the modern british family - britainthinksbritainthinks.com/pdfs/themodernbritishfamily-print.pdf ·...

The Modern British Family

Research for the Labour Party

What we did

Stage 1: 2 x focus Groups to identify the problems and challenges facing Modern British Families

Stage 2: 1 x workshop to develop and test policies aimed at helping meet the needs of families

OVERVIEW Modern British Family

Overview •  The Modern British Family is struggling: they feel tired, stressed

and under pressure •  All of the problems they face link back to feeling financially stretched

•  In an ideal world, parents (dads included) would like to spend more quality time with their children than they do now •  Mums often say they would have liked to have spent more time at

home with their children in their younger years •  Dads often feel fathers are under-valued by society

•  Because the problems faced by families are often financial, the main way that the Government can help families is by delivering a healthy economy and affordable housing •  Families want the opportunities to be able to help themselves: not state

handouts (which they assume will go to undeserving parents)

Overview

•  There is also a yearning for traditional family values, and an appetite for a tax system that rewards parents who stay together

•  No politicians or political parties are seen to

represent or understand the problems and priorities of the Modern British Family •  Politicians are believed to be too well-off to understand the

financial pressures faced by families

Overview

Policy Ideas •  Participants liked the idea of allowing Child Support

Payments to be made to family members, for example Grandparents •  Mums saw grandparents as ‘the next best thing’ to caring for

their children themselves

•  They also liked the idea of teaching ‘communityship’ in schools as a way of addressing perceived problems of discipline among young people •  ‘Communityship’ was coined as a more localised version of

citizenship

Overview

Policy Ideas •  Mums often wanted the opportunity to help

themselves improve their financial situation •  Policies that helped women back into work, either by training

or sponsoring them or offering assistance with childcare, received much support

•  But many others wanted to spend time at home with their children, especially when their children were young •  Policies that supported them financially while doing so were

well-liked

THE CONTEXT: BRITAINTHINKS POLLING

Modern British Family

Parents emphasise the importance of boundaries and discipline % agreeing with statement ‘Being a good parent is mostly about setting boundaries and discipline’

92%

83%

90%

93%

92%

89%

95%

90%

92%

Total

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+

Children

No Children

An overwhelming majority of parents (82%) feel children are wrapped in cotton wool these days % agreeing with statement ‘Children are wrapped up in cotton wool these days’

85%

77%

85%

83%

85%

89%

88%

82%

86%

Total

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+

Children

No Children

And 8-in-10 say that ‘in an ideal world’ one parent would stay at home % agreeing with statement ‘In an ideal world one parent should stay home with the children’

81%

61%

84%

81%

79%

83%

91%

81%

81%

Total

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+

Children

No Children

72%

86%

88%

78%

67%

55%

59%

83%

66%

Total

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+

Children

No Children

Families are increasingly squeezed for time…(83% of families say there aren’t enough hrs in the day) % agreeing with statement ‘There aren’t enough hours in the day’

…and money (73% of those with children say it’s a struggle to make money last the month) % agreeing with statement ‘It is a real struggle to make the money last to the end of the month’

54%

73%

72%

69%

61%

34%

25%

73%

46%

Total

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+

Children

No Children

STAGE 1: FOCUS GROUPS Modern British Family

Stage 1: Focus Groups Methodology

•  On 18 May 2011, BritainThinks conducted two focus groups in Harlow: •  1 x group of mums with children aged under 18 •  1 x group of dads with children aged under 18

•  Quotas were set to ensure the groups comprised good mixture & range of participants in terms of: •  Socio-economic grade •  Voting behaviour in 2010 General Election

Family worries are dominated by concerns about money

Lack of financial resources

NEED TO WORK

“Because of money, I’ve had to go back to work after 8 months and

lost 3 months with my son” [Mum]

TIREDNESS

“I am working two jobs and so by the time I

actually get time to see the kids, I am flat out

on the sofa” [Dad]

CHILDCARE

“Have you seen the price of childcare? We worked out we’d only be £10 a

week if my wife went back to work” [Dad]

HOUSING

“We can’t afford to get a mortgage

and there’s so little council

housing we’d be lucky to get a

house by 2015” [Dad]

STRESS

“Now my husband isn’t working, we’re really under pressure to keep up with

our debt repayments and everything. It’s stressful” [Mum]

Words chosen to describe the Modern British Family

Just one participant chose a positive

word to sum up the Modern British

Family

The Modern British Family in reality…

…people are arguing and

fighting

…is under financial

pressure (from all directions)

…lacks respect & discipline (especially

young people)

…lacks moral & family values

…is living in a country that is soft on people who break the rules and hard on those who play by the

rules

The ideal Modern British Family…

…would have access to housing

…would be able to focus on the

things that matter

…would be able to enjoy watching their children grow up

…would be able to afford to go

on holiday

…would comprise a

mother and a father

The ideal modern British Family Importance of family in the early years •  Mums and dads both thought that in an

ideal world mothers would stay at home for the early years of a child’s life •  Mums valued time with their children and

those who had needed to go back to work had some regrets

•  None of the dads had stayed at home because they were the biggest earners in the household (rather than as matter of principle)

•  If it wasn’t possible for the mother to stay at home with young children, another family member was seen as the next best thing

“I felt really guilty when I had to go back to work. You’ll never get those early years

back” [Mum]

“I’d have had no problems staying at home, it’s just that I

was earning more than my wife” [Dad]

The ideal modern British Family Dads want to be involved in bringing-up children

•  Fathers felt as though they had a crucial role to play in bringing up their children •  They therefore rejected single parent

families •  And they regretted where work prevented

them from giving their children the attention they deserved

•  Some felt that modern society didn’t place enough value on the role of the father

“We’ve got things that we do together, but sometimes, like at the moment I am working at weekends

to pay for our holiday, we don’t have time to go to the football” [Dad]

“You just feel as though dads are

pushed to one side these days” [Dad]

The role of Government

They do want: -  A Government that supports

them when they do the right thing by kids

-  A tax system that rewards couples who stay together

And crucially:

-  A healthy economy that delivers them wage increases that match inflation & opportunities to improve their position

They don’t want: -  A ‘nanny state’ that tells them

what to do

-  More ‘state handouts’ that are paid for by hard working families and only received by ‘scroungers’

What Government has done in the past

To make life easier for families: -  Child Trust Fund -  Sure Start

-  Legislation on maternity & paternity leave

-  Childcare vouchers

-  Nurseries -  WFTC

[Much greater awareness among women than men, although no spontaneous mention of these being Labour policies]

To make life harder for families: -  Tuition fees -  Rises in fuel tax

-  Inflation and salaries not rising with increases to living costs

Which politicians / parties understand families best? •  Politicians were all believed to come from

wealthy backgrounds and people assumed: •  Almost all politicians went to private school •  With few exceptions, none had ever had ‘real

jobs’ outside of politics •  They all lived comfortably on their MP salaries

and their expenses

•  It was therefore thought that no politician was in a position to understand the pressures and priorities of ordinary families

•  None of the main parties stood out as understanding families better than the rest •  They were all seen as being ‘the same’

“There are not a lot of working class

politicians. None of them have ever had to struggle in their

lives” [Mum]

“They live very comfortably on their salaries and, as we all

now know, their generous

expenses” [Dad]

“They are all too far removed” [Mum]

STAGE 2: WORKSHOP Modern British Family

Stage 2: Workshop Methodology

•  On 14 June 2011, BritainThinks conducted a

workshop in Parliament: •  15 x mums •  2h 30mins •  All had voted in 2010 General Election

•  Quotas were set to ensure the groups comprised good mixture & range of participants in terms of: •  Voting behaviour in 2010

Stage 2: Workshop Agenda

Welcome and Introduction

Introducing the Labour Party Policy Review – Tessa Jowell

What we have learnt so far - BritainThinks

The ‘dos & don'ts' for Government

Discussing policy ideas

Coming-up with ideas of our own

Voting on our favourite ideas

Pre-task: objects that sum-up challenges facing families

Objects that summed-up the challenges facing families nowadays fell into three main categories

“I’ve bought my TV license and, for the quality of what’s on TV, it isn’t worth it.

It’s just an added financial pressure” [Mum]

“I’ve brought a newspaper cutting on fuel costs. It just keeps going up.” [Mum]

“Petrol prices are up, but NHS waiting lists are too. You go to work every day but

you think ‘why bother?’” [Mum]

1)   Financial pressures: participants were often emotional when talking about the financial strain their family was under


“I’ve got a picture of my family and my husband isn’t in it because he’s always

working” [Mum]

“Weighing scales – because I am always juggling and life is a balancing act” [Mum]

“I brought a pedometer – I’ve done 15,000 steps today. I’ve got no time for my

family” [Mum]

2) Lack of family time: mums were extremely busy and often regretted the lack of quality time they were able to spend with their children


“Technology is good, it does offer respite to parents, but more interaction would be

good” [Mum]

3) Their children living atomised lives: parents were worried about the impact of technology and modern life on family time together

“I brought the TV Times, because of the amount of time my kids spend in front of

the TV rather than outside” [Mum]

“They are always stuck on a computer, stuck on messaging” [Mum]





The ‘dos & don'ts’ for Government





Government ‘dos’ and ‘don'ts’ all related to helping ordinary hard working families, and not rewarding underserving people either side of the ‘squeezed middle’

‘Dos’ Help those who work hard & play by the rules by… -  Supporting students through Uni. -  Reducing cost of living -  Supporting small businesses (so they can create jobs) -  Reducing VAT Punish the ‘undeserving’:

-  ‘Question huge companies when they raise prices’ -  Tax those who make a lot of money -  Follow-up dads for CSA

Government ‘dos’ and ‘don'ts' all related to helping ordinary hard working families, and not rewarding underserving people either side of the squeezed middle

‘Don'ts’ Stop what support there is for families, in particular, don’t: -  Close play schemes -  Cut back on education hours and nurseries -  Reduce housing benefit supplements for bills Let people who are ‘playing the system’ continue to get away with it, for example, by:

-  Ignoring tax evaders / Non-Doms -  Supporting the banks / bankers

Policy ideas that participants liked included…

•  Greater parent involvement in the running of children’s centres •  Kinship allowance •  Child allowance for stay-at-home mums •  Government support for informal networks (grandparents, etc.)

•  Entitlement for both parents to time-off for school plays, football matches, etc.

Linking back to the challenges they identified earlier in the session, participants were positive about the following ideas as a way of easing financial and time pressures on families

And ideas that enabled them to spend more quality time with their children:

1) A SPACE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO GET KIDS OFF THE STREET & FEEL A SENSE OF COMMUNITY

•  More youth club services OR turn libraries into daycare centres •  Storytelling, education, socialising for parents •  Different services for different age groups, at different times

2) TEACHING MORE DISCIPLINE & ‘COMMUNITYSHIP’ TO ADDRESS ATOMISED

LIVES OF MODERN YOUTH

•  Teach ‘communityship’ rather than citizenship •  Achieve greater discipline through parental coaching 3) IMPROVING THE JOB PROSPECTS OF WOMEN TO ALLOW THEM TO EASE

THE FINANCIAL PRESSURE

•  Fund re-training programmes and entrepreneurial women

Ideas that participants came up with themselves centered around three key themes…

Allow childcare allowance to be paid to grandparents / family members (and give early retirement to family members involved)

19 VOTES

‘Family Leave’ for grandparents to take time off to help with childcare 2 VOTES

Policies that made it easier for grandparents to help out with childcare – and in doing so easing the pressure on parents - were also popular

Final vote Policies that helped women back into work, either by training or sponsoring them or offering assistance with childcare, received much support

Financial support for re-training parents so they can work / support family without state help

Free crèches at workplaces & training facilities

10 VOTES

10 VOTES

Government support for women setting-up small businesses 2 VOTES

Final vote Policies offering support, both financial and in terms of time off work, for parents through their child’s early years were popular

Full pay for parents on maternity leave (paid for from taxes, not businesses

Childcare allowance for mums who stay at home 8 VOTES

7 VOTES

Also well-liked were policies aimed at increasing discipline, family values and the sense of being part of the community among young people

Kids to learn about “communityship” (sic.), family values & discipline at school

13 VOTES

Parenting coaching: “lifelong learning” 0 VOTES

Time off for mums / dads to attend school plays, sports matches, etc. 2 VOTES

Final vote

Government owned care centres to remain (not privatised) – but mums to have a say in how run through online resource

Libraries to be kept open as ‘clubs’ – young children read with mums, teenagers revise, quiet areas for ‘oldies’

Children’s Centre ownership

2 VOTES

0 VOTES

0 VOTES

Although it fared less well in the vote than other areas of policy, the idea of a shared community space was a popular one (it was just less of an immediate priority)

The Modern British Family

Research for the Labour Party

the modern british family - britainthinksbritainthinks.com/pdfs/themodernbritishfamily-print.pdf ·...

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