Nationalising Child Care

Many conservative commentators accuse their liberal counterparts of despising the institution of the family, which the latter of course deny. The Guardian provides us with a particularly blatant example.

In a current court case, a mother is arguing that it is absurd that a child who cannot be given a headache tablet without parental say-so can have a covert termination. The Guardian leader defends the right of the state to usurp the role of the parent in a piece entitled: "No return to Narnia" by Mary Riddell

In this she makes the argument:

Ms Axon's side has talked reverentially of 'the family', omitting to mention that this can be an institution boasting rates of abuse and murder which make Feltham Young Offenders' Institution look like Pontin's.

Did she write this with a straight face? That word "can" helps her slide from noting that some families go bad to prescribing a policy that every family should be treated as if they were bad. Perhaps all children should be brought up in Feltham Young Offenders' Institute.

Then the article of faith:

who, if not the government, is going to give all children the good start that might stop them having babies at 16?

What an odd result. We withhold trust from the class of people we call parents, even though their main motivation is love. In contrast the class of people we call child care workers are granted unquestioned trust, even though their main motivation is money.