I would like to comment on the way Parents raise their Children today.In this modern Society, I believe the bond between the Parents and their Children is fast declining.There are many reasons for this,and the main one is,one Parent's salary is not enough, the cost of living is so high today, and also Parents want to have the best of everything now,and it's the Children who suffer most.
When I was a Child in the 1940's,my Mother stayed at home with us full time and although I recieved savage beatings,We had a special bond which I still have today.
I think it totally wrong that Parents put their Children in Child care centres,often before day break and don't pick them up often till after dark.They are virtually strangers, as they are fed and put to bed.Not much awake time spent together to bond,IMHO.
The latest with Child care centres here, is that now a lot of them are open 24 Hrs a Day.If you have to go out at night with friends,you leave them at the Child Care Centres and dont have to pick them up till next day,or next afternoon.I don't think this is in the best interests of the Child.They have to become estranged,and when they are too old for Childcare,you see them roaming the streets because no Parent is at home to supervise them till night time.Not all, but a lot.I see the same kids at our local Hot Food Bar sitting down eating hot Chips,night after night,because often thay have only one Parent and that parent is working.They don't have much of a future.

It would be hard to disagree with this, DSTM - and while all of these are real causes of woes, I often wonder if it doesn't go even deeper than that.

A parent has a child and often expects that child to be someone that lives only in their mind? That little bundle of joy is just that, a bundle of joy - but only a part of the time. The rest of the time it's seemingly non-ending exhaustion - gentle grin. So many parents honestly, perhaps even through little fault of their own, have literally no idea what they are getting into when having a child.

And for those parents, perhaps returning to work full-time is an 'escape', not just a 'second income for the family'? I honestly don't know. But I do feel in my heart that one is a lousy parent indeed if a child is left for endless hours in the care of someone else - huge sad sigh.

And as you said, for some it's not just the 'second income', but a vital financial necessity that both parents work full time. All the 'frills' aside, it must be ever so hard to pay mortgages or rent and buy food, clothes, insurance, etc on one salary if the working parent is earning minimum wages or simply wages that aren't enough for our societies general cost of living.

There is a 'happy balance' although I'm the first to admit that it takes endless work and a really good sense of humour and scads of love for a family with two working parents to not just survive but to thrive, both for themselves and especially for the children.

Hello its a tough life being a parent

I have 5 sons .
i chose not to work until my youngest had started secondary school at 11
Then i spent 6 years doiing a job i hated
was permenatly stressed tired irritable and although i had money of my own i wasnt enjoying it

I felt as if it was too much looking after 6 men running a house and coping with everything life threw at me

I nearly had a nervous breakdown
so i quit and had some me time
After all money isnt everything

Your Right DS the bond is gone and of course it would when, in this country, single mothers spend all their time in the pub.
They can afford to as this lousy government pays them to have kids. They don't need to work at all.
If they are in a relationship then nine times out of ten the bloke is out of work too.
These are kids we talk of 17-18 year olds who couldn't give a rats arse if they ever did any work as long as long as they are getting their dole money.
It pisses me right off frankly.
The government doesn't care either about trying to alleviate this situation but instead spends millions on cuddling the illegal immigrants.
Kids have nothing better to do except get into the drug scene and there are no cops to sort it out as they all too busy filling in mountains of paperwork.
A decent person can't go out at night for fear of being assaulted by these lunatics who are high on crack.
A lot of society is on it's arse and that's a fact.

I guess people would scream if our governments enacted something that required healthy people to 'work' in return for receiving government support - sigh.

I'm all for those who are ill or disabled or simply because of circumstances unable to work (versus unwilling to work) receiving support, in fact, I think those who truly need it should receive a heck of a lot more than they apparently now receive. And it wouldn't even have to increase our taxes if those who are both healthy and unemployed for months, and sometimes even years, either received very little or had to work at 'something' in return for the money each month. (Litter is a pesky thing at best and surely picking up litter from the sides of the highway could be classified as 'working in return for receiving monthly support'?

DSTM mentioned in Bleeping that Australia has the 'interesting' system of paying women to have babies - egad. I suppose the original intentions were good but what on earth were those who thought up and enacted this law thinking?!