Why shoud we pay for Childcare

There has been a lot about Child Care in the news later. What I would like to know WHY SHOULD THE TAX PAYER PAY FOR CHILDCARE?

Back in the 1970’s when I had a young family we got none of this the most we got was Child Allowance and people without children complained about that. My wife would work in the fields to earn extra money when the Children were pre school age, my generation had that antiquated idea that Parents brought up their children.  I was lucky enough to have a job, when the children got older, to be able to take the children to school and they were picked up my mother at the end of school. This was when my wife worked full time, thankfully this only lasted for a couple of years until my wife and I started a B&B then a HMO where she would be their when the kids went to school and when they returned.

On a radio programme I heard a man complaining he was earning ONLY £30,000 and his wife was on ONLY £20,000 a year and they needed this to exist especially as Child Care was £350 a week which was £18,200 a year. Well all I can they have an expensive life style and his wife in reality after childcare earns £1800 or £34.61p. Well in their case I suggest she takes a weekend job or a barmaid’s job and look after her kids.

If we are to subsidise families surely a fairer way is to do away with Childcare Payments and increase Child Benefit this could be used for Childcare because the system is totally unfair to stay at home mums who get nothing for looking after their own children. To me the Government and supporters of working parents are trying to make a stigma of just one parent working and how far away from the extreme where children are all put together in a group. The group itself would do the parenting not the Parents? I believe ancient Greek Philosophers suggested this idea so it not new, my problem is what affect does this have on the children?