To be really disappointed and angry that NCT allow MLMs so much access to vulnerable new mums

[throwingpebbles]

Just that really. Was discussing with my mum about MLM's like Forever Living and how awful it is that they

• target new mums in particular and exploit their divided wishes to be with their children / need to earn money
  
• make completely unfounded claims about purported health benefits of the products
  

I then got on to explaining how these very companies are at nearly every NCT event; and worse still discussions on mumsnet and a Google search suggests many NCT committee members themselves are involved

In the words of my mum " thirty years ago the worst danger at an NCT coffee morning was being given a cup of tea with goats milk in it. Now you risk being sucked into an organisation that exploits women and encouraged them to make ridiculous claims about aloe"

It is just really disappointing. I thought NCT was there to advise and protect women?? Instead they are allowing ready access to MLMs that make it clear in their training that a key "target" for recruitment should be new mums! Plus they are encouraged to make far fetched claims about the health benefits of the products

Fittingly, after ranting away to my mum, I came home and found
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1699236280347393&id=1647635148840840¬if_t=like&ref=m_notif

[StealthPolarBear]

They actually go to not events? Yes I agree that's bad. Presumably mn would (and do) stop them posting on here , I'd assumed nct would be more rigorous,especially as theyre there in person.

[Quinoa20]

Shocking that they allow that pebbles

[throwingpebbles]

Half the committee members seem to be selling forever themselves!

And yes a quick google has thrown up loads of NCT events with Forever in attendance

[throwingpebbles]

So many, everywhere!

[fastdaytears]

I'm really horrified. It's so exploitative and there will be people who think that if NCT are hosting them then the business offering is legitimate. These people aren't there to flog aloe or anything, it's to sign the mums up. Some of the claims they make about using products on babies, curing autism, blah blah, that's not very NCT is it?

Is it a governance issue maybe? Is it left to local committees to decide, and half of them are in an MLM already?

There was a thread a while ago on whether PTAs should allow MLMs to have stalls at fetes etc which was interesting.

Long story short, YANBU at all!

[JosephBrodsky]

Are new mothers really so vulnerable? I was so ratty from lack of sleep and baby-related isolation that I'd have been more likely to have given some MLM bod a knuckle sandwich.

[Tadpoletoatoad]

I'm an NCT branch chair. I don't allow MLMs into our events at all. However, each area is run by volunteers and it is at their discretion. We've had no direct instruction one way or another sadly. Which is unusual for NCT head office!

[Powertotheparalai]

Seriously why are they selling that shit at NCT meetings when they should be selling lines of parslaii?! Turns any new mum into a cross between Wonder Woman and super nanny with one snort.

[fastdaytears]

Joseph I would have loved to see that!

The vulnerability is just because of the really emotionally charged stuff about spending time with your children and how your children don't want you to work. There's that god awful advert with the little blonde girl saying "don' go to work mummy" that they all put up. That works on a lot of people.

[throwingpebbles]

I think they are vulnerable, particularly to this stuff

• firstly MLMs play on the wish of mums to "not miss out on their kids" vs the need to earn money. They lay on thick the false promise that you can "earn a full time income working flexibly around your famiky"
  
• MLMs, like cults (some would say they are cults), prey on the depressed/lonely etc. It can be incredibly isolating being a new mum. That's why a lot of us go to NCT groups! Plus so many struggle with PND/PTSD. Imagine going to a group and then half the committee are peddling aloe group and trying to sign you up to their team.... You want friends; you want company; they flatter you and keep in touch ....

[Powertotheparalai]

My bot claims that her product can cure autism

It's seriously depraved to try to flog snake oil on the pretence that it can cure autism.

[chuckingstones]

YANBU - from what I understand starting up in these (with any chance of success) involves alot of time and money, so whilst the promise is that you get to spend more time with your little ones, in reality you end up spending every weekend away from them going to one training course or another and work a stupid number of hours each day trying to get up and running (rather than actually spending more time with your new bundle of joy!).

[Dozyoldtwonk]

Hate, hate, hate this MLM business with a passion, notably the targeting of new mums, those on mat leave & those struggling with the decision to return to work etc. I have witnessed a lot of disparaging & negative remarks about returning to '9-5' work in favour of starting up one of these numpty 'businesses'. As in, why work for someone else 40 hours a week when you can work half that and earn double? Total, utter bullshit & irresponsible to make such claims IMO.

One of my in my dreams, ex Facebook friends (actually a family member) who is with Younique had a comment on one of her ridiculously over the top bullshit posts from a girl, which read "I'm going to be joining you all in a couple of weeks, just waiting for my maternity grant to come through so I can get started". The reply was "drop me a message babe, you won't regret it".

Boils my piss.

YANBU.

[JessTitchener]

We've just had a newsletter from DD3's infant school. One of items is asking parents not to "sell or tout for business in the playground"

I've never been approached but a bit of texting with other parents has revealed that there's several different MLMs being promoted by various parents.

Not only is it fucking off the people being approached but there's also somewhat of a 'turf war' going on!

I don't think we'll be seeing a stall at the summer fayre. Unless it's for Timeless Vie of course. The power of parslai!

[Powertotheparalai]

Turf war. Love it. I can see power brows and red lippy galore!

[MovingOnUpMovingOnOut]

Have you either complained to the branch or NCT's head office?

Personally I wouldn't like to see these organisations at events but so long as there are no dubious or unevidenced based claims and it's all transparent and above board then my personal dislike is not enough to object really. We're talking new mums, not adults with reduced mental capacity.

That said committee members have to be very careful and sign conflict of interest agreements and abide by them.

I expect it's just another case of poorly trained and managed volunteers making mistakes. It happens in charitable organisations that heavily rely on volunteer labour.

[TickettyBoo]

Yanbu. At all.

[throwingpebbles]

I did try to complain. But, like I say, half the committee are part of Forever, they made some vague noises about how they would discuss it and then everything has remained the same

[Tadpoletoatoad]

Moving - I've never even heard about the conflict of interest declarations, let alone signed one. I've been chair for quite a few years.

[Tadpoletoatoad]

OP, you need to complain to the region manager. That will get you further.

[throwingpebbles]

see here

movingon but the whole point is that they ARE making unfounded health claims!

[throwingpebbles]

It's not just one committee though tadpole. Comments on the Bot-watch thread that this is common across the country in NCT are backed up with a Google search which shows countless committee members are also peddling aloe gloop for FL. And pretty much every NCT event on google had a FL stall!

[MovingOnUpMovingOnOut]

Yeah, that's my point Tadpole. It used to be photographers touting their businesses via branches and now it's this. The quality of training and information for branch chairs and volunteers generally is abysmal.

Op, Nct is a national charity. You don't have to just complain to the branch. You can contact head office too. It used to be [email protected] to complain but I don't know if it still is since Belinda went.

[JosephBrodsky]

Maybe I ran with a particularly cynical bunch of new parents (in London then, and a fair few fathers at NCT coffees etc) ? Certainly the idea of being a SAHP never occurred to any of us as at all desirable, so I doubt we were the target audience.

fastday, I have never assaulted a MLM devotee, honest, but there is a Bounty rep at the Homerton in Hackney who will remember a forthright exchange of words in the spring of 2012...

[JessTitchener]

I'll be paying more attention to what's going on in the playground on Monday!

DD is year 2 and the offending parents are mostly year R (they go in a separate entrance so I don't know any of them)

What I don't understand though, is that I haven't seen any of the brand new Range Rovers that MLM pushers are all supposed to drive. And there certainly aren't any mansions round here.

What on earth are they doing with the thousands of pounds they are surely making every week?