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The first evidence of an end to the “have-it-all” generation of women emerges today with thousands of nursery places lying empty because mothers are choosing to care for young children themselves.

Almost a quarter of nursery places are now vacant. The ideal of a woman juggling a full-time career with the demands of motherhood is going out of fashion as a new era of flexible parenting rights takes root.

At least a million parents have taken up their “right to request” part-time work instead of leaving their babies to return to the work-place full-time after it was introduced four years ago. The trend is expected to develop as mothers take advantage of their new right to a year’s maternity leave.

The first evidence of an end to the “have-it-all” generation of women emerges today with thousands of nursery places empty because mothers are choosing to care for young children themselves.

At least a million parents have taken up their “right to request” part-time work instead of leaving their babies to return to the work-place full-time after it was introduced four years ago. The trend is expected to develop as mothers take advantage of their new right to a year’s maternity leave.

The first concrete evidence that parents are choosing to care for babies themselves emerges in a report about nurseries by the leading market analysts Laing & Buisson. Their study showed that there were 160,000 vacancies in nurseries last year. That amounts to 22.5 per cent of all places, compared with a vacancy rate of 11 per cent in 2002.

The total number of nursery places has nearly doubled over the same period as demand was overanticipated. The Government still plans to create thousands more.

The soaring vacancies are all the more striking as the birthrate has risen to its highest level since 1992, with 1.79 children per woman.

The term “have-it-all woman” is attributed to Helen Gurley Brown, the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, in her 1982 book Having It All.

The aspiration for women to juggle their lives came from Nicola Horlick, the financial expert, who explained her superwoman philosophy in a 1997 book. “I timed the conception of my children so that my maternity leave could include the Christmas holidays,” she explained.

Susan Anderson, director of human resources policy at the CBI, pointed to a new culture of flexible working introduced by employers over the past decade.

“There are certainly far more choices for women now,” she said. “Previously you were either at home full-time or at work. Women can now have longer periods off when the child is first born.

“Employers should claim the credit because they are providing a lot of flexitime, nine-day fortnights and teleworking [using computers to work away from the office]. There has been a long-term shift towards women having a choice.”

Ninty per cent of requests for part-time work are being accepted.

The days of mothers rushing back to work the moment that a child is born are over. Only 18 per cent of nursery places are full time and only 7 per cent of children in day care are now under a year old.

As well as better maternity packages, parents have been alarmed by warnings that putting young children in full-time nursery care can make them antisocial and anxious. A government evaluation of nurseries found that toddlers spending more than seven hours a day in daycare were more likely to be bossy, tease other children, stamp their feet, and get anxious when toys or refreshments were handed round.

Despite surplus places, however, the Government plans to create thousands more as it nears its goal of building 3,500 children’s centres for the under5s by 2010.

Laing & Buisson found that fees remained stubbornly high for parents, especially in London and the Home Counties, where they are charged an average of £168 a week.

- There were 725,115 nursery places in Britain last year; in 2002 the figure was 424,900

- Private nurseries provide 527,600 places

- The vacancy rate was 22.5 per cent last year compared with 11 per cent in 2002 Nurseries are the most popular form of paid childcare: 29 per cent of parents who have jobs use day care

- Relatives and friends are still the most popular form of childcare, used by with 52 per cent of working parents

Source: Laing & Buisson

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