An "interesting" debate in Germany which is sure to spread to other countries. Should stay-at-home mothers be compensated if they save the State from otherwise providing child-care.
"Is it a "stay-at-home premium" that will stop mothers from looking for work, or is it fair compensation for parents who choose to look after their young children without the state's help?
The German government's plan for a childcare allowance payable to parents who do not use state-subsidised nurseries has sparked fierce debate.
Recently Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition reached agreement on the measure, under which eligible parents of infants aged between 13 and 36 months would receive 150 euros (£120) a month."
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"Another article argues that for a mother to stay at home indefinitely is not fair on the father, who finds himself condemned to be the sole breadwinner in uncertain economic times. Christoph Droesser says such men miss out on valuable family time.
"A woman who expects me to provide for her and our children 'until death do us part' puts a burden on my shoulders of which even the strongest can no longer say today whether they can bear it, even if they want to," he adds.
An article in Die Zeit's magazine supplement makes a different point: choosing to give up one's career to stay at home with the children can result in poverty if the breadwinner ends the relationship. Julia Friedrichs, whose article is about a mother who faces this predicament, says the possibility of resuming work and sharing childcare with her partner had not even entered the woman's mind."
"Is it a "stay-at-home premium" that will stop mothers from looking for work, or is it fair compensation for parents who choose to look after their young children without the state's help?
The German government's plan for a childcare allowance payable to parents who do not use state-subsidised nurseries has sparked fierce debate.
Recently Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition reached agreement on the measure, under which eligible parents of infants aged between 13 and 36 months would receive 150 euros (£120) a month."
***
"Another article argues that for a mother to stay at home indefinitely is not fair on the father, who finds himself condemned to be the sole breadwinner in uncertain economic times. Christoph Droesser says such men miss out on valuable family time.
"A woman who expects me to provide for her and our children 'until death do us part' puts a burden on my shoulders of which even the strongest can no longer say today whether they can bear it, even if they want to," he adds.
An article in Die Zeit's magazine supplement makes a different point: choosing to give up one's career to stay at home with the children can result in poverty if the breadwinner ends the relationship. Julia Friedrichs, whose article is about a mother who faces this predicament, says the possibility of resuming work and sharing childcare with her partner had not even entered the woman's mind."
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