Its a wonderful life... Want to try.....?? A Single parents View.. !!xx!

**purplemoon**

viktory wrote:

Thanks for that. May I impose further and ask if single parents have to contribute to their rent and water rates?

Depending how much the rent is then yes, sometimes a contribution has to be made towards it and water rates have to be paid in full to the water company just like anyone else. If it's included in the rent then the housing benefit will be reduced accordingly as water rates or any other bills are not covered.

black-saturn

OMG Purplemoon I've just noticed you are in Lowestoft. I'm in Lowestoft too!!

Becles

black-saturn wrote:

When they moan because their friend has everything she asks for I tell them it's because her mum and dad works full time but she is left with a childminder to be able to get everything she asks for. So I ask them what would they rather have, the latest Nintendo DS or a mum that is there for them all the time? They always choose the latter.

When mine ask for expensive things, they get told maybe for Christmas/Birthday depending on my budget goes. They appreciate I work hard to give them what they get, but also appreciate that money doesn't stretch enough to buy them everything they ask for. I've never used a childminder to do this, and I'm there for them all the time they need me as I work school hours.

They've had a treat this week as they are on a football training course that they both asked to go on, as it's run by a local team they support. I've had HM thank you cards for paying for it, so I know they appreciate that I was able to send them on this.

I've had negative things happen in my life too, but they are in the past and I've never inflicted what happened to me on my children. I've moved on from things that happened and buried them in my mind, so they don't influence my current life or my childrens upbringing.

krisskross

black-saturn wrote:

No it's not. There are plenty of SAHM married or with a partner on this board. They get nowhere near the amount of flack the lone parent ones do.

BS I would suggest you read Becles post more carefully, before typing furiously and pressing the submit button.

Dave_liverpool

black-saturn wrote:

OMG Purplemoon I've just noticed you are in Lowestoft. I'm in Lowestoft too!!

Is that packing I hear?

Penny-Pincher!!

Just taking a look at what we would be entitled to...just DD & I and it would be £119.32 including Child Benefit per week. We are lucky (if you can say that) as we get disability premiums on top.

I miss not working and have been off work for the past 12 months and have gone from a 50k+ household to living entirely on benefits. Like I said though, we are lucky as we get the disability top ups, but if I was well enough to work we wouldnt need to claim and be on much better money.

PP
xx

Bogof_Babe

Well the socio-documentary on Ch4 was certainly more socio than documentary. I watched the first half but now that they are on to the grandmother's alcohol problems, it has ceased to relate to what we were led to believe was the general situation for single mums.

Too narrow a spectrum to be taken as any sort of definitive study.

Broken_hearted

It showed them dinking and smoking then claiming to be broke. Which was sad. It was the usual rubish the media produces to show single mums as problem families.

krisskross

They were both very, very young. Never had any money so when it came from the loan I think a lot was wasted. Felt very sad that the only ambition the one lass had was to have children.

looby75

Broken_hearted wrote:

It showed them dinking and smoking then claiming to be broke. Which was sad. It was the usual rubish the media produces to show single mums as problem families.

I actually thought that the lasses in the program came across reasonably well compared to other similar programs. It showed that for the most part young single mums are in that situation through circumstance rather than choice...but the biggest thing it showed was that even the "lowest of the low" (as single mums are often perceived to be) still love their kids and want to give them as much as they possibly can.