The image of children working in factories earning a pittance, having no education and in many cases having abusive parents has become synonymous with the third world. However an enquiry which took over three years to compile with the input of a number of independent experts turns this completely on his head and is a damning indictment of Britain.
The Good Childhood enquiry found that selfish adults damaged the lives of children and how family break-up, unprincipled advertising, too much competition in education and income inequality act as big contributory factors causing misery for children in Britain.
According to the panel, “excessive individualism” was to blame for many of the problems children faced, however the panellists then presented a set of shocking ineffectual policy proposals to improve he quality of family life experienced by children, they proposed:
a) a civil birth ceremony conducted by a registrar in which parents publicly accept the responsibilities of parenthood
b) free parenting classes available around the time of birth
c) free psychological and family support if relationships struggle
d) rules making it easier for parents to stay at home to rear their children
Britain is becoming a commonplace where mothers have left for holidays leaving children as young as 3 to fend for themselves. There have also been situation where mothers have gone to clubs or social events and have left young babies on their own, only for neighbours to have called the police due to the constant crying.
What sort of society has Britain turned into when the nations adults need civil birth ceremonies to ensure they accept their responsibilities as mothers and fathers.
Whilst Britain justified its part in the Iraq invasion of taking freedom to an oppressed people, the very same idea has created a scenario where adults view rearing children as an obstacle to enjoying a lifestyle which has become symbolised by excessive alcohol consumption, drugs and unrestricted sexual practices.
Britain has become a contradictory place. There is the scenario where more and more teens are having unplanned pregnancies making Britain the place with the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Europe. Then you have the opposite scenario which has caused Britain’s acute population problem of an aging population where many adults delay marriage or having children (currently more and more are having no children at all) in order to pursue that career, owning their own property or having that regular annual holiday.
Anyone who looks at this issue with the seriousness it deserves will realise that parenting classes or birth ceremonies will do little to halt the meltdown of the family. In capitalism individual freedom supersedes values such as responsibilities, accountability and loyalty which are all critical in building strong families. Is it little wonder that childhood is full of misery?
