Sir, - I agree with many of the points raised in Victoria White's article of January 2nd. It has always been my contention that babies need the one-to-one care of a person who does not go away. So why not then give support to the most important person in an infant's life, the mother?
Common sense dictates that in the vast majority of cases there is no adequate substitute for a mother who is bonded to and loves her child. Unfortunately, few political or religious leaders have spoken out against the growing practice in our country of handing over infants to paid strangers. Adequate measures must be taken now to give mothers a choice in respect of the care which they consider best meets the needs of family and child. As Ms White says, support for home-based child care could improve babies' and toddlers' lives so much.
This Government, in its dogged determination for individualisation of the tax code, undervalues the role of the full-time mother caring for her children in the home and her enormous contribution to the economic and social fabric of society. If this overhaul of Irish families, in the interest of economic expediency, proves to be socially disastrous, as has been seen in other countries, this Government alone must bear the responsibility. - Yours, etc.,
Aileen Price, St Martin's Park, Dublin 6w.