I don't think that meant you, seeformiles but it has been expressed by others. Having gone from having no children to three in a fairly short space of time, unfortunately I can now see both first and second hand what people mean by a 'rotten to mother' culture in the Uk ( replace with parent but its generally meant in respect of women). During pregnancy women are put pedestals and treated with kid gloves generally, but afterwards it seems that mothers can do nothing right and face many obstacles in respect of work etc. Many women, and I have also experienced this, are faced with impossible choices in the workplace as despite supposed protections, many are still prime candidates for dismissal and redundancy due to being part time or being seen as soft targets by employers. It seems to be assumed that mothers will be unreliable, having to go off every 5 minutes to tend to sick children or even just leave. Unlike younger men who can work all hours, they will require a more fixed work pattern in order to balance childcare responsibilities, not untrue but this does not have to impact negatively on productivity or professionalism and in fact many mothers work much harder to compensate, and more possible, more efficiently, as I have observed with others.
They face the ' mommy track' at work as a result. Many are in fact the larger breadwinners and sometimes only breadwinners in their families so this places families overall under undue pressure.

I can why it might not be financially prudent to go on having lots of children assuming its possible but there are some who would prefer seemingly for parents under a certain income not to have any at all.
Life has become phenomenally expensive for all of us. I wrote on another thread about the relative comfort in which I lived when younger being able to afford a mortgage on a fairly average salary. I could hardly buy that flat now on my increased salary as the price has risen disproportionately in relation to my earnings. It used to be the way that you could find someone decent to leave your children with however now childcare has been institutionalised and all childminders need to have certain standards and qualifications. This pushes the price up considerably. As I have written before, such arrangements imposed by government need and should have a degree of subsidy and support if people are to find it affordable whilst they work. I see nothing wrong therefore in accepting tax credits which help with this. I do not see this as scrounging and resent very much someone telling me that I should not have had my children.
I do think however that childcare needs a thorough rethink to encourage lower charges perhaps in the same manner that all education is provided. Currently people pay for the actual costs at the point of use which depends on the location and nature of the business and also local demand. It is extremely hard to get childcare in Forest Hill hence prices are going up. Some nurseries are run by Surestart which allows a greater subsidy but this funding probably won't continue. I can also say for certain that these significant costs do not translate into better wages for nursery staff who still remain barely above the minimum wage however private nannies I know fare better and take home more than teachers! The costs of training, providing cover for unsocial hours ( from 7am and often up to 7pm), registration, materials, insurances and premises costs are expensive particularly costs to expand premises to allow for the EY Curriculum to be delivered.

The other fact is that people are having children later because they don't have the means to own their own home until a much later age than they used to, and don't feel financially secure in their jobs until say their 30s. People therefore will be feeling the squeeze of maternity costs, mortgage costs, and soaring childcare costs at a time when they have less money coming in. That about the height of it really and its why it would be completely impossible to keep the show on the road without having some of our taxes back from the Government at a time when its most needed.