To think that what's best for the children gets left out of the free childcare conversation

[Ilikepinacoladass]

I'm all for parents being able to get back to work if they want to, woman's career's not being put on hold, the economy doing well etc..

But I find it quite worrying that what's best for the children seems to not be mentioned at all in the reporting around the govt introducing more and more free childcare hours, or considered in the policy making to begin with..?

I thought the reason it was 15 free hrs originally, and term time only (as is still the case) was because the original aim was to ensure children have access to early education? So they are not turning up at school aged 5 having had no preschool etc as their parents couldn't afford it?

Not to enable parents to get back to work as soon as possible leaving their children in childcare?

And what’s the mother meant to do in the long school holidays when she has a job when the little ones are at school? Holiday clubs are hardly cheap. I speak from experience

No, but it is their job to try to introduce policy's which will be good for our nation now and in the years to come.

They don't mention the impact on the children of being in childcare from 9 months old, for their development, mental health, outcomes in later life. And this is something which will eventually effect all of society.

My son went from 3 months as I had to get back to work. I would have loved that extra £. It was £45 a day for nursery until he went to school…..

www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/benefits-of-stay-at-home-parent-statistics

Oh, that's not good.

My son hasn’t been affected mentally by going to nursery at a very early age. What affected him was the Covid lockdowns as an only child

The impact on children is their parents' responsibility. The government are not demanding people put their babies into childcare at 9 months old. That is the parents' choice. The government are just giving the option. People who couldn't afford to work, might now be able to work and provide better for their children = positive impact.

Absolutely. I have two young daughters and I would never want them to think that their education had less value, nor their aspirations, than their male friends'.

The parents will still be deciding what is best for their particular children in their own particular family circumstances. If they don’t need or want to use childcare, they still won’t.

This is what worries me about this conversation. It should be about empowering women to make the choices that are right for their individual circumstances and families, without cost being prohibitive.

I worry that this Tory government see it more as an opportunity to drive us towards a uniformity where "school" - in the all-day institutional childcare sense - starts at nine months, and women who choose not to go along with that are simply seen as workshy and socially backward.

I'm not against parents of young children working. I do 3 days a week and enjoy it, time to myself and keeping career going.

What I do have an issue with is the entire conversation about increased free childcare funding being about what's best for the economy. As if children over 9 months are just an annoying problem getting in the way of parents returning to work and contributing to the UK's economy.

JMO but being in childcare benefited my children, they learned social skills, sharing, how to listen, being around others, they ate food they would never try at home just because it was in a group setting, they could do craft and paint which I hate have less time for, they even did things like Forest School, nature walks, cooking and woodwork, all before the age of 5.

Your post reminds me of a mum i met who had never worked a day in her life, who commented that she could never put her kids in childcare “to be brought up by someone else”, full knowing mine were in childcare 3 days a week so I could work, and you know, put food on the table and pay the mortgage.

Maybe they’d have been better off at home with me every day, with nothing to eat and nothing to do as I couldn’t afford activities or toys/craft stuff??

YANBU OP.
Well, except in being naive that childcare was ever about child development. It's always been about having enough people in the workplace. One of the issues with having such high Covid rates and high mortality rates, combined with Brexit, is that the UK now has a labour gap. Of course it's more important to the govt that companies are prioritised than children.

The school holidays are still there to be worked around. These are always forgotten about , unless you work in education I suppose.
Another reason many decide to stay at home as well.

See to me it would be the opposite. By staying at home I would be forced into a domestic life, taking on most of the cleaning and cooking when I didn’t want to. Little time for myself, little interests or purpose beyond childcare or housework.
Only just surviving financially which would mea not only more stress but less fun, less treats, less enriching extracurricular experiences.
So I work to give myself and my family the best life and provide the best head start I can for my kids.
When I leave at 4 I’m a much more present parent at pick up, I’m fully engaged during our time together because I’m not bogged down in the majority of the chores.

So no, I don’t agree that it’s “just surviving” because women use childcare.

Women benefit though?

We had mass exodus at work as long hours and extremely high cc costs just drove them out. How is that good?

This government do not give a tiny shit about what’s best for kids. Watch those child poverty stats rocket after 2010 cpag.org.uk/recent-history-uk-child-poverty

This is exactly what I meant but you have phrased it much better

@Trixiefirecracker

Thos policy won't prevent your daughter being a sahm if they want though.

But you don’t have to put your child into childcare . It’s all about choice . People who want to return to work or have to because of the cost of living will now have more choice .

Sorry but this is BULL. Both my children have loved never had to force them in. They’ve never cried for me. Sometimes they are so eager to go in I don’t even get a bye as they’ve already gone to greet their friends. But try always have a huge smile on their face when they see me there to pick them up. Each to their own no one is saying you can’t be a SAHM if you choose but let’s not make mums who have to or choose to go back to work feel bad ey

Some good points made , more ' them and us'
The conservative way.

That’s not the government’s job , it’s how we view things as a society. I was lucky to be able to be a SAHM and I loved it . But I have a colleague who needs to get back to work and this will help her out eventually.

@ParadiseLaundry I'm still seeing a certain amount of rose tinted nostalgia there. Going back to before the Industrial Revolution, children tended to be raised by their communities. With women and children working the fields it was certainly not the case that children were raised exclusively by their parents and families. There's also the fact that childhood was much shorter then. And if you look back overall in terms of quality of life, I don't think it was all that great.

And of course the 'raised by strangers' trope is the one people opposed to childcare do so love to use. People are only strangers until you get to know them. My DC had the same carers for the 5 years they were in nursery. These people were very much not strangers. A good childcare setting with a low turnover of staff (and yes, it does have to be a good and in that regard the UK must do better) becomes part of a child's community. My DC still recognise their nursery workers if they run into them in our small town.

@FancyFanny nobody is saying childcare is free in Scandinavian countries . But it's a hell of a lot more affordable than it is in the UK, and far better quality overall. However, Scandinavian countries also don't have the stupid long hours culture that the UK has - this too needs tackling, though of course the Tories aren't going to support that.