10 months paternity? Are they going mad?

So Deputy PM Clegg is on a mission. A mission for dads, fathers and men in the UK. Yet, is it just a gimmick or is there really some substance behind this? At a time when the British economy needs all its employees to be giving their all, it is hardly 'good business' to allow new fathers to have 10 months paternity pay, especially if employers have to pay for it?

The point is, as businesses struggle to survive and keep staff on their books, is all this paternity/ maternity leave just 'politics' or should we really be pushing for this kind of thing?

Recently Baby & Father reported about Chinese parents and how they raise their children, some say, better than western families. The reality is that in the 'East' i.e. Asia, parents raise their kids strictly, not because they are mean or nasty, rather, they understand the importance of family.

Now family you say? In the UK, people up and down the land may be used to 'handouts' and 'having it their way'. In the rest of the world it is survival of the fittest and competition is something that is a daily occurrence on a truly epic scale.

Can we really take Deputy-PM Clegg's proposals seriously when those very economies and families that want to succeed and perform well encourage hard work, discipline and unity. Something that many western families and parents are losing.

Why? Well, some may say it is about cultural value. Whereas western parents have become 'too soft' Chinese families even in the West are highly motivated, would they want 10 months off? Hell no, they value their jobs and want to achieve and survive in their jobs. The idea of taking 10 months off means that they are out of the fast lane for too long.

So if you ask me, parents in the 21st century yes have a hard time, both probably need to work to provide, the idea of one parent working and one at home is an ideal, and I'm sure is far more beneficial to the children. Yet, the financial implications of a family where only one parent works, well, we all know what that means.

So there you have, politicians sometimes tend to want to grab headlines, being rich and wealthy with their many advisers and servants, they don't have to worry about the real world. Whilst some credit should be given, I think Mr Clegg would be better off focusing on stimulating the economy, creating new private sector jobs and most importantly cutting the colossal public sector pension liabilities - that would be more use.