Latest news with #youngparents
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
A new homecare business brings together seniors and young
Loneliness is an increasingly documented problem among the elderly but they aren't alone. It can also be felt by younger people - especially stay at home parents. The Rockpool Collective is a home care business is bringing the two together - setting up paid work for young parents providing in home support services to the elderly. Co-founder joins Kathryn. Co-founder of RockPool Collective, Libby McCarthy Photo: SUPPLIED/Ricky Situ
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Combatting loneliness in our communities - for young and old
Loneliness is an increasingly documented problem among the elderly but they aren't alone. It can also be felt by younger people - especially stay at home parents. The Rockpool Collective is a home care business is bringing the two together - setting up paid work for young parents providing in home support services to the elderly. Co-founder joins Kathryn. Co-founder of RockPool Collective, Libby McCarthy Photo: SUPPLIED/Ricky Situ
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Rise in births in England and Wales helped by ‘notable' jump in older dads
The number of births in England and Wales rose last year, the first increase since 2021, helped by a 'notable' jump in babies born to fathers aged 60 and over. Some 594,677 live births were registered in 2024, up 0.6% from 591,072 in 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Births remain at historically low levels, with 2024 ranking as the third lowest total since 1977. But the small rise means the broad downwards trend seen in recent years has, for the time being, come to a halt. In 2024, there were 594,677 live births in England and Wales, an increase of 3,605 (0.6%) compared with 2023 (591,072). This is the first increase since 2021, although it is smaller than the 1.8% increase from 2020 to 2021 ➡️ — Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) July 1, 2025 The latest increase in births is not reflected across all parts of England, with five regions seeing a year-on-year fall, including a drop of 1.4% in the North East. The largest jumps were in West Midlands, up 3.4%, and London, up 1.8%. While England overall saw a rise of 0.7% in live births, Wales experienced a fall of 2.0%. There was a 'notable increase' in live births to fathers aged 60 and over, the ONS said. The number jumped by 14%, from 942 births in 2023 to 1,076 in 2024. By contrast, births to young mothers and fathers fell, continuing a long-term trend that has seen the average age of parents rise steadily for the last 50 years. Babies born to mothers under the age of 20 dropped year on year by 4.6%, with a 2.4% fall for those aged 20 to 24, while those born to fathers under 20 fell by 0.5% and 3.2% respectively. Greg Ceely, ONS head of population health monitoring, said: 'In 2024, the annual number of births in England and Wales reverses the recent trend of declining births, recording the first increase seen since 2021. 'Despite this overall rise, the number of births to mothers under 30 fell, as people continue to put off having children until later in life. 'The largest decrease is seen amongst those under 20 years old, which fell by almost 5%, while the number of mothers aged 35-39 grew the most. 'A couple of other long-term trends are continuing, such as seeing around half of live births within marriage or civil partnership, and an increase in births to non-UK-born mothers.'
Times
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
Bridget Phillipson: I want more young people to have children
Labour has said it wants more young people to have children, warning that Britain's 'plummeting birth rate' is a danger to society. Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has raised the alarm about a younger generation who are 'thinking twice about starting a family' because of the rising cost of housing and childcare. She promised more help for young parents to make it easier for couples to have children, saying that 'families are the bedrock of our society and we need them to succeed'. Her comments signal growing political alarm about the UK's falling birth rate, which is down to 1.44 children per woman and in 2023 saw the fewest babies born for almost half a century. Phillipson raised the alarm over the trend, which means a future of fewer workers supporting a rising number of older people. • Britain needs babies but it will take some pushing Politicians have traditionally been wary of encouraging people to have more children, despite evidence that many couples have fewer babies than they would like. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, thrust the issue into the mainstream last month when he promised tax breaks and welfare changes to 'help young, working British people who are not on particularly big incomes to have more children'. Phillipson rejected his focus on marriage, saying 'no opposition party has the answers to our plummeting birth rate — a trend which has worrying repercussions for society but tells a story about the dashed dreams of many families'. Saying she wanted to give people the 'freedom to choose', Phillipson wrote in the Daily Telegraph: 'It's why I want more young people to have children, if they choose; to realise the ordinary aspiration so many share, to create the moments and memories that make our lives fulfilling: having children, seeing them take their first steps, dropping them off on their first day at school, guiding them on their journey into the world of work or taking them to university for the first time.' • Falling birthrate to leave UK reliant on immigration until 2100 Support for young children was 'my number one priority', Phillipson said, promising help with issues such as breastfeeding and reading, as well as an expansion of child care. Experts have pointed to evidence that making it easier or cheaper to have another child can be effective. Under the previous Labour government, Gordon Brown's working families tax credit, which gave extra cash to low-income families, is estimated to have led to an extra 45,000 babies being born.
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Benefit sanctions will mean young parents 'end up on the street', Māori youth service says
they will mean people 'end up on the street'. E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services mana whakahaere (general manager) Cindy Kawana says young parents have been completely left out of this year's Budget. Photo: Supplied / E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services A kaupapa Māori youth service says this year's Budget delivers "nothing" for young parents, and new sanctions on benefits for rangatahi could push them into unsafe situations and homelessness. With a kaupapa Māori framework, E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services provides dedicated support to mātua taiohi (young parents) and their whānau across crisis, employment, health and more. Mana whakahaere (general manager) Cindy Kawana said the whānau it works with have been completely left out of this year's Budget. "There's nothing in it for our young whānau or for rangatahi," she said. "Rangatahi have missed out - but those that are parents have missed out more. All we've seen are punitive responses to youth." On Budget Day, Minister for Social Development Louise Upston announced the government would means-test benefits for 18- and 19-year-olds against their parents' income from 2027. Kawana said this policy would have devastating impacts. "It's just another way of denying their place in society. They're adult enough to join the army, they're adult enough to vote, but they aren't adult enough to get financial support from the government when they need it ... That just seems crazy." E Tipu E Rea run many services offering dedicated support to uplift young whānau - including their Tūpuna Parenting kaupapa. Photo: Supplied / E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services Kawana said the policy overlooks the complex realities rangatahi face and assumes a level of family support that often doesn't not exist. "It's a really privileged position to be able to think that all of the 18- and 19-year-olds, and specifically those our experiences are with, have relationships with their parents, that even if their parents could afford to support them, [they] would support them," she said. "That's a really privileged position for the government to be sitting in." She said the policy also ignores complex whānau dynamics, such as children returning from state care to rebuild family relationships. "At 18 they're told, 'You can't go on the benefit. Your parents have to support you'. We know what will happen to those kids. They will be living on the street." Kawana said the consequences are visible now through the housing crisis. "What's happening right now with housing and emergency housing - our kids live on the streets. Our māmā's with babies live on the streets. These are direct consequences of the government trying to call back money because we have an unfair economic system going on. "And it's always those, the least that can afford it, that are penalised, forgotten and hidden in the statistical data." She said the sanctions would cause more harm to already struggling whānau. "Some of our young whānau are looking for support - not just financial, but a safe place to stay. What happens when they can't get a benefit? We know what will happen. They'll go out on the street, or they'll stay in really, really dysfunctional, unsafe situations." Kawana criticised the government's messaging around personal responsibility, saying it ignores structural inequality and real-life experiences of tamariki in poverty. Minister for Social Development Louise Upston says the government isn't "willing to watch any young New Zealanders get stuck on the benefit". Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone "We don't means-test superannuation. Why is it different for rangatahi at the start of their lives? We have millionaires getting taxpayer money. And yet young people are told they don't deserve support?" She said young parents, especially Māori and Pasifika, are often "talked about, but never talked to". "Youth might be asked to the table sometimes. But young māmā and pāpā with pēpi - they're left out completely." Investment should focus on prevention and support, Kawana said. "As a society, we do have a responsibility for our youth. The state has intervened in many of their lives - and done a terrible job for some. We can't now turn around and say: 'We owe you nothing'. "Recognise our mātua taiohi as whānau in their own right. Support them financially, emotionally, practically - so that their tamariki thrive." In response, Minister for Social Development Louise Upston said the welfare system should support those who need it most - but "we aren't willing to watch any young New Zealanders get stuck on the benefit". "We don't accept that a life on welfare is as good as it gets for any of our young people," she said. "That's why our government is taking steps to make sure work, training or study is the focus for all young people." Upston said the Budget prioritised funding for community coaches, bonus payments, and personalised plans to "hold young people accountable" while supporting them with job coaching and needs assessments. The final decisions on the parental income test will be made later this year, with considerations for hardship and caregiver situations. Minister for Māori Development and Associate Minister of Housing Tama Potaka. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Minister for Māori Development and Associate Minister of Housing Tama Potaka said it was "wrong to say the government doesn't care about housing for vulnerable young people". "Our housing policy has lifted hundreds of Māori whānau and tamariki out of dire emergency housing and into better homes," he said. "That can mean a world of difference for young people in terms of better health, regular school attendance or maintaining employment." He said the government wants rangatahi to grow their education at kura or follow their own ambitions through mahi or business enterprise. "The government is investing in rangatahi Māori through the overall increase in education funding as well as extra investment in Māori education specifically, including funding for kura, te reo Māori proficiency and training for kaiako. "Our aspirations are the same as many parents across the motu: we want all rangatahi to make the most of their talents. That's why we're saying 18- and 19-year-olds who aren't working or studying should be supported by their parents or guardians, not the taxpayer." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
