OK so I'm gonna get on my soapbox here for a bit. I don't usually drag out the old soapbox...well OK that's such a whopping lie I'm surprised my nose isn't growing, but I may perplex a few of you here cause it isn't about VPL or the topknot or fashion crimes requiring bleaching eyeballs...for once.
In this instance I read the news, which you know, is always a bad idea. And I read an article which has me majorly pissed and of course, feeling compelled to write about it.
So there you go you poor suckers, you get to be the recipients of today's rant.
So for you overseas readers, in Australia we have something called the Single Parenting Payment, which is pretty much significantly more than the unemployment payment. Like $110 per fortnight. Essentially it's a welfare payment to allow you to stay home or work part time while your raise your child.
Anyhoo, the government has...shock! horror!...decided that when your child turns 8, you will now be put over to the unemployment payment, thereby 'encouraging' those who have children of school age to, you know, get a job.
Sounds reasonable right?
Well to a large amount of non-working single mothers, apparently not. In fact, they're so irate that they're marching on Parliament House tomorrow to voice their opinions.
This may be an unpopular view, and I might be going against all my fellow single mother sisters but I just can't see how or why someone should feel like they're entitled to be a stay-at-home parent on the government's dime when their kid isn't even at home for the majority of the day.
Please don't get me wrong, this isn't a rant against stay-at-home mums (in fact I envy you having the choice to do it) but seriously, if you're on your own and unable to afford to stay at home, then you should work. End of story. If you're partnered and you make a choice to stay home because you're lucky enough that your partner can support all of you, then have at it. I'm jealous.
Personally I've been a single mother for the most part of E's life, who is now 12 years old, so I think I'm pretty qualified to have an opinion on this.
I also worked every day of my adult life up until just a few days before E was born, and quite frankly enjoyed getting a salary. The parenting payment, whilst pretty generous by government standards, simply wasn't going to work for me and I wanted to make a better life for my son than it would provide.
So I went back to work when E was quite small, like about 5 months old. Part time mind you, but still, I was out there working instead of letting the government provide. I then continued to work part time until E was in pre-school, at which time I returned to full time work and haven't looked back since.
Some have argued that I'm wrong and let daycare raise my child, and God knows I have carried a lot of guilt about not spending as much time with my child as I would have liked. However, as my stepmother pointed out (who as someone who worked three jobs as a single parent to fund her child's private education, also knows damn well of what she speaks), instead my son has gotten a role model who is teaching him a strong work ethic that will carry with him for life...monkey see, monkey do.
And what was the other choice...to stay at home, accept government benefits and have just enough to put food on the table? To me, there was no choice.
I came from an environment where my mum was expected to stay home and give up work after marriage, but just wasn't cut from the cloth that allowed her brain to do it. So I had the role models of two working parents and spent a fair amount of my time with babysitters, after school care, summer camps and the like. I certainly don't feel hard done by at all, in fact I revelled in the independence, and as the days go by and I see that my 12 year old is strong, independent, street smart and admiring of his mum for working hard to provide him with a good life, then the guilt lessens just a tiny bit.
Anyhoo, I'm getting a bit off topic. According to this article, apparently this decision of the government is going to cause 'massive social issues'. I mean what?
Excuse my ignorance but wouldn't the 'massive social issue' be the fact that all these mums are NOT working, thereby letting their skills date and becoming unemployable??? I mean, one day the kids are going to be 18 and the government won't give you a free ride any longer and then what? Not exactly demonstrating the winning formula to the kids, now are you?
Not to mention the self esteem issue. I get a lot of my self worth from my job, not to mention interaction with other human beings that you just don't get from hanging about the house and watching daytime TV. I feel useful, and like I'm contributing to society, rather than being a drain on it.
So my advice to these fellow single mums who plan to march tomorrow (and seeing as it's school holidays I'm wondering where the hell the kids are and whose looking after them seeing as being with them is such an important role???)...find a better use for your time and life and open up seek.com.au and GET A JOB.
Or get a degree. Get some skills. Get some self respect.
I guarantee one day your kids will thank you for it.
*stepping down from soapbox. Rant over.
Bec xx
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