For once, this isn’t a post making lame excuses for the lack of new content on this site. Instead, I’m remarking on the fact that it’s a bit quiet at home today, even though Tom is here, my mum is here and the two cats are around somewhere (although trying desperately to find somewhere shady and cool, much like the rest of us).
The reason it is quiet is that Hels has gone back to work today for the first time in seven months. To say that she was not looking forward to it is an understatement – the thought of having to deal with daily stresses, irritating people and a stifling office environment are not the things that encourage someone to be enthusiastic. Added to that, H feels guilty at leaving Tom. Tom, of course, is going to be ably cared for by a combination of grandparents, childminder and me, so he’ll be fine. Furthermore, H is caring for him in a way by going out and earning the money we need to keep home and family together. So I’ve suggested that she shouldn’t feel guilty or even worried, but I guess it’s a natural reaction.
Meanwhile, I’ve had my mum for company today and she and Tom have taken a nap this afternoon on the lawn in some shade. She’s ably dealt with trying to get Tom to eat food he doesn’t really like, drink water that he doesn’t really want (I’m concerned about fluid intake in this heat) and is currently poaching some chicken for his tea this evening.
But it’s not the same as having Hels here every day. Anyone want to make a cash donation so we don’t have to work and can just enjoy Tom together?
A cash donation? Surely the government are throwing money at you now!?
Anyhoo, I’d love to offer you some cash but I’m too busy saving up so *I* don’t have to go to work.
Government? Throw money? Not in this direction. We’ve just worked out that we can sign up to a voucher scheme for childcare which will save us the princely sum of £8 per month – which, apparently, is to really encourage mums to go back to work. We get Child Benefit, but even ultra-cheap evil disposable nappies swallow that money up. And then there are tax credits, but the system is so screwed up after the fraud last year that we really still haven’t tackled whether we are entitled to anything and, if we are, how on earth we go about claiming. (Apparently we have to be interviewed. In Inverness or somewhere equally convenient.)
The only person who gets money from HMG is Tom, who got a lump sum at birth and gets another one in a few years. These have to be invested in Child Trust Funds which are designed to further line the pockets of city bankers. When he turns 18, he’ll get this money back (plus the extra money that we are adding to it every month) as a tax-free cash payment which I’m sure he will find useful to pay for university, a car, beer or drugs, as appropriate.
I agree that the government do not help young families financially. The bee that i have buzzing around in my very small bonnet (i have a very little head!!)is that my children (7 & 10)get nothing for their future aside from child ben. No child trust fund for mine!! What about all the other kids they have excluded from this farce?? So much for uni for my two!!
Thanks for the ramble.
An exhausted mother East Sussex