alone in the Arab nations overthrowing decades of dictatorship.

I'd rather have seen them there than down the high street with their parents shopping where most of them seem to have been. At least they had the strengths of their convictions to man the picket.

I love a nice but then I have become the queen of PA. A sure sign to myself that I spend too much time on MN is that I can no longer type/write/think in any other format without wanting, no hang on, not even wanting....NEEDING to do . It is most frustrating. I appear to have lost the ability to express myself properly in English. I am turning into one of those people who resorts to !!!!!! so everyone knows when they are fun/angry/frustrated. I don't trust my dry wit and irony to do the job by itself any more.

Opps, sorry - hijack. that was your fault LeQueen.

dont see anything wrong with bringing their kids to picket line - could even be educational!!!!

I think the happy medium is to bring kids but not to give those too young to know what they're doing a placard to wave. I like MistressFrankly's mum's approach!

YABU.

I don't believe that parents should live in one world and children in another.

I have photos of myself as a child participating in many marches with my parents and i think it has influenced me in a good way.

It is interesting that so many posters say that a 6/7/8yo wont understand a thing of it on a site that often it is said that an ad on tv or a poster in the street or a pink/blue hat will influence a 2yo's future.

I don't support the strikes, particularly not this 1 day modus operandi, however I respect those who took their children through necessity FAR more than those who took them shopping!