I don’t know Wobbles, I suspect women started going to work and then couples started buying stuff and needing daycare. Or was it the other way around and the cost of living increased and women had to get out there and start working?

But I think what we are heading towards now is parents not bonding with children or knowing their children that they’ve had weekends with since three months old.

See you in another thread Belly. I don’t think your views would upset anyone though. :)

17 years ago I babysat children from my neighbourhood for $10.00 a day (more often than not it wasn’t paid anyways), all this time later I’m still happy to do that and my daughter will help her mates lighten the load. But I’d much rather go back to what Wobbles remembers.

Same Poirot, I don’t remember sleeping through the night being a big deal but I do remember soon as they were out of cots I would wake up to find my kids had snuck into bed with me. One bonus of being a single mum is there was always room for the kids.

The mention of a drinking game got me searching... for the teetotallers this can be played as Bingo only but is easily adapted to include drinks as desired:

http://tinyurl.com/6s5uqk

"My mind is fixed on the Mums and dads who MUST WORK the bottom of in income and lifestyle heap"

How much of our government policy is in theory based around that part of the population often doing those who do fit the category well little of no good and great harm to many others (and an improved profit to some business owner).

If the government subsidises the cost of something to help that group out the price tends to rise making it less affordable for others and once again pushing it out of range for the genuinely poor.

We struggle to work out who is trully in need of help and who is just along for the ride.

Far to many areas where the rest of us suffer at the hands of government because someone had their mind fixed on one extreme of a situation ignoring the impact of the "fix" on most others.

We need to care forthe genuinely needy but always the larger picture needs to be considered as well.

R0bert

Thank you for all your opinions and comments regarding my research question. If any of you (who currently have children in childcare) are willing to participate in a questionnaire I have generated, please feel free to search: childcare questionnare. This will be kept completely anonymous and no names or personal details need to be given. Thank you all once again.