Preparedness for when

jk0

A number of you guys/gals mention that you have your heating set very low. I think you ought to have a look at this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25763198

[Deleted User]

These days we are all subjected to 24 hour news coverage and events which 50 years ago would have been reported once and probably 3 weeks after they happened are on constant re-run loop on the TV and in the papers. They say good news doesn't sell papers and we seem always to get the bad side of events thrust into the public psyche and never the good side. Is it any wonder that we are becoming a little desensitised to life in 2014? Way back, when I was little I lived in a relatively small village of some 500 people, we had our problem families and we had our problem adults too but no one I knew would let a child go hungry, no matter how little we had, no matter how inept it's parents were, mums would always find a slice of bread and jam for a child who hadn't been fed!!! If a family was on its uppers someone would give clothes or shoes that their kids had outgrown and surpluses of veg in the growing season. It wasn't looked on or accepted as charity it came under the heading of 'looking after our own' and that is what is missing from society now. We all live in little bubbles, protecting 'our' things and not giving a care for those who don't have, just feeling smug that we do!!! The caring for your fellow man (and his children) just isn't there any more and we live much more priveleged lives than our forebears could have begun to imagine and have so much more materially, they however had the humanity!!! I wonder what's gone wrong?

Yes, any parent worth the title should put their childrens welfare before the cigarettes and alcohol but when they don't is it OK to just accept that as a done and dusted deed then say 'It's none of my business' and walk away leaving those children hungry? No I don't expect there to be a breakfast inspector visiting every home but I do expect there to be food available for every little hungry mouth that needs it be it provided by charity to the school so a breakfast club could feed those who need it or by provision from the government who have a responsibility to look after the next generation or by donation from the greedy supermarkets who throw away so much perfectly viable food. I don't think we can any longer say It's not my responsibility and shrug our shoulders and ignore poverty, we all have a responsibility to do whatever we can for the society we also live in.

metalswan

Delurks :-)
Just wanted to say a big thank you to all who post ideas, lists, suggestions and share experiences on this thread.

It is thanks mostly to you posters, that I had the resources and wherewithall to cope when my husbands car was stolen last week and mine broke down a few days later. Despite large bills and all the dreadful inconvenience we were able to stay safe, still get to work (odd shifts so difficult to do using public transport) and will be able to eat reasonably well until next payday.

I have a good dollop of common sense anyway, but being prompted to think about different scenarios really gave me something to get my teeth into in terms of planning. VERY glad I did!
Thank you all :-)

[Deleted User]

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

but no one I knew would let a child go hungry, no matter how little we had

Absolutely.

When I was a child, my parents put spending in a specific order.

Rent.
Food.
Gas and Electric.
Clothes.
Other things.

Nowadays, it seems cigarettes, alcohol, pay TV etc., is, to some parents, quite high up on the list.

fuddle

We can't at all blame TPTB though can we... I mean what can they possibly gain from a society that consumes cigarettes and alchohol?

dandy-candy

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Way back, when I was little I lived in a relatively small village of some 500 people, we had our problem families and we had our problem adults too but no one I knew would let a child go hungry, no matter how little we had, no matter how inept it's parents were, mums would always find a slice of bread and jam for a child who hadn't been fed!!! If a family was on its uppers someone would give clothes or shoes that their kids had outgrown and surpluses of veg in the growing season. It wasn't looked on or accepted as charity it came under the heading of 'looking after our own' and that is what is missing from society now. We all live in little bubbles, protecting 'our' things and not giving a care for those who don't have, just feeling smug that we do!!! The caring for your fellow man (and his children) just isn't there any more and we live much more priveleged lives than our forebears could have begun to imagine and have so much more materially, they however had the humanity!!! I wonder what's gone wrong?

This a thousand times over. It make me mad when a child dies of neglect and the neighbours say they knew and called social services who did nothing. So if social services do nothing, you let a child suffer? Where is the community nowadays?

VJsmum

I can see both sides to this - I can see the point that Bob is making, there are a number of parents who simply CBA to look after their own children - or don't have the skills to do so. T'was always so - you only have to read Dickens to see there is nothing new in that.

But I can also see the other side that you can't generalise and you shouldn't blame the children. So what is the answer?

I guess we feed the children and try to help the parents - I am not sure how that can be organised, though. There is also so much emphasis on "the curriculum" and "targets" within schools these days that general life skills get forgotten, so the cycle doesn't break in many cases.

My son went to school without breakfast today - because the lazy little so and so couldn't get out of bed in time. he is nearly 15 and nearly 6' so I can't physically get him up - he has simply got to learn that getting up 5 minutes earlier will mean he isn't hungry going to school. I keep "grab and go" things in for him but he couldn't even be bothered to get one of those. Is that my fault? I don't think so, no. we aren't poor and we aren't especially chaotic. But if someone offered him toast when he got to school, I suspect he would have gladly accepted.

(he did have his packed lunch in his bag, so he didn't go hungry for long - just till break. It will be the same tomorrow, though)

maryb

fuddle wrote: »

If its a case of parents won't provide nurishment for their children well it's neglect and SS SHOULD be acting surely?

Absolutely agree Fuddle, what really upset me was the thought that those children have effectively been abandoned if SS just said they'd have to manage on their own and could so easily end up in a downward spiral - drink drugs prostitution. Shocking that social services didn't care - that's how the Rochdale grooming gangs were able to get away with it, because no-one cared or thought they were old enough to be left to it

Rosemary_Jane

I have just seen this Kindle book free today - haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it's got a couple of good reviews:

Lower your expectations
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DS3IUNK/?!!!!!untagged-21

"... book tells it to us straight and encourages a hugely beneficial agenda of personal responsibility. We have to change our mentality and stop relying on the State to solve all of our financial and health issues and start looking at ourselves"

R

[Deleted User]

fuddle wrote: »

We can't at all blame TPTB though can we... I mean what can they possibly gain from a society that consumes cigarettes and alcohol?

I don't think you can blame TPTB, because some adults choose to prioritise cigarettes and alcohol, over food and heating.

Personal responsibility has to, at least to some degree, come into it.

Also, many people complain (I know I do), when TPTB stick their noses into our lives.