Working mothers need support if the economy is to grow

Where would this world be without a constantly changing generation of little ones coming along behind us to ensure the future?

Some things have changed though. Families these days have fewer babies which could lead to big problems in the future. But let’s stick to the present. This week the media were interviewing and photographing the Princess of Wales whose latest mission is to support family life. Now that is a very worthwhile mission but it begs the question why is it needed?

Isn’t life prosperous enough to ensure a decent future for all babies born today? Surprisingly the real answer to that is no. Families today need two working parents to achieve a decent standard but lots of mums can’t or don’t work because the support is not there for them to combine the two – run a home and work outside it as well.

The Princess, mother to three young children, having been brought up by a mother who worked (she ran a business) would have known long ago that the working life for a mum needed support from outsiders. So this week the Princess tackled business leaders with her Business Taskforce for Early Childhood. At an event in the London board room of major banking group NatWest she spoke of the `two things to really transform society for generations to come’.

She saw these as `prioritising creating working environments that provide the support and training your workforce needs to cultivate and maintain its own social and emotional wellbeing’. The second `is supporting the social and emotional development of our youngest children… because the key time to develop these is in the first five years’.

I’m so glad someone of her importance has raised this subject because I have memories of my own decision back in the early 70’s to return to work after our first-born but first I had to work out a way of having him looked after as I didn’t have family close enough to help out. Both of us were working on daily newspapers then. Deadlines haunted my sleep. Today I sometimes look back on those days and wonder how we managed. When carers got sick and couldn’t do the job I’m forever grateful for those who filled in at a moment’s notice. Costs were high leading to a Spartan social life. Lots of couples struggled, mothers mostly

I’ve observed over the years that not an awful lot has changed for working parents except the costs of having their children in suitable nurseries. In fact a considerable number of parents now say they are very hard pressed to pay for day-care. And it seems this is the heart of the matter for our future Queen who has taken on the job of tackling employers – particularly those in large organisations – to set an example.

She explains: ‘I know businesses are feeling the pressure across the board. However I truly believe that, by investing in early childhood, with a specific focus on social and emotional development business in turn will see in the future… better communication, better communication, better working relationships, improved resilience, employees finding a better work life balance… leading to increased job satisfaction.’

That sounds straight forward of course but the other day I read an article about the rising costs of weekly care for small children - £15,000 per year - which suggests that rather than things getting easier for young families this may be too expensive for many of them. Is the Government to blame for this by insisting on higher standards leading to more tax for their coffers? Our future Queen might well have something to say about this.