Just What the Government Wants

I’ve just been moved almost to tears by this http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/4954102/Rise-of-the-nursery-for-newborns.html in the Telegraph today. The excerpt below left me speechless:

So, within three months, Alice was in a nursery in Haslemere. “I had my baby in September, was working from home within weeks, and then was back in the office full time in January,” says Jane. It was not just because she loves her job; her partner has an ex-wife and two children to support. She simply couldn’t afford a full year off, she says.

“Women who go back to work early do get a rough time, and before I had my own children I probably would have been one of those people giving them a rough time,” she admits. “But I think I’m a better mother for the fact that I’m not at home every day.

“I love my children very much and can’t wait to see them, but I definitely feel more of a person working than if was stuck at home.” Plus her children are at a wonderful nursery that serves fresh organic lunches, where the staff can devote themselves to finger-painting much better than she. “I know my baby is in good hands.”

Ohhhh, organic lunches and finger painting, well that’s all right then… *rolls eyes*

But, if the Government has its way, then Jane’s early return to full-time work will become absolutely the norm for families unless their salary gives them a certain net spendable amount every month. Under new legislation, a couple with two dependent children under 14, whose net spendable income is £270 per week or less (measured after income tax, council tax and housing costs have been deducted, where housing costs include rents, mortgage interest (but not the repayment of principal), buildings insurance and water charges), will be forced to take part in the Welfare to Work programme.

In our rather pompous Government’s opinion, “every parent who could work, should work”. The use of the word “should” suggests that those who want to work inside the home – those who prefer to take full-time care of their children rather than work for someone else to earn money for unwanted luxuries – are wrong to have that preference. It makes me very sad…

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