Child benefit and large families

[skinnywhippet]

Just seen an advert for a family which have 15 children www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8972550/Fifteen-children-and-counting....html
I worked out they must be claiming around £8000 a year, tax free, in child benefit. Aibu to be irritated that they can claim such a huge amount, uncapped, regardless of how many children they have?
They seem a lovely family and I'm no at all annoyed with them, but at the government. One family can claim such a large amount, yet my family are not entitled to anything.
I know I am being unreasonable, but I am just fed up with the inconsistency of the government. Why do middle income families always end up being punished?

I know the mum, loosely.

She's lovely, and the family work very hard. Those children (I think they have 16 now) will grow up with a strong work ethic, and their races will be supporting you in your dotage, OP.

Races? Taxes!!

I don't really care about the CB thing.

I'm a bit about the mother discussing her daughter's contraceptive choices in a newspaper, though.

skinny At current income you will get 80% of the child benefit. In fact, assuming you go back to work and you and your dh make use of childcare vouchers then that will go up to 90%+. (Not sure of the exact details as high earners can no longer get full vouchers but dd was born in 2010 so we sneaked in before the change.)

Also, if your dh is contributing towards a pension (which on his salary he really should be!) then that money will also be taken off the "counting salary" as well.

So if you were to have a child now then you would be very likely to get 100% of child benefit.

If before you have kids then your dh gets a £10k+ pay rise then you will lose £1k of child benefit. But you'll still be £9k+ better off than you are now so not a complete disaster.

I joined mumsnet at 24ish when we were planning to have kids in the future. Telling someone to get off mumsnet is a bit pathetic

15 kids is a lot when you think about the way the economy is heading (good times an bad times and recessions are hardly New) I've only got the one and I'm terrified for her how I can afford all the things I want for her, and save for things she might want.

I like cb - it's quite useful. I've use it to fund a sing and sign course this month for me and dd,, but when we were planning the size of our family we didn't take that into account as I am a worried and if it were to go one day then we would not have been reliant on it iyswim?

The oldest child is in her 20's. Obviously they didn't have the magical crystal ball to predict the turmoil but they're not taking state handouts left right and centre, just child benefit.

CHB for many people -especially those fallen on hard times- can make one hell of a difference between living and failing to live.

Agree with Kayano. I didn't join mumsnet until after dd was born but I'd been a member of another baby site for years. I got married young and joined a wedding website, all my friends on there migrated to the baby part of the site and then moved to a separate site when the technology on it went dodgy. I movd with them.

Just didn't go on the pregnancy bit until we started tracing. At which point I lived on there.

No big deal really.

Heyhoherewego- I'm intrigued....what is a young persons life? I am on mumsnet because I intend to TTC in next few years and because in my job I work with children so some forums are interesting and relevant to me.

You're being extremely harsh and unfair, HeyHo.

Your patronising bashing of the OP for being 'young' when she's ten years (10!) older than the mother in the article was when she had her first is wonderfully ironic.

The family in the original post are fine in my book.

However this overly fecund fucker needs his balls lopped off, speaking as a tax payer.

www.telegraph.co.uk/women/mother-tongue/8166125/Unemployed-father-of-eight-expecting-at-least-four-more-children.html

i know this is a fab discussion site, i really do, yet i find it a leetle bit odd, that people who aren't parents or guardians or use the site to help them professionally in looking after children come on mumsnet. but i do realise its not a closed club. I am probably being as unreasonable as a person who reads a daily telegraph article and based on that information alone advocates a ban on child benefit whilst being fairly well off herself and child free.

I'm a parent, but I work with children too. When I first started working with Early Years, my boss, who was also an excellent mentor, advised looking on sites like this.

If you are working with children, especially nowadays when childcare professionals are encouraged to have good partnerships with parents, it is an excellent idea to take note of what parents think about things, and of things they worry about, what they want from the people they trust their children with etc.

It can only improve practice if practitioners read sites such as this, and I find it quite odd that anyone who leaves their child in the care of someone who is not immediate family wouldn't want their children's carers to do that.

I am related (distantly) to the family.

If you had any idea what a child costs, you would not be posting this.

We only have two kids, but don't work almost constantly like Suzanne and Noel and have actually probably been a bigger 'drain on the state' though illness and circumstance.

Just imagine how much all those children will pay in tax as they grow up.

Just imagine how much all those children will pay in tax as they grow up

Yes, if they can all find employment at a high enough wage.

HeyHo I'm in my mid/late 20's and while I have opinions on what you've said, I also am a parent and I found your comment patronising.

MNers across the boards are telling others to plan for their futures, knowledge is power etc... But even though the OP hasn't made the best post, we can at least help to educate her properly, can't we?

Child benefit fed my children when my income support claim got fucked up after years of no issue, because the new government introduced some sort of "checking up on you" letter to see if there had been any changes to my claim.

As if six monthly appointments at the job centre and a fairly comprehensive explanation of how to contact them and what changes to notify them of straight away, already being in place wasn't enough. What happened was I assumed the letter was sent in error as I'd seen my Lone Parent Advisor a few days previously, and ascertained I was still unfit for working but no actual changes to the claim. This led to six weeks of no money from them and having to actually fight to get the claim re-instated and backdated.

During which time I had to keep us on child benefit and child tax credits. Oh and a foodbank visit.

So whoever says they aren't essential obviously isn't living at the bottom end of the scale where actually yes they are. That money goes towards ensuring my children are clothed, housed and fed, nothing else.

I am on mumsnet because I intend to TTC in next few years

and yet in the OP...

yet my family are not entitled to anything

Ah just realised this thread is over a year old and didn't see the zombie warning

you wouldn't have done meepmeep.. it as the dude from ITN wanting bodies who bumped it

Even of they did get £8000/year in benefits, I wouldn't have thought it went very far with 15 children to feed and clothe.

Dammit, missed the date too!