It's a long day.

Most primary schools now run before and after school clubs, and indeed there is pressure for all schools to do this, and this is leading apparently to more and more parents putting their children into both, resulting in them (the children) being at school solidly from something like 8.00 a.m. until 6.00 p.m.  Questions are being asked as to whether this is detrimental to the children, but in many cases the parents have no choice, other than for one of them to give up work.   It seems as a country we want it both ways - we want Mums to go out to work, but we also want to promote family values - and I'm not sure that the two are not incompatible.  I'm old-fashioned - I think a Mum's place is at home looking after her children, but I appreciate that in today's world, that probably means not being able to have the standard of living that you would wish for and that you see others having. Can't win, can you?