Whistleblower

Whistleblower on nurseycare on BBC 1 last night was disturbing.

My children went to fulltime nursery when they were little, as do a high percentage of children whose mums work, and it can be a difficult work/life choice. This is a subject I know only too well, having run funkyangel.co.uk, a work/life resource for women in business and their families, for over five years now.

The sight of those underpaid nursery workers struggling to cope with so many babies and toddlers at once, and knowing that disaster was a hairbreadth away at any moment, was the stuff of nightmares. And for every one of those children there was a parent believing that their cherub was being well cared for, entertained and comforted.

The work/life balance is out of kilter in the UK at the moment. Costs of living are too high, childcare is expensive and often inadequate, parents are often tired and stressed. However, hope springs eternal, and the rise and rise of the business mum has been testament to mothers proactively choosing a different solution that fits around their children because they don’taccept their families have to fit around work.

It’s a triumph of good sense over circumstances, and one that will hopefully lead to an all encompassing change in our society, because let’s face it nothing ever seems to change for the better in this world until women take a grip en mass and say enough is enough.

Claire