LIFE

'Childcare is important for everyone — not just parents'

Last modified on Thursday 16 March 2023

The government's new plans to support childcare and provide places to children from 9 months of age doesn't just help parents. It helps the entire UK economy, says Netmums Editorial Director, Jennifer Howze.

While the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt left his announcements about changes to childcare til the end of his Spring Budget on 15 March 2023, for parents, it was saving the best for last.

Hunt announced several updates ( see them all here ), from payments to encourage new childminders to increased payments for Universal Credit childcare to expanded free childcare places .

Hunt's focus is on getting parents back to work. That's an important goal and will make a big impact on those families.

But it also demonstrates just how vital our childminders, nurseries and other carers are in a wider sense. Sorting out childcare isn't just good for parents. It's good for the entire country. At last childcare is taking centre stage in the economy – where it needs to be.

Parents should not be on their own

Since the time that my teenage daughter was young, childcare has been something that parents have been largely left to sort out entirely on their own.

We cope with nursery and school hours that end long before work or the daily commute is over.

We arrange sitters and family help and playgroups and holiday camps for the long stretches at half term or school holidays when we can’t take holiday ourselves.

And we plug the gaps when a child is off sick or even a sniffle keeps them off from their usual childcare.

For too long as a country we've ignored the enormous demand that organising childcare puts on parents. Costs have ballooned for families and childcare providers, with nurseries across the country threatened with closures. The cost of childcare in England is the second-highest among developed nations , according to the group Pregnant Then Screwed.

More importantly, it's not merely a problem for families with children.

Childcare has a knock-on effect across the UK, economically and socially. Parents with adequate childcare can go out to work, look after other caring responsibilities, can earn more, spend more, feel more supported and be happier.

If we want a well-functioning society, a growing economy and future generations who help this country thrive (and look after us in our dotage with their taxes), then we have to invest in childcare, whether or not we have children ourselves.

Childcare

The shocking costs of childcare

The cost of childcare is a topic to rival the house prices among parents. Full-time nursery for under-2s can cost up to 65% of weekly take-home pay in England, according to a report published in The Guardian in October 2022 .

In Wales the amount is about the same (63%) and in Scotland, parents pay a little more than half (51%).

The new 30 hours offer, which will start when maternity or paternity leave ends, will save families thousands. Hunt told the Commons: 'It's a package worth on average £6,500 every year for a family with a 2-year-old child using 35 hours of childcare every week and reduces their childcare costs by nearly 60pc.'

That's HUGE, considering that the Guardian article also reported that in the London and the east of England parents hand over a whopping 71% of their weekly earnings .

Our own Alison Perry, Netmums Social Media Editor, has written about investigating nursery for her twins only to discover it would cost a staggering £52,000 a year – more than her husband could make at his job as a teacher!

We ALL need good childcare

This is not a problem that an industrious mother or father can solve on their own. We know about the housing crisis affects us all, whether we own or rent. It's time to acknowledge how the childcare crisis affects us all too.

It affects how much families pay in tax and put back into the economy. It can affect how well they can parent. It can affect the start in life their children get and who those kids grow up into.

Affordable childcare boosts productivity

This move recognises that childcare unlocks the potential and earning power of a whole swath of society. Not every parent wants to find work outside the home. But for those who do, it will be more feasible.

With these changes the Government has put its money where its mouth is and shown it understands childcare is important for the country as a whole.

It brings to mind the phrase that parents around the country say (whether aloud or not) when our kids finally take our advice and realise how good it was in the first place: We told you so.

Updated: Weds 15 March 2023

Read more on childcare:

How does Tax-Free Childcare work? What parents need to know

CHAT: Childcare costs and choosing the right option for you

Parents concerned as hundreds of after-school clubs face closure