To think the amount of SMP is entirely unreasonable?

as an note to everyone reading these do have an Impact on you if you were thinking of a remortgage, it might impact your credit but it is a forbearance measure which is an admittance you can’t make your monthly repayment. Approach with caution

Completely agree OP - so sick of women and children being unimportant

My DD requested a mortgage 'holiday' for 6 months. Would this be an option for you?

All because I choose to sit on my arse and not work (except when spreading my legs).”

Disgusting. There is a really interesting debate going on here. No one needs to contribute by typing awful, misogynistic sentences like this. By the way, men are also accountable in sex and the conception of children.

Yes I agree with this. I'm also not sure if it's for the tax payer, especially at the moment, to fund a higher amount. Money is needed for a lot of improvements including nhs and education and people don't want to pay higher taxes. It should be for the employer to pay additional maternity pay, and up to the employees to check this when starting. I don't think 6 months pay is too bad for a maternity package, and ideally people would save to add to that if they want a longer maternity leave. There has to be some responsibility on individuals too not everything is down to the government.

In an ideal world, we'd have much higher SMP, much better subsidy on childcare, more staffing in schools, better mental health care available for teens and much higher support for those needing social/nursing care at the end of their lives. However the money has to come from somewhere to pay for all that, and so choices have to be made about public spending.

Of course, enhanced maternity pay comes from the employer's budget. That's up to them to judge whether the benefits of attracting a better field of applicants is outweighed by the costs. It is important to check what is on offer, and if companies realise people are jumping ship or turning down job offers because others are offering a better benefits package, they may be more likely to improve their offer.

What a strange comparison.

You can't help getting sick and usually if you are sick for 6-12 months you are really unwell and unable to work.

Being sick isn't a choice. Getting pregnant is.

Many pensions ARE still paying off mortgages
State pension is crap. Should we be banging on about increasing that? No, because this country thinks old people are a waste of time who live in mansions, go on cruises and spend MNetters inheritances
The arguement about bringing up the next generation is disingenuous; that's the point of reproduction. What are you having children for?? Really, what are you having them for? To bring you joy? To provide a new bunch of coders? To keep populating an over-populated, almost dying planet?

But noone has said they dont want to pay for children at all they are saying they don't want pay even more when people like OP xome on here wanring more smp or more childcare hours etc.

We already pay for their state education, free free school meals, free travel up to x age then discounted travel, childcare hours, current smp, whatever student loan amount that is never paid back... that is quite a lot already don't you think?

Are we not saying the same thing?

Yes I do actually, mortgage payments as a portion of household income was less on average, house prices were less on average, people borrowed less compared to their income on average therefore the impact was less. That doesn’t mean people didn’t suffer.

its not taking the piss out of poverty (way to go with that straw man btw) but highlighting this race to the bottom that has people from certain generations saying you can’t complain because we had it worse.

that is the welfare state though, where does that argument end? It’s your choice to have smoked / overate / done that extreme sport so why should we have to pay for that medical treatment? Your choice to have walked down an alley so why should we pay for the police in the event of an emergency.

pregnancy is not a lifestyle choice, it’s a stage of life.

Well, they will have a state pension
It just won't be enough to live on

Yes, of course it is...
Plenty of jobs are important, including those that keep babies/children alive

The biggest problem…

There are people like you, me and plenty of other parents out there with morals work. Therefore we have to plan and make sacrifices when raising a family. Whether that’s returning to work early, not having any extras (skimping on food shops, new clothes, holidays, sky TV, nails done), etc. Most of us have worked since 16 (maybe earlier). I have some enhanced maternity but nowhere near full pay. In theory (and statistically) our children will also grow up to have ambitions to build a career, buy a house, travel etc. We will spend time with them both in play and supporting them learn. Actually contributing positively to society.

Now onto the problem in our country…

On the other hand there are plenty of ignorant and selfish people who choose not to work. They don’t think about saving for their own or children’s future because they think this… “The government will pay me to have 6 kids to 10 potential fathers. Then I am entitled to a 7 bed house, a garden, sky TV, nails done twice a month, drinking, smoking and an all inclusive holiday to Benidorm every year. All because I choose to sit on my arse and not work (except when spreading my legs).”

Oh piss off with this trope. You have no idea how crippled people were when mortgage rates went to fuck in the late 80s
And taking the piss out of people who genuinly have experienced living conditions so poor that they do get frost inside the windows, is just so arrogant
And your choice to get pregnant, why should the rest of the world pay?

You are not putting them into a gulag, ffs

Some people still paying mortgage on a pension, so that retort does not work.
Old age is not a lifestyle choice. Pregnancy is ( as mentioned before, I am not including unwanted pregnancy)

What a spurious argument

Oh and getting a really decent coffee machine at home and a thermal cup.

Matenity leave doesn't last years, it's a few months of belt tightening.. As others have said, you get child benefit , we went to chap church groups. Garden centres are a rip off. You know what they say about holidays with small children ? Same shit different wallpaper. I am only suggesting you might be happier aligning your expectations.

Many are eligible though and this helps ensure women and children are warm and fed. So, the state does step in and having children means you get more UC than those who don’t have children. This is, of course, as it should be.

Unfortunately, those just over the threshold are the ones who suffer the most - they earn “too much” to get UC but not enough to live a reasonable quality of life, which is highly problematic.

No, I don’t think they could but I was giving an unreasonable “perfect world” scenario. My version of utopia. I know I was unrealistic and wouldn’t expect it.

It has been the same case for my Grandmother. Those with dementia are treated appallingly.

You don’t get care paid for unless you have no assets and savings though, you have to pay for it yourself. My aunt was paying just over £5,000 a month for my uncle who sadly got dementia- they had to release equity from their house. Burned through most of it before he died after 2+ years.

Free care is only available if you are palliative, are receiving NHS care at end of life or coming out of hospital- everything else is classed as social care and you gotta pay for it yourself.

But for many there is, child benefit is £20 a week, hardly ground breaking.

many on smp aren’t eligible for UC due to the threshold being so low.