Emergency Budget: tax credit cuts for millions

jellyhead

I'd love for them to have more sport or longer playtimes. School have built fun stuff on the field and in the trees, and they do make an effort for the children to have fun at playtime, it's just that playtime isn't very long.

clcclw

This sudden Benefit cuts HAS hit my honest working family hard being asked to re-pay 2years worth of payments in 6mths - We don't have that kind of money - I don't have a money tree!!

My husband works hard for our family Every April I always tell the benfits departments ALL that he earns PAYE & any Tax credits we recieve too & Child Benefit also. I have never lied & then the council work it out on the P60's & payslips etc for my Tax reward notice's for the years April's to April's.


Suddenly on the 2nd September this year 2010 - We were HIT massively with HUGE payouts that the council want back in 6mths now for Benefits & Tax credits - It's outrageous - & I am so stressed & over whelmed by this huge payout they want back & my family are suffering hugely - We are soon going to have to be on bread & butter & my children will have no new clothes when they need it, The rest of my years are now looking extreamly Bleak for our family.


I am horrified at this & we have no way of the council helping us to sort it They want it back END OF, & we don't have it.

We are now massively struggling to just get food in now for the week. We don't know what to do.

Family from the South west

Totally distraught.

GillM

flight747 wrote: »

I pay my DLA for special interpreter, paying expensive phone bills (using text relay service from typetalk as it take more longer calls on textphone) paying taxi to fetch and drop my son to school every days. Paying my hearing aids batteries at boots (as NHS batteries is no longer in my local GP)

BT do not make a full charge for calls using text relay specifically because the calls take longer. Also you say later that you don't wear hearing aids so why do you need batteries? As someone with a profound hearing loss in both ears who has recently retired after working for 37 years (for less than you get in benefits) to become a fulltime carer for the princely sum of £53.90 per week, all I can say is you give a bad name to disabled people.

MissMoneypenny

flea72 wrote: »

eating a penguin bar and a packet of crisps as part of your snack/lunch isnt whats causing the rise in childrens' weight,

It will be if you are giving them that type of food every day. Once a week won't realy hurt them, but everyday:eek:

flea72 wrote: »

perhaps the schools should be encouraging the kids to be more active, but that would mean the curriculum would have to be scaled down in other areas to allow for additional PE time, and guess what sporting achievements dont rate in league tables, so what school is gonna do that

The parents' should be the ones who get their children active and make it fun to be active, so that they learn this for life and pass it on to their children.

Schools are for learning. Most parents can walk/run/play games with their children and take them to sports clubs, but how many parents are capable of home schooling their children to a good standard?

flea72

[QUOTE=MissMoneypenny;36864628The parents' should be the ones who get their children active and make it fun to be active, so that they learn this for life and pass it on to their children.

Schools are for learning. Most parents can walk/run/play games with their children and take them to sports clubs, but how many parents are capable of home schooling their children to a good standard?[/QUOTE]

over the course of a week, my children spend more hours in school, than they do at home with myself - so who has the most influence over their daily activity levels?

also by the time we have got in from school, had a breather, and then started on homework/cooking tea, its 7pm before we have a minute spare, and the bedtime routine kicks in

no, eating a packet of crisps and a penguin bar on a daily basis, is not making our kids fat. a packet of crisps, and a penguin has the same calorie content as two bananas, which is why bananas are only allowed in limited quantities when following a weightloss plan. i doubt most parents would think twice about giving their kids a banana a day, they would most likely encourage it, as fruits good for you

as ive said before, go back just one generation, and children were eating nigh on double the calorie intake we have nowadays, its just their lifestyle was more active. not from sporting exercise, but just from the general energy used to go about their daily routine. taking your kids to afterschool sports clubs twice a week, and having a run around the park at the weekend, is still not enough to keep weight levels down. they need to be active all day every day, and school gets in the way of that. not parents and the food options they provide

my kids slim down every school holiday, because they are more active during the day. if that doesnt weight the argument they are too inactive at school, then what else is the reason, because id say they consume way more food during holidays, than i provide in their school lunch

F

MissMoneypenny

flea72 wrote: »

no, eating a packet of crisps and a penguin bar on a daily basis, is not making our kids fat. a packet of crisps, and a penguin has the same calorie content as two bananas, which is why bananas are only allowed in limited quantities when following a weightloss plan.

You seem to be saying that a packet of crisps and a penguin bar a day gives the child the same nutruients as a banana? They don't. There are other fruits besides a banana. Even on the weightloss plan that you speak about, a banana would be a much healthier option than junk food like crisps and chocolate biscuits.

flea72 wrote: »

also by the time we have got in from school, had a breather, and then started on homework/cooking tea, its 7pm before we have a minute spare, and the bedtime routine kicks in

my kids slim down every school holiday, because they are more active during the day. if that doesnt weight the argument they are too inactive at school, then what else is the reason, because id say they consume way more food during holidays, than i provide in their school lunch

F

I didn't need "a breather" when my children came home for school, nor did I need to slim my children down during the school holidays as I kept them active all year round: even on school days. It's not just taking them to sports clubs: there are many games that parents can play with their children, that keep them active.

From what you have said, you provide all you your childrens' meals, yet you blame the school for making them overweight!

jellyhead

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

You seem to be saying that a packet of crisps and a penguin bar a day gives the child the same nutruients as a banana?

She's not saying that. She's saying that the calories in the junk are comparable to calories in the banana that a parent such as myself gives their child every day, so there's more to a child being obese than just the junk food they are given.

Mine's gone from reception into year 1 now and they spend more time sat on their bottoms now. They get PE twice a week, but they have proper lessons now so they can't run around the playground during lesson time. When they get to year 3 they get their afternoon break removed, so that's even less exercise.

Yes, school is for learning, but it's a very long time to be sat still. Some kids don't even walk to and from school.

A school around the corner has introduced morning fitness classes. It's like aerobics, just for a few minutes. Apparently it's done wonders for concentration, especially for the kids who get driven to school.

MissMoneypenny

jellyhead wrote: »

A school around the corner has introduced morning fitness classes. It's like aerobics, just for a few minutes. Apparently it's done wonders for concentration, especially for the kids who get driven to school.

It's very scary to see that the teachers are having to do what the parents can't be bothered do.

jellyhead wrote: »

She's saying that the calories in the junk are comparable to calories in the banana

According to this site,
http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories-in-food/snacks/McVities-Penguin-Bars.htm
a penguin bar has 130 calories
a 34g bag of crisps is 180 calories
http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories-in-food/snacks/walkers-smoky-bacon-crisps.htm

Which totals to about 310 calories for the junk food, compared to 150 calories
of a medium sized banana. Bananas are filling, so they only need 1.

• One medium banana contains 1.29 grams of protein, 105 calories and 3.1 grams of dietary fiber.

Minerals

• Potassium - 422 mg
• Phosphorus - 26 mg
• Magnesium - 32 mg
• Calcium - 6 mg
• Sodium - 1 mg
• Iron - 0.31 mg
• Selenium 1.2 mcg
• Manganese - 0.319 mg
• Copper - 0.092 mg
• Zinc - 0.18 mg
• Also contains small amounts of other minerals.

Vitamins

• Vitamin A - 76 IU
• Vitamin B1 (thiamine) - 0.037 mg
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) - 0.086 mg
• Niacin - 0.785 mg
• Folate - 24 mcg
• Pantothenic Acid - 0.394 mg
• Vitamin B6 - 0.433 mg
• Vitamin C - 10.3 mg
• Vitamin E - 0.12 mg
• Vitamin K - 0.6 mcg
• Contains some other vitamins in small amounts.

http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/fruit-nutrition-chart.html

AnxiousMum

flea72 wrote: »

over the course of a week, my children spend more hours in school, than they do at home with myself - so who has the most influence over their daily activity levels?

Last I checked though, school was to obtain an education. Home is for balancing out your child's life, and making them 'all rounded'. How do you propose that a math class be taught other than in most cases, sitting, listening, learning and doing math? In that case - what about other subjects - literacy, social studies, RE etc.? As parents we should be sending our children to school with the knowledge that it is for education, not play. I wonder if it's the same kids in high school who do nothing physical outside of school, are the ones who disrupt the classes and stop others from learning?

also by the time we have got in from school, had a breather, and then started on homework/cooking tea, its 7pm before we have a minute spare, and the bedtime routine kicks in

Know what you mean, which is why our week day meals are sometimes from a slow cooker, so it's cooking during the day while I'm working, and just needs to be served up when dinner time arrives. Breather? What's that? lol - mine's when the kids go to bed of a night. Homework in primary school should not occupy all their time until 7 pm.

no, eating a packet of crisps and a penguin bar on a daily basis, is not making our kids fat. a packet of crisps, and a penguin has the same calorie content as two bananas, which is why bananas are only allowed in limited quantities when following a weightloss plan. i doubt most parents would think twice about giving their kids a banana a day, they would most likely encourage it, as fruits good for you

It's not the calories in a banana that are discouraged on a weight loss plan - I think you're thinking more along the lines of protein or carbs. But......are your kids on a diet that they need to worry about the carbs? They should be out burning them off being kids when not in school, so shouldn't be an issue, however, a banana certainly doesn't have the unhealthy fats associated with a pack of crisps or a penguin bar - and contain loads of nutrition inplace of the fats.
as ive said before, go back just one generation, and children were eating nigh on double the calorie intake we have nowadays, its just their lifestyle was more active. not from sporting exercise, but just from the general energy used to go about their daily routine. taking your kids to afterschool sports clubs twice a week, and having a run around the park at the weekend, is still not enough to keep weight levels down. they need to be active all day every day, and school gets in the way of that. not parents and the food options they provide
Previous generations didn't get home from school and sit in front of a tv playing video games, or on a computer chatting with friends - instead they were outside exerting energy playing with their friends. But......would you say that today's older generation is a generally healthy one? Not necessarily due to lack of physical activity - but I know several people who have had bypasses due to cholesterol build ups......hmmmmm how many bags of crisps did they eat in their lifetime?

my kids slim down every school holiday, because they are more active during the day. if that doesnt weight the argument they are too inactive at school, then what else is the reason, because id say they consume way more food during holidays, than i provide in their school lunch
Then maybe you need to focus on a more balanced lifestyle for them - why have one lifestyle for when they're at school and then another for school holidays??? Sorry - I don't get it! It's a teachers job to teach......not keep your child fit and healthy. They are not nutritionists, they are not trainers, they are not doctors. They are educators - but even educating them about healthy lifestyle choices, if it's not supported by the parent outside of school hours, then it's not going to do them much good is it?
F

It's time parents started taking responsibility for their own children and their own faults, rather than blaming the schools and the teachers for everything. Our little darlings had well formed lifestyles, choices, behaviours, attitudes LONG before they started school.

jellyhead

Okay, some parents could make more effort to get their children to do more exercise, and I definitely think that walking to school (or something else that involves fresh air and a bit of movement) is good for the brain but I still don't think this is school doing what the parents ought to. School is hours and hours of sitting still. There should be more exercise involved. The children would concentrate better, surely, therefore the learning time would be more effective. They spend so long learning songs and hymns, maybe some of that could be done standing up with some actions.

You are right about the banana versus penguin bar, I know that but I think flea knows it too. She's not saying it doesn't matter whether they have a banana or a penguin - she's saying that there's more to being obese than eating junk, namely lack of exercise.