There is the start of a campaign building as a result of the letter in the Telegraph yesterday from “the great and the good”. In it they are asking society to allow children to be children and not be forced into becoming “mini-adults”. One of the specifics they mention is the need for them to have time with the significant adults in their lives i.e. their parents / guardians.
They ask for a debate on child rearing, so this is my initial contribution to this debate.
My big issue in this area is that the contribution of say at home parents (mainly mums) is not recognised economically.
If I pay someone outside the family to look after my children it is counted in the statistics. However my wife looking after the children is ignored for the purpose of GNP. This is wrong for two reasons, one it means that the models used to manage the economy are incomplete and it means that a significant amount of very hard work is not recognised.
This issue extends to the incentives that exist in the tax system. If an employer/business gives childcare vouchers to its employee then this is classed as a genuine business expense i.e. pre corporation tax, and these vouchers do not incur National Insurance. If a family gets the family tax credit they can also get tax credits for child care. Neither tax break applies unless the child is at registered (government approved) childminder or nursery.
In summary the system encourages children to be looked after by strangers but not the extended family.
Talk about perverse incentives. Many mothers, in particular, feel both economic and social pressures to go back to work after having children, yet still feel that the right decision for their family is for them to be at home. If we recognized the contribution to economy made by the parent at home then they would feel better about themselves and help them make the right decision about work for them and their families.
We might then start to structure society in such a way where parenting had the recognition it deserves.