Mayor Mamdani’s “Parent’s Night Out Scheme”

[orangejuiceinthekitchen]

AIBU to say we need something like this in the UK?

The premise is pretty simple - 500 families get 4 funded hours of evening childcare. Childcare centres will be paid by the city to look after kids aged 6-13 for four hours, the kids will be fed dinner and entertained.

The parents get four hours to do whatever they want - it’s obviously hoped they’ll go out to dinner and spend money in the local community.

If it’s a success, they’ll expand it to other age groups and more children.

AIBU to think this is exactly the type of thing that we need in this country?! It would do so much to stimulate the economy and also just be a boost to people.

Because the state has no money of its own. All of this is from the taxpayer. I don't think it's a bad idea - does not impact me as I don't live in NYC. But stated simply, the more the state does, the more of my own money that I lose.

Oh dear, here come the trumps…

Full time nursery fees almost £20k a year? I wish!

Mine are £28k (one child) and I could easily be spending up to £33k.

I thought Trump reluctantly quite likes him.

Saying that Netanyahu is a war criminal, (which he is), does not make Mamdani a terrorist sympathiser.

I’m impressed by lots of what he he’s done so far but this feels a bit of a gimmick.

If it led to less couples getting divorced I think it would be a good thing. Stable home is better for children. Divorce often leads to mum needing to claim benefits which costs a lot more than a bit of free childcare. Childcare centres would create jobs. If people did eat out that helps the economy. If the centres had toys/experiences/books that lower income families didn't have access too thats also good. So I can see lots of pros to it but it would cost a huge amount to get started.

I mean yeah, i think you're backing my point even more! To have a childcare subsidy cliff edge at 100k pre tax (and you lose a huge chunk of that after tax and NI etc), means that it's mostly only very high earners or people topped up by UC who can have more than two kids, not families in between.

That's an odd kind of social engineering, suppressing the birth rate of the middle classes.

parents night out programs are common in my U.S. city. They are generally offered by trusted childcare centers or children’s activities. The parents pay the fee. It is cheaper than a babysitter, but more importantly, it’s generally at a place where your child is already comfortable mostly with people they are already comfortable with.

it’s a common December fundraiser at schools too. The high school students can get in some of their volunteer hours. Drop your kids off from 5-9 so you can get dinner and shop.

Im not really seeing why this needs to move from the private to the public sector.

This is basically unheard of as a service in the UK which i think shows there's no demand for it, or someone would have a profitable business.

UK kids tend to go to bed too early for this to be useful, maybe.

I despise trump. I still think he's an Islamist Hamas sympathiser.

He’s Muslim. And your point is?

That's not true, he doesn't support Netanyahu and wants him arrested. Quite refreshing to see a politician with balls.

As for the proposal it sounds interesting, I would like to see what comes of it.

My kids preschool in the USA did this once a term, no additional cost either was part of the package.

I was deeply uncomfortable with the way he and the media, most notably CNN, framed the narrative around the isis supporters who threw IEDs at the white supremacists protesting outside his house. Was very weird.

Regarding the proposal not mad about it. Would prefer they just gave vouchers to spend at existing businesses and have people pay for the childcare they choose.

Baby sitting circles achieve the same thing, ensure your children are cared for at home by people they know, and don’t cost the tax payer a penny.

I think the majority would just stay in and enjoy a quiet house tbh

We also have good maternity leave, ability to take shared parental leave (though the employer needs to support that). And 30 hours of free childcare for preschool. And the right to request flexible working. We’re not at the Scandinavian stage but I don’t think we are parent unfriendly. But the cost of living and the difficulties in getting on the housing ladder are contributing to a declining birth rate.

This would line up with my view too. British parents really have it pretty hard in comparison to where I live.

I’d like to see the nursery funding properly funded first. It’s an absolute farce and a full time nursery place now costs more than it did pre funding.

Where are these qualified and trustworthy child minders coming from?
Who (if you live in a city) wants to be ferrying small children around at 10 or 11 at night?
And again, who is paying for it and why should others fund it?

The UK has always been parent unfriendly - that's not why the birthrate is falling. Sweden is considered incredibly parent friendly, but it's birthrate is dropping too.

Except you then have one less day of annual leave to use in school holidays meaning you have to pay for more childcare

People dont want their kids in some random childcare centre till 10 or 11pm. They want a sitter who comes to the house & puts the kids to bed.

If people are really struggling to afford this they can offer childcare swaps with friends etc

The problem is the cost of dinner out etc is high.