http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/childcare/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:13 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:13 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-worry-theyre-taking-good-care-of-your-children/ Imagine you are the harried working parent of a bustling four-year-old child - unless of course you’re actually in the zone right now, experiencing all those many wonders first hand. Next year’s the big one. School, and potentially a 13-year stretch of study, social integration, with hopefully some fun and a few of life’s lessons in the mix. As you’re dropping them off at the local pre-school before zooming off to work, it is time to wonder how much do they really need to learn right now. piotrowskid@newsltd.com.au (Daniel Piotrowski) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-worry-theyre-taking-good-care-of-your-children/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-worry-theyre-taking-good-care-of-your-children/#item7567 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:13 +0000 With significant diversions during Federal Parliament last week one of the more contemptible political back flips in recent memory might have escaped your notice. Without a blush, Labor - supported by the Greens in the Senate - took $700 a year from 21,000 parents to fund its reform agenda for the childcare industry. A little explanatory background is needed. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labor-greens-take-chainsaw-to-your-childcare-benefits/ With significant diversions during Federal Parliament last week one of the more contemptible political back flips in recent memory might have escaped your notice. Without a blush, Labor - supported by the Greens in the Senate - took $700 a year from 21,000 parents to fund its reform agenda for the childcare industry. A little explanatory background is needed. piotrowskid@newsltd.com.au (Daniel Piotrowski) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labor-greens-take-chainsaw-to-your-childcare-benefits/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labor-greens-take-chainsaw-to-your-childcare-benefits/#item6609 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:13 +0000 With significant diversions during Federal Parliament last week one of the more contemptible political back flips in recent memory might have escaped your notice. Without a blush, Labor - supported by the Greens in the Senate - took $700 a year from 21,000 parents to fund its reform agenda for the childcare industry. A little explanatory background is needed. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-breathtaking-hypocrisy-of-the-pro-lifers/ The Coalition loves to play up its family credentials with Christian voters.  But both the Coalition and pro-life groups talk big and do little to support women to have kids. This is the unspoken hypocrisy of the pro-life movement. Under Howard, promoting family values became dogma, as a belief that American-style conservative campaigning - pro-life, anti-gay - would deliver dividends electorally. Although the rise and fall of Family First suggests that the conservative Christian vote is overstated in Australia, pro-life lobbies have benefitted from an increase in influence on the Coalition (and at times Labor) as a consequence. piotrowskid@newsltd.com.au (Daniel Piotrowski) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-breathtaking-hypocrisy-of-the-pro-lifers/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-breathtaking-hypocrisy-of-the-pro-lifers/#item6035 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:13 +0000 With significant diversions during Federal Parliament last week one of the more contemptible political back flips in recent memory might have escaped your notice. Without a blush, Labor - supported by the Greens in the Senate - took $700 a year from 21,000 parents to fund its reform agenda for the childcare industry. A little explanatory background is needed. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/say-yes-to-easter-eggs-but-no-to-naughty-corners/ He’s been billed as New Zealand’s answer to the Super Nanny and his program The Politically Incorrect Parenting Show, which advocates punishing children by padlocking them in their rooms, will be screening in Australia later this year. Nigel Latta says that reasoning with toddlers is “like trying to explain bad behaviour to drunken rugby hoons with the language skills of a chimpanzee” and that the only way to bring the little buggers into line and save your own sanity is to lock them away for a while. Latta, who it should be stressed doesn’t support smacking, is entitled to his view. It’s clearly a harsh view, and the theatrical addition of a padlock to the traditional time-out is obviously there to drive ratings. But there would be plenty of frazzled parents out there who would agree that from time to time the only solution to a crazed tantrum-throwing two-year-old is a dose of isolation, to let them cool down and regroup shortly after. Ideally without resorting to a padlock. piotrowskid@newsltd.com.au (Daniel Piotrowski) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/say-yes-to-easter-eggs-but-no-to-naughty-corners/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/say-yes-to-easter-eggs-but-no-to-naughty-corners/#item5553 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:13 +0000 With significant diversions during Federal Parliament last week one of the more contemptible political back flips in recent memory might have escaped your notice. Without a blush, Labor - supported by the Greens in the Senate - took $700 a year from 21,000 parents to fund its reform agenda for the childcare industry. A little explanatory background is needed. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/boring-unsexy-wouldnt-you-rather-watch-masterchef/ As all the cool kids got themselves in a lather over last night’s budget I noticed a distinct void in the chatter.  Where were the mums and dads? Turns out that lots of them were watching Masterchef (possibly the people’s new opium) - studiously avoiding the budget telecast. Political apathy seemed to be the flavour of the day, plated up and served with a side of Couldn’t Give a Shit. Was it the fault of the no-frills budget? Or have we lost faith in a government which once seemed to promise so much? piotrowskid@newsltd.com.au (Daniel Piotrowski) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/boring-unsexy-wouldnt-you-rather-watch-masterchef/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/boring-unsexy-wouldnt-you-rather-watch-masterchef/#item3053 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:13 +0000 With significant diversions during Federal Parliament last week one of the more contemptible political back flips in recent memory might have escaped your notice. Without a blush, Labor - supported by the Greens in the Senate - took $700 a year from 21,000 parents to fund its reform agenda for the childcare industry. A little explanatory background is needed. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/A-broken-promise-everyone-should-welcome/ Yep, everyone should have access to childcare. It should be affordable, accessible, high-quality. But there’s a limit to what society should pay. People are outraged that the Federal Government has decided not to build more than 200 childcare centres. Yeah, they broke an election promise. They did it because they need to claw back a whole lot of cash for a bunch of other stuff – health reform and such. They say they also worked out that there are already too many childcare centres. According to their statistics, there are thousands upon thousands of spare places. If that’s right, then they shouldn’t spend precious taxpayer dollars on more places. piotrowskid@newsltd.com.au (Daniel Piotrowski) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/A-broken-promise-everyone-should-welcome/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/A-broken-promise-everyone-should-welcome/#item2928 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:13 +0000 With significant diversions during Federal Parliament last week one of the more contemptible political back flips in recent memory might have escaped your notice. Without a blush, Labor - supported by the Greens in the Senate - took $700 a year from 21,000 parents to fund its reform agenda for the childcare industry. A little explanatory background is needed. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-night-with-harvey/ On our summer holidays we had a baby. And with the joy of Georgia’s arrival managing the night has reached a new level of complexity. For parents of young families this is one of the great challenges of life. Night feeds, bad dreams, wet beds and sleep walking have been part and parcel of the night shift in our house for more than a decade now. Yet of the four children easily the busiest at night, at least for now, has been Harvey. piotrowskid@newsltd.com.au (Daniel Piotrowski) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-night-with-harvey/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-night-with-harvey/#item2361 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:13 +0000 With significant diversions during Federal Parliament last week one of the more contemptible political back flips in recent memory might have escaped your notice. Without a blush, Labor - supported by the Greens in the Senate - took $700 a year from 21,000 parents to fund its reform agenda for the childcare industry. A little explanatory background is needed. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/sniping-at-working-mothers-is-no-solution-at-all/ Since recently becoming a mother, I seem to have developed an obsession with cake. And it has nothing to do with knowing I should really shun chocolate éclairs if I’m going to fit into a pre-baby size 10 again. No, what I’ve been grappling with is my determination to have it all when it comes to balancing family and work. The desire to return to my stressful, you’d-have-to-be-mad-to-work-here job without relinquishing the joys and challenges of my newfound role as a parent. So there it is in all its unfashionable, unrealistic glory: the desire to want the proverbial cake and eat it too. piotrowskid@newsltd.com.au (Daniel Piotrowski) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/sniping-at-working-mothers-is-no-solution-at-all/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/sniping-at-working-mothers-is-no-solution-at-all/#item1708 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:13 +0000 With significant diversions during Federal Parliament last week one of the more contemptible political back flips in recent memory might have escaped your notice. Without a blush, Labor - supported by the Greens in the Senate - took $700 a year from 21,000 parents to fund its reform agenda for the childcare industry. A little explanatory background is needed. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Future-of-childcare-where-have-all-the-parents-gone/ Close examination of the Rudd Government’s much-touted childcare reforms brings to mind the wonderful quote by Milton Friedman “the government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem”. In this case, it may in fact be worse. Labor’s proposals for more highly qualified staff in all childcare services, and lower child:staff ratios in the name of “quality care” are, on the face of it, very worthy.  What self-respecting human being doesn’t want the very best for our children?  How can an emphasis on “quality” be anything but laudable? piotrowskid@newsltd.com.au (Daniel Piotrowski) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Future-of-childcare-where-have-all-the-parents-gone/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Future-of-childcare-where-have-all-the-parents-gone/#item988 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:13 +0000 With significant diversions during Federal Parliament last week one of the more contemptible political back flips in recent memory might have escaped your notice. Without a blush, Labor - supported by the Greens in the Senate - took $700 a year from 21,000 parents to fund its reform agenda for the childcare industry. A little explanatory background is needed. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-me-gen-in-charge-of-the-who-gen/ Generation X (broadly defined as those born 1961-1981) was labelled the “me” generation by their earnest baby boomer parents – they were regarded as self-absorbed and too selfish to commit to marriage and parenting. So what happens when the “me” generation is in charge of the next generation? The fact is that the vast majority of today’s parents with children aged 0-12 years are Gen Xers – myself included.  The popular perception is that the Gen Xers who grew up in the era of “outsourcing” have taken it literally and are now outsourcing all aspects of family life – most especially childcare. piotrowskid@newsltd.com.au (Daniel Piotrowski) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-me-gen-in-charge-of-the-who-gen/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-me-gen-in-charge-of-the-who-gen/#item851 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:13 +0000 With significant diversions during Federal Parliament last week one of the more contemptible political back flips in recent memory might have escaped your notice. Without a blush, Labor - supported by the Greens in the Senate - took $700 a year from 21,000 parents to fund its reform agenda for the childcare industry. A little explanatory background is needed.