[Sundae]

John Adams I think you missed the point. I don't know the exact situation, but my reading of the post suggests Australia pays child benefit. In order to claim this benefit, parents of children OF SCHOOL AGE must work 20 hours a week. In no way does this force children into daycare.

As you didn't link to the original comments (or quote verbatim) it's hard for me to get riled over the woman drinking a latte and worrying about her child. Surely she could have been on a lunchbreak, or waiting for a meeting or any number of other reasons to be having a coffee while her child was in daycare.

In principle I agree with you, because of how I was raised myself. My parents both worked, but they worked shifts. There was always someone home and we had a far better time of things than any of my friends - especially those who only saw their fathers at weekends.

But I totally understand why parents want to earn the money to maintain their lifestyles, and spend quality time with their children.

If I was relying on the wage of a partner who earned what I do now, I certainly wouldn't be able to bring up a child except in the most basic terms ie second hand clothes, value brands of all products (as opposed to brand names) no holidays etc. I find it hard to afford treats for myself alone, and I choose to have two jobs for that reason. If that wage was stretched 3 ways, we would be living a life that was considered by most people to be about 20 years out of date.

Would I do it? Possibly. I'm not materialistic. I'd love to give a child the creativity and imaginiation that come from "mend and make do" and the self discipline that comes from not getting what you want when you want it (well, my brother & sister learned that - I went the other way as an adult!)

In the most ideal of all worlds I'd prefer a partner with a better job than mine, a part time job or evening job for myself. That way I could get the bus home when my legs are tired, or suddenly decide to go to the seaside on Sunday without worrying about the petrol, or to be able to buy my child some tacky piece of rubbish from a street seller because I never got those things when I was younger.

But that's my decision if and when it happens, and it's my hypothetical child. You can't have it both ways. You can't rant about the Govt telling you how to raise your own children and then try and tell other people how to raise theirs.