Hey Taoiseach - leave our kids alone!

"Hey Taoiseach - where's my benefit?"

So on Thursday last I was supposed to get up early to arrange the photoshoot in Dublin city with 3 toddlers. The idea was bins + children. As in 'Don't bin our benefits' or having kids looking into the bins wondering 'where's my benefit'? We thought the children should represent themselves as essentially they are the ones being affected by the government proposal to means-test or tax child benefit.

I was so tired (36 weeks preggers does that to you), body was like lead, so I was startled to find little boy staring me in the eyes in the morning with a 'you don't what to know what I just did' look in his eyes. He said 'wet, wet' instinctively I lent down to feel his trousers as I presumed his nappy had leaked.

Instead, my sleepy hand attached to my semi-comotosed body felt a naked, wet and somewhat sticky bum. I realised he was nappyless and at the same time, he had a dirty bum. Not a nice thought and one that makes you want to catapult yourself out of bed to find said missing nappy and discover what other potential mess lay in the house.

My turtle-like movements then spurted my other half into action and he went looking for the nappy. Luckily enough little boy had the sense to take off the nappy on a mat and pee/rub his bum on said mat. Mat needs to be cleaned but it is not a disaster...considering the cream carpet that lines the house. Calamity no.1 officially "on hold" for the day. Will deal with it on my return.

Feeling shaken and realising I am one hour behind myself - I hurridly got the boy dressed, myself dressed, shovelled breakfast into ourselves and fired all the rubbish bins we had in the house into the car, the props (boxes with labels) and a cranky 2 year old who just wanted to watch Barney. We headed out the door got stuck for 20 mins on the N11 when I realised I forgot the press releases. I had to head back to the house. In the end we took a new direction into the city and got there just before kick off.

But it was raining. Alot. Little boy needed rain gear, props would get wet. Virtual mommies managed to find each other in a large Dublin park, we set up the props, got the kids 'excited' to be playing with rubbish bins in the rain. Not an easy task. The little 3 year old girl was really cute when we asked her to stand in the bin with an umbrella, she turned to me and said "you don't put people in bins." Well that is right but on this special occasion she needed to stand in one. There was much screaming, tears, raining, raisins, chocolate buttons and coaxing. Cold wet mammies standing wondering what in the hell they were doing with their children and was it all worth it?

Then after all our efforts -- only one photographer turned up! In the end I did get something out of it, I have a cold! We waited an hour in total the kids were going crazy (junior deciding everything was his and insisting no one else could touch them) but he is only a toddler and in fairness - they were very patient. As were us mammies.

Today, nothing in the papers, the petition however is chugging along we broke the 2,000 signature barrier today. But I am hopeful, as it is the weekend, there is still a chance the photographs appear. I sent them around again today. I hope they do land somewhere as they symbolise that child benefit is meant for the children. Not for mammy's highlights (and good luck to those mammies who can afford to spend their Child Benefit/CB on highlights). Not for plasma TVs (I read this in a post as to why people shouldn't get CB). The whole point is that child benefit is for the kids. For their future. For our future generation.

I can't believe that the bankers walk away with not even egg on their face. They get a big fat bonus and a golden parachute as they quietly "retire" into the still of the night. The Taoiseach, the Government get their bonuses and refuse to accept the "voluntary" pay-cuts but the kids, the voiceless, defenceless, vulnerable ones get smacked with "means-testing or taxing" their benefit. Our children did nothing wrong! Why punish them?

What kind of lesson is it for today's children to let the people who make massive mistakes that have ended up hurting lots of people - walk away scot free? Why do they - the bankers and government who made these mistakes - get to hold onto their dignities and bonuses? So the moral of the story is --- make a big mistake and walk away with a big fat bonus. Or if we look at it another way, work hard pay taxes, take pay cuts, increased levies and lose your benefits. Why shouldn't the AIB shareholder throw an egg? It gets me angry. Not sure I would throw an egg, but in my case maybe a nappy.

Hey Taoiseach - you can tax us, but leave our kids alone.

P.S. those of you in Dublin, paper petition outside GPO this Sunday 17th May from 2pm - 4pm.

Hey Taoiseach - leave our kids alone!