Will the cuts affect your family size?

[highlystrung]

We have three children and tbh I'd always hankered after having four - being from a family of four kids myself. But since the cuts, and more specifically, the university funding changes, I think we'll be sticking at three. We've already lost our tax credits and the child benefit will go - but the real killer for us is the prospect of having to fork out £100k or thereabouts for each of them to go to Uni. Could always stop them doing their homework so they flunk their GCSEs and save us a fortune I spose, but failing that it looks like we're in an American situation where we have to start saving in to a college fund for each of them. Panicking really - what with trying to pay the mortgage and paying in to a pension, but part of me also thinks that it is fair enough that people should consider if they can afford their kids before they have them. Anyone else letting the changes determine how many kids they have?

I'm miffed that every decision the Government makes seems to impact on children, mothers and families first and foremost.

But times change. Years ago fathers were expected to pay for their daughter's wedding, but the thought horrifies me and our children will have to make their own way like we did (with a little help of course).

Likewise, i worked in my holidays and got loans to see me through uni and don't ever remember asking my parents for money - though i know they would have given me it if i'd needed it. I was very fortunate that i left with only a small debt.

Finances generally have made us think twice, but it's more about childcare costs and having to go back to work full time to pay for them. My husband pays a lot out in maintenance for my stepdaughters every month so we're stopping at one child together. My stepdaughters are already a huge part of our lives anyway, so we count ourselves already blessed.

the system in the US is different. You get local community/state universities plus the keudos ones like harvard. My sisteris in US, has 3 dcs and has been saving forever. They get tax breaks for education savings. She said to her dcs that they could have funding from mum and dad at equiv rate of state fees for 4 years and anything on top they have to pay for. They all did different things, all doing well and all are working, eg in coffee bars, throughout coming back home for summer jobs. There are also lots of bursaries available.
If we are going to have this level of fees we too need tax incentives to save. And still not all bright kids will be able to go. It is elitism by the back door.

University isn't everything anyway. Most entrepreneurs I can think of had no university education at all - and not that much at school.

university isn't the only route to a job, you're right but this type of education is a prerequisite for very many careers. And to be a doctor, vet, nurse, socil worker it's the only way in. We do, i believe, need to go back to thinking about the purpose of education.

We have 4 and no option of putting any back

If the dd's want to go to uni they will have to get a student loan and a part time job, they certainly wouldn't expect us to pay.