About Children - Mostly
Oh look, the LibDems are promising free childcare for every two-year-old should they get re-elected next year. Now I understand how having children can affect a woman's career prospects, and I know quite how isolated and brain-dead you can get to fee after a while with a new baby BUT, and you just knew that there was a BUT coming, didn't you, Dear Reader, if you are going to leave the majority of the rearing of your children to other people - why have them in the first place?
Ok, so some families are on low incomes and anything Mum can earn is a necessary addition, sometimes Mum's wages are the only income. Some families are single-parent and Mum's income is the only one. I still wonder though, why have children if you're going to leave the majority of their rearing to other people? Yes, I was glad of playgroup two mornings per week so that I could get housework and major shopping done unaccompanied by S, D or both. It wasn't until they started school at almost five-years-old that they spent all that much time away from us, particularly me. These days children seem to start school at almost four-years-old. That's four years for their parents to teach them how to do all sorts of things - drink out of cups, feed themselves - with fingers, spoon, knives and forks, dress themselves, use the toilet, clean their teeth, basic social skills, wash themselves perhaps, learn to love books - to look at by themselves or being read to etc etc. I suppose these days it also includes the playing of games on Mum or Dad's smart phone or tablet as well as the ubiquitous TV - and wonderful as CBeebies and CBBC might be, that needs rationing too.
Of course there's a whole lot more than that - trips to the beach (easy where we live, though the beach can be a bit of a disappointment), trips to local parks, trips to the countryside, trips to the zoo even. Such outings can range from the cheap and cheerful - local parks with or without a homemade picnic. Hah! I remember once when S was small and D a baby we took a picnic to a park and ate it in the large greenhouse they had then. It was in January, but we had to get out of the house! Trips to a zoo or an amusement park (we have both within a reasonable distance, maybe even accessible by public transport - once upon a time) can run to far more expense - even if you qualify for family discounts. Just remember to take your own food and drink. It'll be heavier to haul but prices charged by on-site catering could double the price of your day out!
Oh all right, I understand that the urge to have children can be terrible, particularly children 'of your own'. I know that too many teenagers end up pregnant and with babies - and that despite being thoroughly taught about contraception. But I still wonder, if you're going to off-load them to 'professional' carers from an increasingly early age, why have children at all? Have I missed something important, Dear Reader?
While thinking of children and schools, it's ten years since the siege at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia. I still can't hear the overture to Humperdink's Hansel and Gretel without thinking about the awful events that occurred. Chechen militants took more than 1,000 people hostage in a school. The siege lasted three days and was ended by Russian special forces storming the building. More than 300 people were killed, many of them children.
What does that have to do with the Humperdink? The Classic fM presenter the lunchtime after the siege was ended, it may have been Jane Jones, played it to comemorate those who died. Hmmm, I'm glad that sort of thing doesn't happen in schools in the UK. Well, writes she thinking of Hungerford and Dunblane, not very often anyhow. And neither of those incidents involved the army.
As they say to sheep dogs, "That'll do!" Y'all have a good day now!
Ok, so some families are on low incomes and anything Mum can earn is a necessary addition, sometimes Mum's wages are the only income. Some families are single-parent and Mum's income is the only one. I still wonder though, why have children if you're going to leave the majority of their rearing to other people? Yes, I was glad of playgroup two mornings per week so that I could get housework and major shopping done unaccompanied by S, D or both. It wasn't until they started school at almost five-years-old that they spent all that much time away from us, particularly me. These days children seem to start school at almost four-years-old. That's four years for their parents to teach them how to do all sorts of things - drink out of cups, feed themselves - with fingers, spoon, knives and forks, dress themselves, use the toilet, clean their teeth, basic social skills, wash themselves perhaps, learn to love books - to look at by themselves or being read to etc etc. I suppose these days it also includes the playing of games on Mum or Dad's smart phone or tablet as well as the ubiquitous TV - and wonderful as CBeebies and CBBC might be, that needs rationing too.
Of course there's a whole lot more than that - trips to the beach (easy where we live, though the beach can be a bit of a disappointment), trips to local parks, trips to the countryside, trips to the zoo even. Such outings can range from the cheap and cheerful - local parks with or without a homemade picnic. Hah! I remember once when S was small and D a baby we took a picnic to a park and ate it in the large greenhouse they had then. It was in January, but we had to get out of the house! Trips to a zoo or an amusement park (we have both within a reasonable distance, maybe even accessible by public transport - once upon a time) can run to far more expense - even if you qualify for family discounts. Just remember to take your own food and drink. It'll be heavier to haul but prices charged by on-site catering could double the price of your day out!
Oh all right, I understand that the urge to have children can be terrible, particularly children 'of your own'. I know that too many teenagers end up pregnant and with babies - and that despite being thoroughly taught about contraception. But I still wonder, if you're going to off-load them to 'professional' carers from an increasingly early age, why have children at all? Have I missed something important, Dear Reader?
While thinking of children and schools, it's ten years since the siege at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia. I still can't hear the overture to Humperdink's Hansel and Gretel without thinking about the awful events that occurred. Chechen militants took more than 1,000 people hostage in a school. The siege lasted three days and was ended by Russian special forces storming the building. More than 300 people were killed, many of them children.
What does that have to do with the Humperdink? The Classic fM presenter the lunchtime after the siege was ended, it may have been Jane Jones, played it to comemorate those who died. Hmmm, I'm glad that sort of thing doesn't happen in schools in the UK. Well, writes she thinking of Hungerford and Dunblane, not very often anyhow. And neither of those incidents involved the army.
As they say to sheep dogs, "That'll do!" Y'all have a good day now!