Mums Finance

If you will admit it you would not be the only parent to have broken into junior’s money box at some stage when you have needed a bit of extra change. I’ve done it for sure but my kids have definitely profited more than they have lost over the years…

A fifth of parents admit they have dipped into their child’s savings account to make ends meet, a survey showed today. Around 22 per cent of parents said they had been forced to raid their child’s savings, with 44 per cent borrowing between £200 and £500, according to savings provider Engage Mutual Assurance. Four out of 10 parents said they were forced to use their child’s savings to pay bills, while 20 per cent faced unexpected car repairs.

Around 14 per cent used the money to pay for a family holiday, 12 per cent needed it to cover the cost of house repairs and 8 per cent put the money towards the cost of Christmas. Two-thirds of parents said they only borrowed money from their children when there was no alternative, and 13 per cent said they did not know where else they could get the money from quickly. Eight out of 10 parents who borrowed money said they saw it as a loan and would pay it back when they could.

But 30 per cent of parents admitted they felt guilty about borrowing money from their children and 27 per cent said they felt sad that their financial situation had become so dire. But look at it this way – you enable your kids to save, you provide them with the funds to do so – so what is the problem with taking back some of that which you gave them…?

Popularity: 21% [?]

As if workplace policies dictating maternity pay and leave are not off-putting enough to certain employers Harriet Harman now has a plan that will see businesses footing a bill costing possibly billions should it actually come to fruition. Her plan is that all workers will be entitled to claim paid leave to care for sick relatives under plans commissioned by Women’s Minister Harriet Harman. All employees would also win the right to request flexible working hours to look after children and elderly parents.

The proposals are contained in a report demanded by Miss Harman into the needs of the so-called ’sandwich generation’  -  working women who have to care for both young children and ageing relatives. They are expected to be included in a green paper published by Miss Harman next year. The proposals, revealed by Miss Harman at a conference yesterday, are likely to prove popular with working women. But they will be dismissed by business leaders as likely to cost billions to firms who are struggling to stay afloat during the recession.

The conference for the centre-left Institute for Public Policy Research yesterday heard that 3 per cent of women  -  more than 550,000 in total  -  and 2 per cent of men are forced to look after children and grandparents, most of them while holding down a job. Women in their 40s are most hard hit with one in 12 forced to perform ’sandwich’ care.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Being the mother of five children I have owned three maclaren strollers over the years and my sister went through three- she only had one child but she loved the brand so much she updated each time a new design came out. As my kids are now aged between five and 23 I no longer use the strollers (nor my sister either for that case…) but I will always vouch for the great quality that they were.

So it really surprises me that 12 children in the US have lost tips of their fingers after becoming caught in the hinge of the frame where the stroller folds in half. I never had that problem and the stroller has not changed its design in all these years – I am just wondering how these accidents occurred because you cannot really fold the stroller with the child inside it…

But accidents do happen of course and so maclaren have agreed to supply covers for the hinges on the strollers to UK parents. If you own a maclaren then  make sure you get your free safety cover – like I said, I never had any problems but that’s not to say other people don’t.

Popularity: 20% [?]