To want to sink to my knees and cry?

[tessofthedurbervilles]

When my baby is born I would be better off not working than returning to my well paid respectable job....that is just the most stupid thing ever. All I want to do is pay my way but the system is making it easier to live on handouts.....

I am not taking over parliament in a suit. I am not going to be a Blair's babe with a silly brooch on my lapel and fancy hair, or a Sarah Palin over primped prawn cocktail of a women.

I will do it with messy hair, in my jeans, looking rather fetching, if somewhat overweight and pg, with my brain to the fore. Ha. I am not pandering to male newspaper editors. I will fight them on the beaches, etc etc.

Who is with me??

I am with you.

[No one has one anyway]

I am honoured, treedelivery.
Marchons, citoyens!!
Angela Murkel is now my political fashion heroine.

I'll vote for you!!

I'm another mum driven out of work (and thus driven slowly insane) by having 2 DCs since I would have to pay to go back to work. I worked 3 days when DD1 was little, which was a perfect balance for me. I'm not really enjoying being a SAHM. DD2 is 10mo now and it's getting a little easier - I'm starting to not dread every day, but I'd still rather be at work a couple of days a week!

i am boffin mum. when is the first march?

Me too!

Just wound myself up on another thread about the social security system in this ridiculous country and the horrible things being done to my family.

Bugger marching lets get violent. Rahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Here you go!

Thank you!!

Bet they never thought the revolution would come from a bunch of mums online [who ought to be cleaning something probably].

Would Boffinmum consider nice 2 piece and some knee high steel toe capped Dr Martins by way of Lady in Iron Boots as opposed to lady with iron fist and a nice blue 2 piece and hangbag [so 80's]

Basically, the world of paid employment was set up to be supported by unpaid female labour ie the man works for pay, the woman services the man and does all the childcare, for her keep and the occasional bunch of flowers. This model no longer works because far too many wages pay too little to support a dependent adult as well as dependent children: a mix of low pay and high housing costs mean that it's impossible for many families to manage on a single income.
And it's not that surprising that the industries with the shittiest pay are all the ones percieved as 'women's work' ie cleaning, caring and catering. Women are supposed to do these things out of 'love' and 'duty', they don't need pay etc.

What's actually needed is a combination of more affordable childcare and some sort of decent 'carer's allowance' which recognises that a woman person caring for a child - or a long-term invalid - at home is doing valuable work and therefore needs and merits an income.

So, free/means tested child care and a wage for stay at home people.

Can you imagine? I'd need so much less gaviscon for all the bile in my belly.

I am touched and have tears in my eyes. We are one.

It's pillows at dawn, ladies. I will happily code up a proper campaign website and actually do something about this if there is sufficient strength of feeling. Please therefore indicate said strength of feeling by posting a message of support and an appropriate number of angry emoticons.

On a more serious note, the main issue as I see it is that when they started educating girls, they did not see any contradiction between developing their brains and the subsequent frustrations of imprisoning them at home with children to do routine chores while the men and non-mothers made all the decisions.

Hence we have ended up with a society than only really accommodates blokes and non-parents, with vague and ineffectual nods in the direction of family life and the needs of women of childbearing age, as well as their children.

I also think the elderly get short shrift, by the way, but I don't want to be taking that on too as I haven't enough pillows.

So in fact - the only people with any power or potential are males age 30-65 [clearly the YOOF have no respect from society] and women age 27 with nice bodies, or 37 and in receipt of a 'power hair-do'

I have a breastfeeding pillow I could stuff with stones. There would be some deep satisfaction at using it for this purpose.

My G cup, clip down bras could also do damage if lined with lead.

To angry and impatient for rebeliion to keep linking the smiley in.
Do you think we'll be burnt in effigy like Guy Falkes if we fail. Can I be potrayed in converse trainers and with my nose stud in please.

And can my inability to spell be lost to history. Ta x

I have a mil who would watch the kids for perhaps a day or two, but I do not want her to as DD (aged 2) suddenly started saying things like, 'bad DS' and 'DS is naughty' after she babysat for them

He is 9 months for goodness sake!

Yes - vote for free, affordable childcare!

Am better educated than DP, better earning potential, but it would be difficult to do what I'm trained to do part time - too much competition...

i lose sleep over this time afetr time - its not worth it. I'd love more children but know I can't even afford the childcare for the ones I have - i have a professional job that took years of training and uni debt to qulify for - but sadly isn;t that well paid unless you leave the classroom and become a penpusher.....the best compromise I could manage is to set up as a registered childminder - its not quite what I was doing before but I get off on all the new paperwok we have to do and I feel a little more fulfilled than I do as a SAHM - but its still not my old career sadly.

I would love to be fulfilled as a SAHM as I am sure its great for my kids - but I get bored and when I'm bored I'm dangerous! I start moving house or other daft things for no reason!

None of this stuff is easy. Free affordable childcare is just a pipe dream frankly, with the economy the way it is (and the healthcare system, and the pensions system and the education system ....)

What would make things substantially better is genuine equality in the workplace, proper gender monitoring, transferable maternity/paternity leaves, a right to go parttime for all employees etc etc

In france I believe childcare is heavily subsidised by the govn? Am i right in this? Be good if we had that here.....for everyone...not just the £5 per hour brigade - others who have professional jobs and are in the "middle" wage bracket......

It's ok Quattrocento 'cos boffinmum is going to parliament to kick them all out and she's doing it in her jeans. And has kindly offered to fight them on the beaches too, so it could make a nice meet up and I'll bring a picnic. Am part timer so can also do some muffins.

It is all pipe dreaming - but why? Once upon a time they invented the idea of social security and the inclusion of state into society, and fought bloody wars to do it. Why can't we just say great, thanks very much - time to do it again. Dismantle the lot and just redesign the whole system bottom up. Why does a model from the 50's persist?

Haven't read all the posts but just wanted to agree with how crap it is - my DD's are in nursery 3 days a week and it costs almost £800 per month. Fortunately my MIL has them for one day and my employer allows me to work a compressed week so I have them one day too - otherwise we'd be looking at approx £1400 per month!

On the plus side my employer has recently started doing the vouchers Thingone mentioned and that has saved us quite alot.

Quattrocento, MN is all about pipe dreams, and Treedelivery, you were surely born to this calling. A fine use of a breastfeeding cushion, I can tell you.

I am off to make a batch of Terry Pratchett combat muffins. And to ring comrade Angela Merkel. Let's reconvene at about 0900 hours sisters.

If we can get Angela Merkel in the knee high doc martins too, possibly with red laces, I reckon Gordon will just hand over the keys and let us get on with it.

I echo deanychip's post of Mon 29 17:58.
This is us!!
My friend is also in the same boat - she would like another baby but is v worried about the childcare costs (like us, she has no regular family help).
it does get a bit cheaper when they start school but the holidays is still a juggling act.

I think Quattrocentro has got it... I wouldn't have quit my job (despite the awful travelling time) if I could have worked part time.

I know my DH would have loved sharing my ML! He had total of 4 weeks off, but only because he was able to save some of his AL snd flexitime!

In response to the OP, I would urge you to think of the long-term.

Being worse off in the short term is a PITA, but I work with women who gave up while their children were young and who now face the prospect of needing to stay in work until they're well into their 60s because they don't have the pension contributions to retire earlier.

They also missed out on promotion.

I'd echo the view that you should look at the childcare costs as a proportion of joint income...and if you think it's expensive now, wait until they're teenagers - it staggers me how much we spend on food, school trips etc.