Are Money Problems Making Parenting Difficult?
By admin • Mar 2nd, 2010We may have all breathed a sigh of relief when it was announced the UK is officially out of recession, but has it really made much of a difference to our own personal finances?
Indeed, with VAT going back up and credit still hard to secure, while unemployment continues to rise, things may continue to be difficult for households around the country for some time to come.
And while tightening the purse strings may mean us girls cannot afford to rush out any buy the designer shoes or handbag we crave, the impact it could be having on family life is far more serious.
Indeed, according to Georgina Wintersgill, features editor at Prima, many women are increasingly finding themselves forced into non-ideal working options because of financial constraints.
She explains it is often a priority for ladies to have a solid work-life balance, but that this is not always an option when money is tight.
In particular, women in low paid or part-time jobs may struggle with the cost of childcare to cover the periods when they are out, while travelling to and from work could swallow up much of their earnings.
As a result, for many ladies, although it is not their ideal choice, either staying in full-time work or becoming a full-time mum is the only financial sound choice, she notes.
"The other thing we’ve noticed is another phenomenon, which is some couples working split shifts - so the dad works a night shift and the mum works a day shift and then they look after the kids themselves and don’t pay for childcare but it’s totally exhausting and of course you don’t get to spend time together as a couple," Ms Wintersgill states.
Her comments come after analysis of the annual British Social Attitudes survey data published by the Centre for Policy Studies found that an increasing number of women want a home and children more than they desire a job.
Meanwhile, the happiest mothers were found to be those who work part-time and still have the chance to do some housework and be a mum.
However, Ms Wintersgill states she would be "really surprised" if single women were looking for a man with enough money or a good enough job to allow them to be full-time stay-at-home mums.
In fact, it could be said, for many women the independence of going to work and earning their own wage is not something they wish to give up, no matter how much they love their role in bringing up their kids.
And for ladies who have children in school, going out to work could be the perfect way to meet like-minded people, in addition to making a little cash that does not have to go towards childcare, which could mean whether full-time or part-time, the value of a job for women is worth more than the salary itself.
Would you like to be a full-time mum or do you prefer to work?