We stand together

I am excited to start my week after what feels like one of the most invigorating weekends - I stood for what I believe in and spent invaluable time with my family.

Last Saturday, the 29th of October, Pregnant then Screwed, a charity I firmly believe in, led the #themarchofthemummies where 15,000 mothers and families marched together to fight against unaffordable childcare - asking for three simple changes:

• Increased funding for the childcare sector to enable affordable, high quality childcare for all children

• Ring fenced and properly paid maternity and paternity leave

• All jobs to be flexible by default

(www.pregnantthenscrewed.com)

When my friend (super mum of two gorgeous bundles and powerhouse) Sarah and I arrived at Trafalgar Square we were wowed by the number of people there. And not just mums - dads too. There was a real sense of togetherness, a sense of unity and sense of pride.

What struck me most was that the parents I spoke to were people of mid to high socio economic backgrounds. Their jobs sounded like success to me - perhaps just like mine does to others.

Cards on the table - we are in a fortunate position. We earn a good living and we have family who can support us. We spend 43% of our income on childcare, 18% more than our mortgage. We are £1500 overdrawn each month but we know this is temporary; we know this is a period in which we are struggling to make ends meet but hopefully will give back in the future. By doing this we are giving my career a chance to grow. But let’s be honest, we can do this thanks to savings and financial support from our families.

But what about the many families who don’t have this luxury. Those mothers who would love to go back to a part time or full time job but can’t because their annual earnings and savings cannot allow them to take the hit for a few years. These mothers and these families deserve better. We, parents, all deserve better.

So we stood together, we danced together and sang together in front of Parliament in the hope that we were heard. Let it not be a one day fight. If we don’t do it for ourselves, we need to do it for tomorrow’s daughters.