To think the public have the society they deserve

Exactly.
It’s off that people won’t accept that poverty exists unless it’s sackcloth-laiden children in a damp riddled victorian workhouse. People in poverty still have smart phones.

Not just thick and stroppy but also proud to be ill informed.

It's not victorian it still affects people like that

Poverty is not having enough food and clothes or your heating on. There's no reason to think they are all OP said is they feed their kids junk food

21st century poverty is not Victorian poverty. Try volunteering in a foodbank and you'll see.

That’s not the definition of poverty but OK.

But people in poverty will not be getting their nails done. That’s just non-rich people.
Its not the same.

Poverty is not having enough food and clothes or your heating on. There's no reason to think they are all OP said is they feed their kids junk food

I think the way people are spoken to, not the words that are said, is seriously under estimated. I find it quite hard to imagine that parents of overweight children don’t know they’re overweight and why. My new phew is very overweight, as was his sister who’s 10 years older than him. They are also both ND and both wanted to stay at home playing computer games and never even going for a walk. My SIL and BIL are not bad parents, but they’re dealing with all the trappings life brings as well as parenting a child who has a major meltdown of his games are taken off him, to the point of self harm. He is 10 and they waited ages to see CAMHS to be told he is ND but in-school counselling is all he needs. It’s not, he needs a referral to a child psychologist and proper support. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack unless youre absolutely loaded and can afford private care.

I feel sad that people would assume she’s just a stupid lazy parent - it’s a lot more complex and I bet there are very few families where it is straightforward

@JazbayGrapes i agree with everything you’ve said today.

I think people who think food used to be healthy have memory problems! Lack of exercise is a HUGE factor. I could bang on about the barriers to this, but if we are going to judge parents for anything regarding kids health ask why they let them alive off PE, stay home on Sports day or don’t encourage outdoor activity.

I agree. My dad used to say 'some people behave like they're in EastEnders'. And I think that's a fair point. My family is not perfect, we have problems. But we don't yell at each other or get overwrought about small things. There's never a feeling of tension or drama, despite having to deal with family members with complex mental health issues. We are calm, pretty much always.

I do think people copy what they see, to a certain extent.

I think your posts are grotesque. You have absolutely no idea what people go through and this Tory “Bah they have flat screen TVs” is beyond ignorant

Why do you think those people are ones in poverty?

People in poverty probably aren’t telling you about it because of the shame people like you perpetuate.

You don't have to wander far on MN to see the problem - any criticism of children or parenting is shouted down as "mum shaming". Much more important to pander to parents and ensure they don't feel the slightest discomfort than it is to protect the children they chose to have and are now fucking up.

Not really surprising we've ended up where we are.

When we lived in the UK my sons primary school on several occasions tried to feed him his allergen, it wasn’t safe for him to eat school meals. If packed lunches were banned he wouldn’t have been able to attend school.

YANBU at all.

lol

@SNMummy2024

You see them all gorging on sweets and chocolates at the school gates, as soon as the kids come waddling out they get a packet of chocolate buttons shoved at them. They probably aren't even hungry, but then again I guess they aren't spoiling a nutritious home cooked dinner, just another Mcdonalds drive thru trip or at a push chicken dippers and smiley face.
No exercise, all parked right up against the school gates causing mayhem because walking more than a couple of yards will make the kids' legs seize up and drop off.
No playing outside after school, just straight onto the couch to play Fortnite.
This UPF problem will catch up with the children of today and they will all have horrendous health problems and shorter lifespans becsuse of it.

😆You sound exhausting. And where are all these mums, driving straight to Maccy D’s to cram their chubby, legless, Fortnite-addicted children with Happy Meals? The mums I know go home and cook, like me. And their children have legs too.

Your world sounds horrible. You should move to a different planet full of soya beans and hand-knitted yoghurts

Please let's not idolize the food from the past as something very healthy. It was maybe less UPF, but full of fat and sugar and salt for sure. However, the portions were certainly smaller, people worked more physical jobs, and kids played outside all the time. But now send your kid to the park, and there will be do-gooders threatening to report you to CPS.

Not ignorant at all.

Asda Weetabix £2 for 24. Large 6pt of milk, £2.15. So just over £4 for breakfast for two kids for a week.

Thankfully yes, the 1970s are a long time ago, but just bear in mind that food was much more expensive then in proportion to income, interest rates were 15%, the country was broken by strikes and power cuts, and we all thought we were going to die in a nuclear war. It wasn't fun then, either.

Sorry but this is so ignorant.

Mobile phones are often something people bought ages ago or have been given and only use Wi-Fi to get by. There’s no weekly expenditure a lot of the time. And cereal and milk costs way more than £5 a week!

The 1970’s are a world alert from 2024. So many people are in poverty and actually IIRC most people in relative poverty are in working household

Seems we have an ‘excuse culture’. In this, no-one wants to be held to account, no-one wants to take responsibility.

Sorry, I know some people are in poverty, but most people are not.

In the 1970s we were very poor. But our working parents still managed to give us a Weetabix and a splash of milk before making sure that we went to school.

If you can afford a mobile phone, you can afford £5 pw for cereal and milk. And a lack of money doesn't stop you from making sure your child goes to school.

I do not understand what is wrong with some parents today.

Agree completely.

I completely agree with you OP. I’m lucky in that my son’s special school doesn’t put any restrictions on packed lunches (apart from obvious allergens) and understand that many of the children there have eating issues, so his lunch box isn’t being ‘policed’. This means I can stick a chocolate mini roll in it occasionally or a biscuit. But I do that safely in the knowledge that he’s eating a well balanced, healthy diet and if the school decided to enforce restrictions, I would follow them - because I know that it’s far more sensible to do a blanket ban to ensure that those children who are eating piles of junk everyday get a chance at a healthy diet.

I understand that poverty plays a huge part in this, with the expense of fresh and nutritious food. But many in poverty will access free school meals anyway.