MSE News: Single mothers 'worst hit by cuts'

dmg24

DX2 wrote: »

Just had to pick this up.....

Currently more than three million children live in separated families and around 50% do not receive child maintenance

Maria Miller 23 Mar 2011

Stats can be used to support or oppose any argument. The above really means nothing without some substance behind it, and just as others are making assumptions about those who are receiving maintenance, you are doing the same about the financial circumstances of those that do not!

gillypkk

what alot of people seem to be missing out on is the fact that there is going to be a cut in the childcare element of tax credits.

single mothers like myself (who left an abusive marriage) who want to work and has been actively seeking work for the past 2 years to no fruition will not be able to afford to return to work and get off benefits thus easing the strain on the government.

i have been out of work for 5 years so im looking to get back in at a minimum paying job and either work my way up from there or use it as a stepping stone into a better paying job or save up so i can retrain in the area i ideally want to work. if the childcare element is cut i wont have that option of returning to work as i am barely getting by as it is and i defiately cannot afford to take be worse off working.

i feel bad enough being on benefits as it is. its demoralising. and to be lumped into the same category consistently as those silly teenagers who see a baby as a free ride to a house and money is, frankly, insulting and people need to think before they speak as one day they too may be in the same position as i am and im sure they wont apprecaite that comparision being made.

gillypkk

angeleyesxx wrote: »

I was once a single parent and i managed to work part-time then full-time once the kids were at school and am glad i did as it showed my kids that if you want anything in life you have to work for it and not just sit on your bum and let the tax payers pay for it. I think that once the person's kids get to school age they should be made to go back to work BUT there arent enough jobs out there or even affordable childcare depending on where you live!

thats the problem. alot of employers dont look favourably upon single parents and the age old problem of not being able to work without childcare in place and not being able to afford childcare without a job!

its a viscious cycle and simply telling us single mums to get a job doesnt work. we need help to get the jobs. i get no help from the job centre whatsoever despite asking if there are courses etc... i can go on to make myself more appealing to employers.

Aarons_mummy

Wondered how long it would take before the old stereotypical single mother image was produced. Suprise suprise only a couple of comments in.

Not every single mother is out to get whatever they can. Not every single mother is in that position through choice. Not every single mother is sitting on their backside doing nothing to better their life. Not every single mother is popping out kid after kid. Not every single mother is living it up.

Contrast to public view, single mothers do NOT get a huge amount in benefits. If people are going out every weekend, have new designer clothes, holidays etc then they're on credit. Sorry but on £500 a month there is NO WAY these things could be afforded on a regular basis.

People need to realise that everyone is different and whilst there may be a few taking the michael there is a lot more doing whatever they can to help both themselves and their family to get off of the demoralisation that is benefits. It's a horrible life to live and having to defend an image by something presented in the Daily Fail doesn't help either.

If benefits are going to be cut then fair enoug, however something has to be done about childcare (not tax credits) to make it affordable especially for a single parent to work, either that something enforcable has to be done so that fathers HAVE to contribute to a child they have made.

laineybird2000

cor blimy... its a bit "stigmatise all single mothers" in here...

I have two, toddlers 2 & 3. I work 32 hours per week and yes i get some help towards childcare. But i wouldnt be able to work without it. My nails have never seen a manicure, i get a hair cut every 6 months and i dont really spend money on myself. My imps have everything they need and get the odd treat (due to them being amazing) I hate that some children get a poor deal from their parents but it should be a case by case basis.

did anyone see the "kids in poverty" thing a few weeks back? made me wanna jump in the car and go help those poor kids. Mums got designer gear and full manicured false nails, poor little imps dont get lunch... disgusting. and the houses those kids have to live in, we dont have much, but its all paid for (no credit here) and its all spotless. Why dont soical services get involved?

anyhoo, anyone have a ladder so i can climb down off my soap box?

ILW

Would be useful if the terms "single mother", "widow" and "divorcee" were used. Would save stigmatising many.

Why are all these children not being supported by their fathers?

gadgetmind

ILW wrote: »

Why are all these children not being supported by their fathers?

Because said fathers fit into one or more of the following categories: unknown, long-gone and untraceable, dead, in prison, unemployed themselves and "reluctant" to pay.

It's depressing but how do we break the cycle?

gadgetmind

gillypkk wrote: »

alot of employers dont look favourably upon single parents

Speaking as an employer of many, I wouldn't expect to see marital status or number of children on a CV, wouldn't think to ask for this information during an interview, and wouldn't be at all surprised if there were laws that would prevent me asking such questions. (But I might be wrong.)

ILW

gadgetmind wrote: »

Speaking as an employer of many, I wouldn't expect to see marital status or number of children on a CV, wouldn't think to ask for this information during an interview, and wouldn't be at all surprised if there were laws that would prevent me asking such questions. (But I might be wrong.)

Do you find that single parents tend to take more time off then people without children?

ILW

gadgetmind wrote: »

Because said fathers fit into one or more of the following categories: unknown, long-gone and untraceable, dead, in prison, unemployed themselves and "reluctant" to pay.

It's depressing but how do we break the cycle?

Maybe some sort of legal contract before having children could help a little. How's that for a new idea, surprised nobody thought of it before.