Study by Aviva shows that more than a quarter of dads gave up work or reduced their hours after the birth of their children There are now 10 times as many stay-at-home dads in the UK than a decade ago, with one in seven fathers (14%) now the main childcare provider, according to research from Aviva. It says about 1.4 million men are now the primary carer in their households. The study suggests that a quarter of families with children under 18 share childcare equally, up from 18% in 2010, while more than a quarter of dads (26%) gave up work or reduced their working hours after the birth of their children, and 44% regularly look after the children while their partner works. Close to half of stay-at-home-dads (43%) told Aviva they felt “lucky” to have the opportunity to spend more time with their kids, but 46% of families said their decision allowed the main earner to keep working. The trend for increasing numbers of stay-at-home dads has been driven by growing numbers of women earning more than their partner – a quarter of women said they now earn more than their children’s father, while a further 16% said they earn roughly the same as their partner. But men told Aviva they had had difficulties in assuming primary responsibility for children, with nearly one in five (17%) admitting it makes them feel “less of a man”, 13% claiming they found looking after the children harder than going out to work, and 13% saying they wished they earned more than their partner so they could go back to work. Louise Colley, head of protection marketing for Aviva, said: “It is really interesting to see how the responsibilities of parents are shifting. There is no longer a ‘norm’ for who does what in a family relationship, and it’s great that many mums and dads are enjoying non-traditional roles. “We know from our latest Family Finances report that the cost of childcare means many families feel it’s not worthwhile both parents working – so it’s no surprise to see more men taking up the reins. “However, this also means that many families are relying on one salary, which can leave them financially vulnerable.” Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet , said the survey failed to highlight the struggles facing many women who choose to return to work. “In our experience, women still pick up the bulk of the domestic duties in the house – even when both parents are working. “It is great that men are getting more involved with the kids, but there’s still a big divide on other activities with women doing more cooking, reading with kids, activity planning, and homework to name a few, which is why we see so many women still struggling to balance a successful career with family life.” Childcare Family finances Children Parents Parents and parenting Family Gender Mark King guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Study by Aviva shows that more than a quarter of dads gave up work or reduced their hours after the birth of their children There are now 10 times as many stay-at-home dads in the UK than a decade ago, with one in seven fathers (14%) now the main childcare provider, according to research from Aviva. It says about 1.4 million men are now the primary carer in their households. The study suggests that a quarter of families with children under 18 share childcare equally, up from 18% in 2010, while more than a quarter of dads (26%) gave up work or reduced their working hours after the birth of their children, and 44% regularly look after the children while their partner works. Close to half of stay-at-home-dads (43%) told Aviva they felt “lucky” to have the opportunity to spend more time with their kids, but 46% of families said their decision allowed the main earner to keep working. The trend for increasing numbers of stay-at-home dads has been driven by growing numbers of women earning more than their partner – a quarter of women said they now earn more than their children’s father, while a further 16% said they earn roughly the same as their partner. But men told Aviva they had had difficulties in assuming primary responsibility for children, with nearly one in five (17%) admitting it makes them feel “less of a man”, 13% claiming they found looking after the children harder than going out to work, and 13% saying they wished they earned more than their partner so they could go back to work. Louise Colley, head of protection marketing for Aviva, said: “It is really interesting to see how the responsibilities of parents are shifting. There is no longer a ‘norm’ for who does what in a family relationship, and it’s great that many mums and dads are enjoying non-traditional roles. “We know from our latest Family Finances report that the cost of childcare means many families feel it’s not worthwhile both parents working – so it’s no surprise to see more men taking up the reins. “However, this also means that many families are relying on one salary, which can leave them financially vulnerable.” Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet , said the survey failed to highlight the struggles facing many women who choose to return to work. “In our experience, women still pick up the bulk of the domestic duties in the house – even when both parents are working. “It is great that men are getting more involved with the kids, but there’s still a big divide on other activities with women doing more cooking, reading with kids, activity planning, and homework to name a few, which is why we see so many women still struggling to balance a successful career with family life.” Childcare Family finances Children Parents Parents and parenting Family Gender Mark King guardian.co.uk
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Met officer failed to provide a response to calls about domestic abuse, rape, a suicide threat and potential armed break-ins A Metropolitan police officer working in an emergency call centre bungled pleas for help from people reporting rape, domestic abuse and gun crime. The officer has been sacked after an investigation, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said, adding that he had left some callers in “potentially dangerous situations”. The officer, aged 58, was found to have altered the last digit of the phone number provided by callers to the 999 emergency number on seven occasions. The IPCC said the officer, based at the emergency call handling centre in Bow, east London, bungled 141 calls out of 3,000 he handled between 1 May and 26 July 2009. An investigation found that his handling of 19 calls amounted to gross misconduct, and that the officer had failed “to provide a police response to domestic abuse and assaults, rape, a suicide threat, potential armed break-ins and a road traffic collision”. The officer’s misconduct came to light by chance. In a statement the IPCC said: “The investigation began in August 2009 after issues relating to the PC’s performance first came to light when a woman dialled 999 to report a domestic assault on 26 July. “On experiencing difficulties with the police officer through several attempts to get across the correct spelling of her surname, she ended the call in frustration. The officer involved closed the call log and failed to provide a police response. “The woman caller later brought her experience to the attention of a family friend who happened to be a call handler working at Bow command centre. A supervisor was informed, the call identified and reviewed and the police officer removed from answering 999 calls pending a detailed analysis of his previous performance.” The IPCC commissioner for London, Deborah Glass, said: “When the public call 999 for help from the police, they should receive an immediate, professional and sympathetic response. This officer not only did not provide that response, in some cases he deliberately obstructed their attempts to get help, and left some callers in continued danger. It is a matter of luck – and the persistence of those seeking help – that his actions do not appear to have resulted in serious harm to a member of the public. “It beggars belief that a police officer whose job was to help people in distress should have behaved in such an appalling and callous way. He has rightly been dismissed. It is, however, encouraging that other officers responded appropriately to the callers who received such a poor service.” A Met team has attempted to trace the 19 callers to whom the dismissed officer failed to provide a police response. Nine called back or went to a police station, six were provided with help once located, and four did not respond when contacted. Police Emergency services Vikram Dodd guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Met officer failed to provide a response to calls about domestic abuse, rape, a suicide threat and potential armed break-ins A Metropolitan police officer working in an emergency call centre bungled pleas for help from people reporting rape, domestic abuse and gun crime. The officer has been sacked after an investigation, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said, adding that he had left some callers in “potentially dangerous situations”. The officer, aged 58, was found to have altered the last digit of the phone number provided by callers to the 999 emergency number on seven occasions. The IPCC said the officer, based at the emergency call handling centre in Bow, east London, bungled 141 calls out of 3,000 he handled between 1 May and 26 July 2009. An investigation found that his handling of 19 calls amounted to gross misconduct, and that the officer had failed “to provide a police response to domestic abuse and assaults, rape, a suicide threat, potential armed break-ins and a road traffic collision”. The officer’s misconduct came to light by chance. In a statement the IPCC said: “The investigation began in August 2009 after issues relating to the PC’s performance first came to light when a woman dialled 999 to report a domestic assault on 26 July. “On experiencing difficulties with the police officer through several attempts to get across the correct spelling of her surname, she ended the call in frustration. The officer involved closed the call log and failed to provide a police response. “The woman caller later brought her experience to the attention of a family friend who happened to be a call handler working at Bow command centre. A supervisor was informed, the call identified and reviewed and the police officer removed from answering 999 calls pending a detailed analysis of his previous performance.” The IPCC commissioner for London, Deborah Glass, said: “When the public call 999 for help from the police, they should receive an immediate, professional and sympathetic response. This officer not only did not provide that response, in some cases he deliberately obstructed their attempts to get help, and left some callers in continued danger. It is a matter of luck – and the persistence of those seeking help – that his actions do not appear to have resulted in serious harm to a member of the public. “It beggars belief that a police officer whose job was to help people in distress should have behaved in such an appalling and callous way. He has rightly been dismissed. It is, however, encouraging that other officers responded appropriately to the callers who received such a poor service.” A Met team has attempted to trace the 19 callers to whom the dismissed officer failed to provide a police response. Nine called back or went to a police station, six were provided with help once located, and four did not respond when contacted. Police Emergency services Vikram Dodd guardian.co.uk
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Jackson trial latest; U2 win major Q award; Eddie Murphy’s Oscar nerves. (Oct.25)
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Jackson trial latest; U2 win major Q award; Eddie Murphy’s Oscar nerves. (Oct.25)
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The environmental advocacy group WWF says Vietnam has lost the fight to save its endangered Javan rhinoceros. It says poachers have killed the country’s last animal for its horn. (Oct. 25)
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The environmental advocacy group WWF says Vietnam has lost the fight to save its endangered Javan rhinoceros. It says poachers have killed the country’s last animal for its horn. (Oct. 25)
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Click here to view this media “My name is Mustafa, I’m Egyptian and I support the people of Zucotti Park one hundred percent. I understand what they are saying and actually I like what they are doing. Go for it guys!” I will get this out of the way first: Mustafa is not the best cab driver. First, he got lost trying to find Zucotti Park home of Occupy Wall Street. And second, this video was filmed while he’s stopped at a green light. However, when he picked me up from the East Village and I told him where I wanted to be taken – he was excited to get to see it. Mustafa was in Alexandria during the revolution in Egypt. He feels connected to the movement at the very tip of Manhattan. He loves America – but not the banks. Go for it guys!
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Click here to view this media “My name is Mustafa, I’m Egyptian and I support the people of Zucotti Park one hundred percent. I understand what they are saying and actually I like what they are doing. Go for it guys!” I will get this out of the way first: Mustafa is not the best cab driver. First, he got lost trying to find Zucotti Park home of Occupy Wall Street. And second, this video was filmed while he’s stopped at a green light. However, when he picked me up from the East Village and I told him where I wanted to be taken – he was excited to get to see it. Mustafa was in Alexandria during the revolution in Egypt. He feels connected to the movement at the very tip of Manhattan. He loves America – but not the banks. Go for it guys!
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