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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

MNHQ

What's the single biggest thing the government could do to help parents?

179 replies

JustineMumsnet · 14/06/2007 14:00

Hello Mumsnetters,
Can I pick your brians for a moment please? Were you to get the chance to sit around a table with Gordon Brown and he was to ask you what government should be doing to help mums and families, what would you say?

OP posts:
rebelmum1 · 14/06/2007 15:01

Encourage creches at work so you can see your child.

expatinscotland · 14/06/2007 15:01

I agree w/rebelmum in that respect.

tatt · 14/06/2007 15:09
  1. Sort out tax credits.

  1. Provide what parents want for different educational needs, not what "experts " tell you works best. That means grammar schools too (in case its a conservative friend).

  2. Provide warm safe meeting places for teenagers with good role models.

  3. Support family intervention at a very early age since disadvantage starts before you reach school.

tatt · 14/06/2007 15:11

ummm - I know you said one thing but frankly that won't cut it. However I did put them in order

NoodleStroodle · 14/06/2007 15:21

Oh yes and also leave universities alone.

Sorry but not everyone is clever enough to go to university. Bring back Poly's & IHE.

colditz · 14/06/2007 15:22

make the help available to those who need it, and stop dismissing valid concerns as parental anxiety

NoodleStroodle · 14/06/2007 15:23

And stop paying child benefit to wealthy.

(I say that as someone who really does not need it - give it to those families who really really need it)

anorak · 14/06/2007 16:09

Stop holding parents responsible for their teenagers while giving them absolutely no power to insist their teenagers obey laws and behave reasonably.

RubberDuck · 14/06/2007 16:11

I also want a transferable or "family" tax allowance.

Would help for carers and for WOHP too as you could transfer more tax allowance to the higher earning partner and you'd end up with more take home pay in your pocket.

CuddlesomeCod · 14/06/2007 16:15

am only suspicious one then

MissGolightly · 14/06/2007 16:18

Noodle, I disagree - if you make benefits means tested you exclude the very worst off groups - those too disadvantaged to understand the system and claim what they are owed.

Child benefit should be raised to a realistic level and paid to everyone, and then taxed back off those who don't need it. That way there are no forms to fill in, no-one misses out, and you don't get any of that stupid "you qualify, oh no now you don't qualify, ok you used to qualify but now you have to pay us back" nonsense with tax credits.

onetanother · 14/06/2007 16:18

free childcare for both paernts that work.
Would love to work but if i work we would loose the w.tax credits and i live off those so it would be fab

MissGolightly · 14/06/2007 16:19

oops, forgot the one thing I would really like,

maternity leave for 2 years. Not paid, I realise that's unrealistic, but you should have the right to return to the same job within two years of the child's birth. Would make it much easier to recruit and retain maternity cover too, 2 years is a realistic short term contract. 6-12 months is impossible to manage on.

Desiderata · 14/06/2007 16:21

In answer to the OP, they could babysit on a Saturday night.

Housemum · 14/06/2007 17:27

Admit that school league tables are a farce - some children are not academic (wash my mouth out with soap) - yes, the grammar school system had its failings, but the principle is good of everyone being able to either go the academic route or learn a "trade" (which may be manual eg plumbing, electrician, hairdressing etc or may be white collar eg customer service work, retail, travel - equip people for a career). Rather than a one-off exam at 11, the child's whole personality and aptitudes should be taken into account, and they should be allocated a secondary school, in discussion with the parents, accordingly to focus on academic subjects, practical qualifications.

We currently have this ridiculous situation of unsporting children going to a specialist sports college, because it is the local catchment school and they won't get in elsewhere, and likewise the sportingly gifted children not getting in because they are out of catchment! (Same re arts, technology etc)

By the way, if you work in plumbing/travel/retail/catering I am not suggesting that you are in any way less bright than if you don't, just that they are industries where you could get to a certain level by being trained well, you don't have to be bright though you obviously could go further quicker if you are. I'm not wording this very well here - I'll shut up and go and make a soup!

MadamePlatypus · 14/06/2007 17:32

First of all more help for people with children with SN.

After that, it would be great if it was easier for people (male or female) to return to work after a career break. I like Mrs Golightly's idea about 2 year maternity leave. I think I would like to make returning parents more attractive to employer's by reducing employer's liability payments for them. Not exactly sure how that would work in practice, but thats the government's job...

toomuchtodo · 14/06/2007 17:33

pay parents to stay ay home with their kids

Grrrr · 14/06/2007 17:34

I do agree that child benefit could be taxable so that higher rate tax payers would pay 40% back into the pot.

Perhaps we could treat it like investment income thereby making it only subject to a tax charge if you are a higher rate tax payer.

I think that the government should make it obligatory for all employers with 5 or more employees to offer the salary sacrifice childcare voucher scheme.

Loads of working parents would benefit financially from this and the tax recovered on child benefit paid to higher earners could cover part of the loss in tax revenue from ensuring that more parents benefit from the use of childcare vouchers.

Also stop wasting money with the child trust fund scheme. It's patently obvious to most parents that a huge proportion of that money will be literally pissed up against the wall as part of 18th birthday celebrations. Others will just put it towards their university fees (which didn't used to be payable)so they haven't been given anything extra that hasn't been taken away with the other hand. No-one is fooled on this one and I resent my taxes being redistributed to be squandered by some 18 year olds.

Give fathers the right to request "80% contracts" for many jobs so that they can either have a day off each week to save on childcare costs and spend time with their kids outside the traditional weekend "daddy time" sessions or so that they can start an hour and a half later in the mornings or finish earlier in order to do the school drop off or pick-up. Grasp the nettle and make it a reasonable request. We need a massive shift in thinking in male employment practices/patterns.

squidette · 14/06/2007 17:42

Leave us alone - all the 'this is what you Should be doing to be Good Parents' is exhausting, patronising and pointless.

Trust us and accept us as fallible humans with mostly good intentions and a great deal of love for our children.

Jackstini · 14/06/2007 17:43

Better paid maternity leave for longer than 6 weeks.
Can't pay the mortgage on 106 quid a week and having to go back to work when dd was 7 weeks old was a bag of shite.
If I could have had my 20 weeks worth of 106 paid to me in one go I could have had a few more weeks....

MeAndMyMonkey · 14/06/2007 17:44

Extended maternity/paternity pay (6 months?).

Flexible working rights for all (including non-parents).

More creches in workplaces (perhaps only viable if more than a certain number of people work there, but at least worth considering).

Subsidised/affordable childcare for under as well as over threes.

Financial incentives for women to get pregnant (as I believe is the case in some European countries? Correct me if I'm wrong).

Scrap private education (ooh controversial)and tuition fees for university.

Hope that's covered most things

It's almost as though the government don't want us all to breed!

MeAndMyMonkey · 14/06/2007 17:45

Sorry, that wasn't a 'single' thing, but rantiness got the better of me

Jackstini · 14/06/2007 17:46

Grrr - why only companies with 5 employees or more? my company only has 2 employees in this country and I would love to take some of my pay as salary sacrifice childcare vouchers

Jackstini · 14/06/2007 17:47

Now I'm on a roll - sorry it is so hard to only say one thing!
SAHP should be able to transfer their tax allowance to the other parent

Housemum · 14/06/2007 18:49

Wholly agree about the transfer of your tax allowance - I love being a SAHM and feel privileged to have the luxury of choice - OK we don't have flashy hols etc, but I'm happier as we are - it would be the icing on the cake if my tax allowance could be utilised by DH though.

(By the way Justine, I have a Nick not a Brian - is that still OK? OP said you wanted to pick our brians... )

Meandmymonkey - you are right to think there are incentives abroad - certainly in France pour les familles nombreuses but that;s because they have a large country and small population - some theorists are saying we should not have more than 2 kids in this country! (Whoops, that's me mucking up their stats then as we are on 3rd and final!)