Without children, within 100 years there is no human race.

Children must be raised to learn ‘how the world works as an integrated whole, within a fragile biosphere that supports all life… now and forever into the future’, and about ‘how society works’, too. This means, as well as teaching them ‘facts about the world’, we must pass on the ‘life-skills’ required to thrive.

As well, our children must be fed, clothed and housed, and loved to become a person in their own right who also becomes a valued member of the human race: working, as best they can, with all other members of our global tribe to make not only the goods and services we collectively need and want but, most especially, helping to mold the society of which they are a part... each person and society uniquely different.

What could be more valuable than the work required to support and guide our children on this journey?

Yet we leave so many to struggle in this task.

People who longer have a support network of their own to pass on the ‘wisdom of the tribe’ in this modern world:

• Reading/Writing
• Budgeting/Basic Maths
• Cleaning/Hygiene
• Cooking
• Negotiating
• Parenting
• Computer Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
• Etc.

Who also lack the ‘wisdom of a life well-lived’, passed down from older generations.

Compounding this lack of support, we leave a large minority (12-14% of the population) to struggle below the poverty line, while an even larger number face the constant threat of falling into poverty if they lose their income - which could and does happen to many people every day, for any number of reasons.

The stress that this places on the parents inevitably harms the children.

A UBI paid to all adults will help alleviate some of this burden, while going some small way to recognizing the huge value of the unpaid work done by parents (mostly women).

A UBI would also allow charities and other support services to shift resources from the supply of emergency food, clothing, and shelter to providing more support in learning the life-skills necessary to thrive.

As parents learn to live better lives, with more money to provide for themselves, this alone will help our children to live better lives, in turn

Yet, children too need money - to cover their basic needs

One answer would be to pay a UBI for children as well.

Three Arguments in Favour of a (Part) UBI for Children

1. Children require additional support. This money would be paid to the parent/guardian.With 17% of children living in poverty ^[1] , there is ample evidence that keeping them out of poverty has huge individual and social benefits. ^[2]
2. It can be used to support external childcare; freeing (mainly) women to pursue other work – if they so desire. It may also facilitate sharing of responsibilities for child rearing and home management, aiding harmony in the home.
3. Paying children some money into their own account (perhaps from as young as age 10), enables them to learn money management, especially if combined with school projects that cover budgeting and financial management. It also normalises the payment of a UBI, so the psychological impact of suddenly receiving the full UBI as an adult is lessened.

How much ought to be paid in each case (if any) is a matter to be debated and would need to take into consideration existing tax and welfare support, including for childcare.

In this context, it is important to recognise that child benefits are now targeted based on income and family circumstances. We would need to be careful in converting the payments to a universal payment that we do not create more problems than we solve.

Unlike the UBI paid to each adult, a UBI for children would need to vary based on the number of children and perhaps their age. There is also the problem of who is the primary carer where couples are no longer together; and what share, if any, the other partner has, and if the children are cared for by other relatives, or even in foster care for a time, with ‘blended’ families from prior marriages further complicating arrangements.

The better way with children may be to continue the current system but simplify and automate it as much as possible, linked to the tax system – at least to start.

Given the issues that a Child UBI raises, we would rather press ahead with a straightforward UBI for all adults, and treat a child UBI as a separate challenge, once we have the adult UBI bedded down.