To think it is ridiculous that a woman with 11 kids is getting a £400,000 house for nowt

[angelos02]

Especially when most working people couldn't never afford to live somewhere costing that much?
Link: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2280385/Home-fit-dole-queen-Mother-11-gets-BRAND-NEW-400-000-house-built-council-shes-struggling-current-homes.html

Kimo - YES!

"this woman had her first baby when she was a child. there should have been a system in place to ensure that, as children, she and her first born were properly cared for and educated and given the same opportunities as any other child. society failed her on this"

" consider how a child who had a baby at 14 was so let down by social services, her family, the police and society at large, that she was not removed from that toxic situation or protected from the paedophile who got her pregnant in the first place"

some of you must live in a nice cosy middle class bubble if you think that getting pregnant at 14 is so shocking and she was groomed by a paedophile.

you assume she was "let down".. I come from an area where teenage pregnancies was high in the 80's and is still, 30 years later, very high. Many girls then and now would go out with older boyfriends, they would lie about their age, look older, and would quite often get pregnant on purpose.. it isnt a myth, it happened, and I saw it happen time and time again.

I know girls who got pregnant in their mid teens who went on to get qualifications, stayed with the same boyfriend, and did make a reasonable success of their lives, but equally I know a lot more who didnt, who went on to have a few more kids, normally with different fathers, and by the time they were 30 they were grandmothers themselves..

Education, contraception and opportunities are available to everyone. Some girls make a choice to live the lifestyle of the woman in the article because they know that there is a massive system of support in this country, and they will not be put out on the street or go without.

gordy do you think this woman and all her adult children want a job? Really?

I would be interested to hear of any LA or HA who provided let alone maintained white goods as a matter of course. In hostels with shared facilities, yes. But not in your average family council house.

that is irrelevant - you want to force her into work - that doesn't exist - that is the point - do keep being obtuse though

Jenai - they do here! I am constantly hearing "my washing machine isn't working, I need to ring the council." I did acknowledge I didn't know if it was everywhere or not.

slug
"protected from the paedophile"

the father of the first child may be many things but he is not a paedophile

Secret It will be fine. :) We're working on saving for DP's SIA renewal and remploy are going to help me find a suitable job once the baby is born. I am optimistic.

And btw. I worked from age 14 until I had to give up at 20, I desperately want to work even though I have constant pain and dislocate joints when I move wrong...

I am a product of one of these families, I do not actually know how many kids my Mother had had, last time I counted it was about 12, she's also a drug addict and let her kids be abused by her bfs, I luckily got out but my Dbro didn't.

Don't write the kids off.

Dear god - meals out days out a decent life where will it end! No wonder the global economy collapsed.

Amber - Those benefits will vary of course, it depends how many children you have. The more children you have, the more you will be entitled to. The nursery placement is certainly what three of my friends have: their toddlers (under the age of 3 so not the free hours) have 3 days at nursery paid for by the local council so they can go to college. I'd have no real problem with this if it wasn't for the fact this is the third time in one case they have tried a college course

I wonder what level of qualification? because it being your first 'go' at a certain level can be a prerequisite of you getting funding.

I think you have misunderstood some of it tbh. I wont say you are making it up, but I think you have got the wrong end of the stick somewhere.

Did anyone else notice the quote from the LA, going on about green building standards and all the progress the council have been making.

Gives you an insight into the kind of article he was told he was being interviewed for doesn't it?

Wish I knew where they were getting the money for days out and meals out!

I took DS to softplay last week as a rare treat and ended up totally skint!

Okay and you utter geniuses who want to only make work pay what about those who can't? Disability? Carers?

having babies at 14 is not common at all - I work with teenage parents in one of the most deprived areas of the UK - teenage parents aren't as common as people believe either

a 13 year old having sex with a 22 year old should shock all of us - it's abusive

For heaven's sake the only issue here is the childrens' welfare.

This bitter invective directed at the mother, the shocking intolerance and resentment on this thread are not just shameful, they're completely irrelevant.

I am always accused of being too liberal on here and while I do feel the children are paramount in this. Most people who keep having children have to consider how they will house them or work with what they have. It just sends out the wrong message I mean why would she ever work? And what will her children be learning about responsibility for your own life etc

Thank you squeakytoy absolutely true!

Some years ago I had a lovely pram that I didn't need so rather than sell it I offered it to the local Sure Start. The lady there looked at me and she said, " The young mums here won;t take it love, they all get grants and all want brand new " I didn't believe her so left it there ( it was a lovely 3 wheeler) for three weeks and no one wanted it.

In the end a full time working friend was delighted with it.

Some of you that see all the poor or young mothers as victims really need to wake up. They are most likely laughing at your bleeding hears whilst enjoying your taxes.

Schro, don't worry, I'm not writing the kids off :) It DOES concern me, yes, and I do think that the system is very unfair, not least because people like you and husband are disadvantaged by it just as much as other people are advantaged by it. My brother ended up in a nor entirely dissimilar situation where he couldn't do the line of work he was trained in due to sustaining an injury and nearly lost his flat when trying to find other work - it was the old "you've no experience in ..." line. Thankfully it's all sorted now, although he earns less.

Randall do you really think that irrespective of working or not, everyone should be entitled to the same life? A basic standard of living, I can see, but does that include meals/days out?

Good point dashoflime

I know, Randall, it's almost as if we were treating these people as - human.

Thunk!

You do not get grants for stuff like that Aunt, take it from someone who is in that position.

You get the surestart grant with your first child, nothing more.

I loved the neighbour's quote about her treating her womb like a clown car... what is that meant to mean? Clown cars are tiny and operated by feet, they have a squirty flower on the front... I'm not a gynaecologist but I can't equate that with a womb no matter how hard I try.

Penelo - one of my major concerns is that women like this mean there is LESS in the pot for carers and for people with disabilities.

Secret I am glad it worked out okay for your Brother in the end, it's a horrid position to be in and could be sorted easily with proper access to training and not stupid courses telling you how to use the internet.

penelope surely it goes without having to be said that carers, the elderly, the sick and disabled and those fallen on temporary hard times are precisely for whom the welfare state was conceived?