Have decided rather than spend hours trying to construct a thesis on this, I'm just going to blog things as they occur to me. So, for starters today: look at the numbers of children damaged through parental alcohol abuse, domestic violence, drug addiction, poverty (emotional as well as material), or parents who are simply too caught up in the unhappy dynamics of their own relationship to pay much attention to the kids? (This is particularly true when people get married too young, and have kids too young. They're still working things out). Where are the Tory policies to deal with these issues? With Labour, there's Sure Start and the Family Intervention Project for starters.
Something I've noticed about some families where the parents have separated, is how much more attention the kids get from their parents when they're with them, either because that's "having the kids time" or because the adult who remains in the family home has to talk to the kids because they don't have another adult to talk to. I'm not saying that's a 'plus point' about separation, it's just another way of making the point that it's not the structures that count, it's how parents treat their kids. And also about what other influences the kids have in their lives.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I believe it's the balance that they're talking about. Having a family isn't perfect but on average it's much better than not having one. Statistically kids with an absent parent are more likely to play truant, join gangs, get involved in crime etc.
Labour won't be able to afford the same level of support for the poor after the next general election without substantially antagonising the middle income earners. Crime will inevitably shoot through the roof as a result.
True but taxation can never be tailored to individual circumstances.
Post a Comment