Childcare: More money, more imagination, less regulation

London is a city of endless possibilities. Yet for families with young children, life is often confined to the suburbs, with parents channelling hard-earned wages into scarce, inflexible childcare and having little time or money left over to explore the parks, zoos or galleries, or wander the streets of the West End.

According to the Daycare Trust, the typical cost of a full-time nursery place for one child under two in London is £200 a week in England - £10,000 a year. Consider that many families have two children under school-age, and this is no small cost. Nurseries are great places for children to socialise, develop and have fun; but there are not enough of them, they are too expensive, and many only provide childcare over a standard working day. Burdensome health and safety regulations about everything from children’s common illnesses to adventurous play and risk-taking often leave nurseries unable to be as imaginative and caring as they want to be, and parents out of pocket for childcare that cannot meet their needs.

A drastic re-think of childcare in the city is needed, in order to free families up to appreciate London life in all its layers. The following suggestions are a start:

- Properly subsidised nursery care, which pays childcare workers more and costs parents less;

- A scheme to provide ad-hoc childcare, including out-of-hours and overnight, for when children are sick, when working hours take priority, or when parents want a night out or some time to themselves;

- A city-wide collaboration for a school holiday club that takes children to all the biggest and best attractions in London, meeting children from other schools;

- An evaluation of the burdens placed upon childcare workers by risk-averse regulation and centralised bureaucracy;

- An annual London-wide picnic party, where parents and childcare workers can relax together and enjoy their children in the company of other families.

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