Stay at home parents are non persons.

Slapps

can understand wot every1 is saying but plz remember that not all of us single parents wanted 2 be single parents, cos i'm sure i had a partner who helped me make my ds with me, and i'm still doing the same worthwhile job as every other mother on this planet(bar a few). and may i also point out that i do it without havin any1 givin me the odd lay-in or time out.

bedshaped

achtunglady wrote:

If I was a single mum, I would be better off by nearly £500 a month, thats rent and council tax paid for, then there would be the income support i would receive, plus single parents benefit plus childbenefit, plus salary from other half, plus free healthcare ( glasses, dental treatment and prescriptions),but no I prefer to live a life where I am not looking over my shoulder all the time in case someone has grassed me up, I live honestly and bring my children up that way too,because i'm a great believer in what goes around comes around and the sins of the parents often fall on the children.

Are you suggesting that all single parents are dishonest?

achtunglady

bedshaped wrote:

Are you suggesting that all single parents are dishonest?

No i'm not, but there are some that are.

Aoife's_mum

Think you've got a fair point - hadn't really thought of it like that.

Why don't you write to the minister, via your MP. I think it should be RT HON Beverley Hughes MP, Minister of State for Children and Families. If you do it this way, then the minister will read both your letter and the reply drafted by the civil servants. It must make an impact if they get a lot of letters highlighting an anomaly, and helps them to judge the mood of the country, and hopefully react.

Worth a try as it can't do any harm, and is interesting to read the replies. Just make it clear to your MP that you want the letter forwarded to the minister. You should get a reply within 14 days from when it arrives at the department, although for our last letter it took ages as the MP didn't bother forwarding it until I kicked up a fuss.

achtunglady

I know of a woman, she works part time in a nursery, so gets free childcare, she claims housing benefit and as a single mum. She claims child benefit for her eldest child, and her boyfriend (who lives with her) works full time, but is claiming for their second child at the first child rate saying he lives at another address and is looking after the second child.

I know of another single mum working and living with her boyfriend (he is claiming benefit), now if they were married, she would have to support him.

Nicki

I agree that more can be done, but there is one way in which the contribution is recognised, in that those staying at home to look after young children (under 5 I think) or disabled children, have their right to a state pension protected even though they are not making NI contributions. This is an improvement on what happened to mums in days gone by who found themselves divorced and penniless aged 60!

kelloggs36

I agree too. What irritates me is that there is no discount on Council Tax for a non working parent but if an adult lived with their children they get 100% discount whilst on benefits. Where do they think the extra money comes from to pay full price for things which should get discounted? Thin air? No, it is the poor hard working worker who is screwed to the ground every step of the way. Family = no help whatsoever. Single parent family = absolutely everything given to you. No wonder there is such fraud going on in our society.

The status of SAHP is appalling - seen as nobodies whose job is 'sitting at home on your backside all day watching daytime TV'. It makes me mad that childrearing is not seen as a worthwhile job. If you go out to work and children end up running riot it is the parents' fault for not being there for them, but if they stay at home then the parents are lazy and don't contribute to society.

achtunglady

Thriftylady wrote:

in many ways the UK is a nation of child haters. They are seen as a nuisance, a drain on resources and a liability, instead of being seen as the next generation, future contributors to society or whatever. I know there are some nightmare kids out there, but there are nightmare OAPS as well, and no one ever seems to get worked up about them!

But will the kids really be the next working generation? I can see this country going to rack and ruin- binge drinkers, out of control youth,drug users and gambling. This seems to be a culture where its acceptable to sit back and do nothing and get rewarded by the state, whereas the working man is working to support others before his family,as well as his family. Do you really think kids nowadays want to spend 6 years studying to be a doctor? No, its all to easy to aspire to be pop/rap stars.

OAP's are old enough to remember the "good old days" you know the ones when a kid could go out with his mates all day and you wouldnt worry about them unless they didnt come back by sunset, kids could climb trees freely without the health and safety moaning about it!!

jezebel

I was under the impression that stay at home parents would still be entitled to child benefit - is this no longer true or is your point that this is for children and you're not paid for being at home?

achtunglady

Stay at home parents are still are still entitled to child benefit, was just saying that if theres two children, only the first gets the full rate ,the second gets a reduced rate.