Check out Grumpy's IBin Laughin Humour Page

To read past columns visit The Grumpy Files

Slightly naughty fellow Wombats.

I was just taking a squizz at the Web Wombat survey that all you good folk have been asked (very nicely) to have a look at and - up until an email from a long-time fan - I thought it looked pretty good.

However, W (as I'll call her 'coz her nickname is pretty unusual - I'd love to know where she got it) raised the issue about there being no 'parenting' selection in the occupation category.

I'll let W's own words make her point.

"Dear Grumpy,

Now I know that most people think that single mums / dads are a lazy dole-using bunch, but some of us take the job and responsibility seriously.

Being a single parent was not my idea. I was married till the said partner decided that he didn't like parenthood and left. Now I cop the flack that goes with the title.

I could work, but that would leave someone else raising my child. I do use day care and understand that a lot of people don't have much choice. Now that my child has started school I am looking for work. You try finding something that fits around school hours - even job sharing is hard to find.

In future could you please see if you can get the people at Web Wombat, who do such an otherwise great job, to include parenting in their job lists. Maybe if the importance of that job was recognised and valued more, people would be encouraged to take it more seriously and there would be fewer "delinquents" on the streets."

Now I reckon W has an exceptionally interesting point and I shall be passing it on to my colleagues at the Wombat.

I reckon their missing out of a parenting category inadvertent and probably comes down to following what the statistics mob wants in such questionnaires. Most, including (or is that particularly) government departments, don't want to go near the issue of parenting as work because that has all sorts of nasty ramifications.

Imagine what would happen if parents at home were considered part of the work force. How much would it cost to pay someone to be a cook, cleaner, child-minder, gardener, ironer or tidier-upper? Damn ... they'd earn more than Kerry Packer!

And imagine if they formed a Parents At Home union? The power PAH would have would be phenomonal.

Prime Ministers, captains of industry, CEOs, absolutely everybody would be at the mercy of PAH and would be forced to publicly acknowledge its members for their outstanding - and largely unrewarded - service to the community.

If there is something that has really got up your nose, let Grumpy Old Coot know at grumpy@webwombat.com