If you grew up poor, what minor/low level thing would have helped you?

[flowersintheatticus]

Obviously the solution is money, which isn't really an option. I'm involved in a very small scale community 'levelling up' project to help dc who are in the lowest socio-economic bracket. What practical/human resource might have helped you? The families already have access to food bank/heating vouchers, so it's more aimed at the children and their development, education and wellbeing. Any suggestions welcome.

Free period products. Sanitary towels were rationed

Maybe to an extent. Maybe if I'd had a mentor I could have realised my dreams better. Although I think just not meeting the man who wrecked my life my whole 20s might have done that. I will say, I wish I could have had someone encouraging me to learn to drive at a young age. I still don't, and I live right out the way of good transport links

Sanpro, deoderant, toothpaste, shampoo

And well fitting shoes

I wasn't as badly off as some on the thread, and my parents are and were lovely so I was well off in that way.
But I'd say library access and teachers who encouraged me to go on to A levels were really important.
What I sometimes didn't have was shoes that fit/didn't have holes in. There's a point during puberty at which feet grow faster than shoes can be replaced. I also had the worst hand me down clothes and not many of them but I didn't really care about that. People took the piss but my attitude was that they were superficial morons.
We got free dinners at school and our mam was good at making sure we were well fed so that wasn't at problem.

Some sort of mentor to advise me on career stuff and university options. That sort of advice should really have been given to me in school, but wasn't. I was top of my school but my parents didn't have a clue what to do with me.

A safe adult who cared.
Shoes that fitted and did not leak.
A warm coat.
Not having chilblains every winter.

Thinking about it, I never had an advent calender. Ever.

Ask them…..? Maybe via private post box, provide pencil & paper for this obviously. Each child is different and will each have an idea of what they’d really like.

At a career day in school in 5th form, someone came in asked so guys what do you want to do when you leave school, and most of the girls were saying hairdresser or beauty therapist. The woman didn't say anything about university to us

@flowersintheatticus I once applied for a bed for my son and a washing machine with the social fund. I was in the lowest economic bracket, but I didn't meet the requirement of a family facing exceptional pressure

some more clothes. I had one, maybe two outfits. A decent coat. Proper school uniform instead of cast offs which didn't fit. Transport from time to time. Lifts. My Mum didn't have a car and I had disconnected life because I couldn't get to friends houses
and public transport was hit and miss and dodgy. If friends Mums had offered me a lift (as I do now for dds friends with non driving mums) it would've opened up a world of opportunities.

When I was younger I would've loved to go to an after school club whether it was learning or fun.

What would help me now? Family days out for a bunch of families. Everyone needs to socialise

Not myself but my best friend never had a proper fitting bra, decent fitting coat and shoes.
Being taught basic hygiene, having someone to de nit their hair. They were always riddled. My parents helped where they could with all the above for them when they could.
Deodorant, clean clothes

Some girls clothes, spent my teenage years in my brothers hand me downs

The problem was that usually my sister had done the same before me so I wasn’t rinsing my hair in anything remotely clean 😂 Plus it really needed washing every day, I’ve always really struggled with oily hair, so you can imagine how rinsing the shampoo off in not so clean bath water with a week of hair and body oils for two people in wouldn’t have made me any cleaner. I just didn’t know this stuff!

As a teen I went straight into having baths more often but still wasn’t the cleanest I don’t think! Still wouldn’t know what to do with a nail file either….

Basics around mortgages (family never had one), bank accounts, credit cards and debt, and advice around things like university. My parents assumed we were too poor for me to go, so i didn't pursue it. There was no one to explain that help is available and how to navigate the application or support visits to open days for example.

We were poor but my mum was an amazing household manager.
If she hadn't been so good, things could have been a lot worse for me.
If I had been in that situation, yes to a homework club, especially now when so much homework is online.
Also financial education, once I left home, I rebelled against mum's financial discipline and ended up in debt because I bought stuff (on credit) I'd never been able to like clothes and CDs.

This. Someone who could tell you all about the financial stuff in life that parents didn't have a sausage about because they'd never been exposed to it all I e uni grants, loans how it all worked the repercussions of high Apr paybacks etc

My DS' primary school ran a homework club. Quiet place for children to study, with a snack. It was v popular and quite cheap to run

Books and someone to read them to me (education is everything when you’re poor but undervalued in low SES families sadly)

access to extra curricular like swimming/ clubs/ sports

tickets for days out like farms/ countryside/ libraries

someone to mentor me, teach me about the world, believe in me

someone to show me how to cook rather than just eating processed foods, take me to restaurants, show me table manners etc

Access to school trips

career advice/ educational mentoring

financial budgeting/ advice

This. The message ‘you can do anything you want’ and ‘we’ll support you whatever you do’ is great and I truly felt supported and loved, but bless them, they weren’t in a position to give any sort of advice on careers, subjects to study, good unis or courses, beyond ‘work hard and you’ll do well’. I just sort of stabbed in the dark and did alright, but was lacking any real aspirational mentoring.

One thing that did help massively was being picked to do a week’s summer school at a Russel Group uni during my A-Levels. It showed me what uni was and encouraged me to apply. It was an amazing week, I had never known that world existed. If I hadn’t done that I probably would have gone straight into work and been fine but it would have been a different life.

I wish, now, schools would provide transport for all pupils miles away, catchment or not

This is a successful project. You could contact them for support in getting things off the ground re the children & new experiences/raising aspirations.
https://www.hullchildrensuniversity.com/about-us
You might be able to get a grant from your local council Household Support Fund for coats, beds etc.
Also https://thehygienebank.com/get-products/#

Grew up poor with a single mum on benefits, had holes in shoes and went without a lot lol!

I am in early 30’s, so only finished secondary/A-level education in the last 15 years.

Did GCSEs and A-levels without internet and a laptop, did ok, went to uni later on and had all the technology and support, achieved a fantastic grade and now first person in family with a professional job.

What would’ve been fantastic is actually giving opportunities for kids to see what type of careers are out there, and for them to get to see a wide range of subjects, and practical academic careers which can lead to a job.
Also hearing from mentors who have been through the same thing. Also, help with technology I.e laptops, tablets and help with Wi-Fi so they can do learning at home to lessen barriers in education. Travel costs are so important as well.

Additional tutoring, I benefited hugely from this. As someone else above said, an educational mentor who would have explained the academic pathway for traditional careers such as law. Finally, a role model.