Still failing to put our children first

LEAVING aside all the moralising on broken homes leading to yob culture, as evidenced in the rioting and looting in England last week, there are as just as many damaged children who come from “respectable stable marriages” as from one active parent families.

Still failing to put our children first

We need to find a new term for families where only the mother is involved in active parenting because there is no such thing as a single mother in the sense that every child has a father. Even if the child was born via an unconventional method, somewhere along the way a man was involved. If the parents are not in a relationship together this does not justify the father being allowed to simply walk away from their financial responsibility to provide for their children, even if they are not capable of providing for their child’s needs.

The biological father should be named on every single birth certificate and they should be automatically financially liable to support their child with an amount of at least 20% of their net income, be it from benefits or employment being paid toward the upkeep of their child with the benefit paid in vouchers that can only purchase items for the child.

Already a subscriber? Sign in

You have reached your article limit.

Subscribe to access all of the Irish Examiner.

Annual €130 €80

Best value

Monthly €12€6 / month

More in this section

Revoiced

Newsletter

Sign up to the best reads of the week from irishexaminer.com selected just for you.

Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited