AS I WAS SAYING...

 Scone party Originally uploaded by PhylB

I am still looking for the answers. Apparently it is even worse in Scotland than down South but it can't continue like this in either country. When I did not go back to work in December, I ranted about it then. This article confirms it would have cost me £20748(net) a year in childcare if I had gone back to work. Reading the article, I had to laugh at the quote: "There can be no doubt this will hit Scottish parents in the pocket." This is a major understatement. They are insinuating Scottish families will struggle to meet the increased childcare costs. They fail to realize the major changes to the economy that this will bring. For starters, people like me, who went to university, paid for by taxes, will be lost more or less to the workforce for the a decade after their youngest child is born. Although I am trying to fit in some freelance work from home, trying to do more than 90 minutes a day with no childcare is impossible. Is that really what the economy needs? What will happen when this generation of women who suddenly had to give up their jobs has a pension deficit? The impact on family planning is also interesting. When I went to school in the 70s the majority of families seemed to have two kids about three years apart. A minority had one or three kids and I never met any larger families. From seven years at the school gate, I have noticed this changing. Two kids is still the norm in my area, but often there are more than five years between them, no doubt to minimize nursery costs. Another thing I am seeing more and more of is larger families, especially amongst educated people who can often fit in a bit of freelance work from home. Charlotte's best friend is one of six. His parents are in healthcare. I have at least half a dozen close friends with four children. They figure if they can't go into the office anyway, they might as well have more kids, I guess! It will be interesting to watch this unfold.