New parents this month facing ‘worse start in life’ for their babies
The contrasting stories of two parents show importance of saving child savings
The Daily Mirror tells the stories of two parents, one whose child was born in May and the other was due to give birth yesterday. They will get different amounts of money in Child Trust Fund vouchers to kickstart their children's savings, but on current plans parents from January onwards will not even have a savings account to put money into.
Anna Murray, an expectant mother, told the paper:
"I'm a great believer in having savings," says Anna, whose husband Richard, 31, works in accounts. "But it's hard enough to save for ourselves, let alone a little one."
"It's a great shame. The CTF will help us to get our child on the right road, even though he or she will only get £50. I feel sorry for children born after December who won't even get this start in life."
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/features/2010/08/18/condem-child-trust-fund-cuts-means-babies-born-this-month-face-worse-start-in-life-than-those-born-last-month-115875-22494641/
Jason Beattie, talking about the political and social importance of policies for children's futures like the Child Trust Fund, writes:
"The whole point of the Child Trust Fund and Sure Start was they were long-term [...] I cannot think of anything more short term than cutting the funding for such schemes. Even an absent-minded goldfish with amnesia could see that this is a mistake."
http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/parliament/2010/08/clegg-in-the-goldfish-bowl.html
If you have similar stories about the benefit of child savings, or if you are hoping to have children in the future and are concerned about what to do, please share your stories with us:
http://www.savechildsavings.org/page/s/ShareYourStory
