Friday, July 07, 2006

Family life

BRITISH MUMS WANT MORE TIME AT HOME

British mothers are being offered tax credits and daycare places to help them hold down paid jobs but the majority do not like the policy, a survey among 1,736 mothers by First magazine shows. Six out of 10 thought the government "doesn't like traditional families" but favours single mothers and working parents. More than half also said they would send their child to a private school if they could afford it, and two-thirds thought grammar schools -- abolished in the 1970s -- were a good idea.

Among those surveyed, whose average age was 37, about a third worked full-time and a third part-time. Three-quarters of those working said they would reduce their working hours if they could, and nine out of 10 said that if a mother was married and wanted to stay at home, her tax allowance should be added to her husband's, allowing more women the option to be stay-at-home mothers.

They blamed the destruction of family life on "families not eating together" (72 per cent) mostly due to both parents having to work, "video games consoles" (46 per cent), "working mothers" (41 per cent), and "women becoming breadwinners" (23 per cent). The main reason mothers of young children returned to work was to meet basic needs (60 per cent). But with many outside influences, mothers said they were struggling to discipline their children - eight out of ten did not think their children were well disciplined either at home or school and a third admitted that their children swore at them.

The Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, admitted recently the government had probably erred in its approach. "If I look back over the last six years I do think that we have given the impression that we think all mothers should be out to work, preferably full-time as soon as their children are a few months old." ~ Telegraph, June 28

What do you make of all that?

I wonder if it has crossed the minds of many women that the cost of the welfare state, the biggest gobbler of their's and their partners taxes, has reduced their choices? Many appear to feel unable to control their family life due to financial pressures.
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2 comments:

Lucia Maria said...

I agree with a lot of the points. I think what is happening is women my age are realising the legacy that women's rights have left for them is not all that great. Yet, unless our husbands are in the higher wage bracket, it's very difficult to just be a stay at home mother - which most of us want to be.

The welfare state, on the other hand, takes our tax money and gives it to single women to stay at home with their children and encourages them to have more, while making it very difficult for those of us in stable married relationships to stay home with ours.

I think that last dot, that last connection to the welfare state is being made.

5:35 PM
Michael said...

I think one problem is that opinion surveys don't often capture the 'when push comes to shove' effect. In this case Governments have surveyed the public and heard that there were barriers to mothers going back to work and it would be "nice" if they could be removed.

But when the barriers are removed, mothers have decided that spending time with their children is more important than earning extra income. And with Government policy moving in the opposite direction they've ended up resentful.

The same effect happened in Britain in the 80s when opinion poll are poll showed people wouldn't mind paying more tax for Government services but kept re-electing Margaret Thatcher who kept reducing tax and reducing services.

More recently the same effect occurred in Auckland where surveys show residents want better public transport and wouldn't mind paying more, but when the ARC upped it's rates by 40% to pay for better public transport there was a rates revolt.

3:12 PM

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