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Original poster

The nationalistion of childhood

15 replies

emkana · 05/03/2006 22:32

\link{http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,2766-2069657,00.html\I find this whole development quite worrying}

Want to be in charge of how my children are brought up, not leave it all to the state, ta very much.

OP posts:
MerlinsBeard · 05/03/2006 22:34

didn't finish the article but fgs LET ME BE THE PARENT OF MY CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!

Sometimes ds1 doesn't eat much a day let alone 5 portions of fruit and bloody veg, looks like i will have to become friendly with m,y council if i don't want to black marked

surely as parents we are competetive enough without this?!

Original poster
emkana · 05/03/2006 22:41

apologies for the spelling mistake in the title by the way

OP posts:
Hattie05 · 05/03/2006 22:43

I welcome this very much. Having both a childcare background and now working closely some of the so-called 'disadvantaged' groups i can totally see the postive aspects of this.

I don't understand your comments of "let me be the parent of my children", i read the article with that comment in my head, wondering why you think it.

If you know you are doing a great job of bringing up your child, then there won't be any need for any intervention. For those families who are not educated enough, not interested enough, not physically or mentally able to care for their children to the standards the government has set, then is it not great news that the government is making an attempt to ensure that all children equally have a good standard of upbringing? don't you think these children's centres could see lower figures in children going into care?

Original poster
emkana · 05/03/2006 22:46

Personally I agree with the last paragraphs of the article - it's great if the focus is on the disadvantaged, and I'm very much in favour -
but to me it seems that the government is trying to get all parents to go out and work and leave the child-rearing to childcare professionals. Which is great if that's what you want to do - no problem, but why can't there be genuine choice?

OP posts:
Hattie05 · 05/03/2006 22:49

Am i missing something, i have just read the thread again and i don't understand why the feeling is the government are "drawing every family under state control".

As you say emkana, i am all for the opportunity for every family to have childcare etc provided there is always choice. I cannot see in that article how the government aren't allowing for choice.

jenniferjuniper · 05/03/2006 22:56

I think the basis of the plans are quite sound but implementing them is a different matter .In my area they are gradually cancelling SureStart funded programmes to put the money into a new ( and as yet unbuilt) childrens centre so they are removing alot of support from people and breaking down a community of parents without replacing it with anything - actually leaving the most vunerable in a state of limbo

BadHair · 05/03/2006 22:56

Half the parents at ds2's nursery, which is part of local school, could do with a good dose of state intervention on how they bring their kids up.

Eg1 - the parent who feeds her 3 year old a bag of crisps and a mars bar for lunch every day. Her 5 year old is in ds1's class, and he told me, of his own accord, that she has just chocolate spread sandwiches every day for lunch.

Eg2 - the parent who puts her 3 year old in stiletto cowboy boots for nursery everyday, despite nursery asking her not to. Ds2 is not in her group, but if he was I'd make a formal complaint. The child can barely walk in the boots, let alone what she'd do if she stood on another child in them. Mother and her half-baked friends coo over how cute she looks in them.

These are the parents that this is aimed at.

colditz · 05/03/2006 23:10

I saw a woman my age screaming at her oldest daughter (3?) for not keeping up.

The child was wearing sandals with 2.5 inch heels.

Perhaps if the people who hang around outside my son's playschool, trying to push leaflets about "Back to work for single mothers" in my hand and not taking "I'm not single and I have a job thank you" as an answer, spent more time working with people who are struggling to parent and less time trying to make perfectly adequate parents go to work, the Sure Start scheme would work the way it should.

A grammatically poor and convoluted point I make, but a point all the same!

jenniferjuniper · 05/03/2006 23:22

i think so many objectives are being followed that the right hand doesnt know what the left one is doing !

FairyMum · 06/03/2006 07:08

I think SureStart is a great way of getting people off benefits and out to work. I also think many children growing up in deprived areas would benefit from a bit of "communal care" from what I have seen. Its clear that many parents are just not able to bring up their children by themselves and need some help. Typically these people won't read this article and its those of us who this initiative is not aimed at who start fretting.

I saw this article in the ST yesterday and decided to skip it. I think Jill Kirby normally likes to stir a bit and isn't Kirby a very conservative think tank-person?

Hallgerda · 06/03/2006 07:43

emkana, I too find this development worrying. My children's primary school has acquired a children's centre, which will move on to the school site in the next few years. I'm concerned at the way the state education system is being hijacked by the Government's childcare initiave. It's pretty clear that the children's centre is taking up school management time and the school is suffering as a result. In a few years time there will be a lot of building work and disruption and the school will lose some of its outdoor space as a result. Couldn't the small number of children who would be attending the children's centre be better reached by putting the money into childminder training and supervision rather than new buildings? The school hopes to be able to improve its facilities off the back of the children's centre building work, so maybe some good will come of it.

TearsBeforeBedtime · 07/03/2006 07:28

children of young single mothers should receive regular visits from health and social workers ShockShock

the MNetter formerly known as MTS.

Nightynight · 07/03/2006 07:47

Worthwhile targets, completely the wrong way to go about achieving them. My first thought on reading that was "thank god Im out of UK"

Hattie, people want some dignity. Many people who "work with disadvantaged groups" dont understand this, thats why said disadvantaged people dont like them.

colditz · 07/03/2006 10:00

Nightynight, you have hit the nail on the head there. There is a stigma attached to accepting help - 'if you need help you must be a crap parent' seems to be the attitude. Nobody is going to admit to that, to themselves or anyone else. It's called displaying your ignorance for the world to see!

Why expect people to accept interferance because they are poor?

MrsBigD · 07/03/2006 10:26

I'm all for having more options if wanting to go back to work so these wraparound sessions seem like a good idea.

Also that those who need help can get it would be great. but in real live... is that really going to happen?

I actually LOL at the bit of monitoring what kids eat. I'm lucky if dd and ds do eat! saying that they do have a varied diet if they do decided to cooperate. I'd love to see whoever try and force them to eat anything they don't want to eat that very moment Grin

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