To be really irritated by Children in Need

[Timeforanap1]

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with the concept of helping CIN. But it seems that it's schools which are targeted for the fund raising. Schools which include the very children the charity is trying to help. So schools are asked to hold special days and raise money, asking those very children and families who are in need to give money they don't have. Isn't this just twisted?

Who has a spare £71K - really??? Must be about 0.01% of the population surely. I switch off R2 at this time of year - mega wealthy presenter flogging something that money can't apparently buy to a mega wealthy listener isn't my idea of good radio. Even worse since its the BBC imo.

We don't watch it,the children are far too susceptible to the guilt.
Honest even CITV is full of it. I get " mummy there are elephants staving we NEED to give five pounds a month"

School don't bother with it, but do ever other bloody event.

Iristutu, we nearly bought a snow leopard...

I agree with woowooowl completely when she says:

It's the emotional blackmail of families (right at one of the most expensive times of the year) through school children that I can't agree with. Especially when in my experience, schools don't actually educate those children about the role of charity in society, how charities work, or even anything about CIN itself.

There is far too much 'take in some money' or you cant join in.

My kids have dress up/down days for something or other nearly every bloody week.
Last time I had no change in my purse so dd got sent in with 20p.
The teacher (who knows our family are on very hard times atm) made her do 'extra handwriting as she had not brought in enough money'.

Tomorrow they have to 'bring in a toy for the Xmas tombola'.
It's a donation.
Except it isn't as without it they are not allowed to take part in 'non uniform day'. I could speak to the HT. But, crap as she is, she will still seek out my kids and make them feel awkward if they don't bring in a toy each.

Neither of the 2 schools my kids have been to have told them anything about CIN.

MindReader, that's fucking shit. I'm so angry at your school for doing that. I was a single parent of 3 and dreaded the £1 dressing down days, they always let mine off if they hadn't had the money on time. They'd have a quiet word about school dinners and funding and trips away were always 'helped' with.

I have just adopted a snow leopard for ds for Xmas.
He has asd and has been on and on about it for about 3 years.
It is what he really wants, so I have given in.

Yy to guilt.

SirChenjin
I also tend to turn R2 off this week, cannot be doing with the endless drivel about the fantastic auction events, that we mere mortals can never afford oh but we can for £2.50 have a chance of two tickets for the dine whats you call it, what irks me is having to listen to CE and the others go on endlessly about it and then having to listen to the winning bidders wax lyrical about how great a time they had etc etc and how its great that all the money is for CIN (I bet these individuals would have paid the same amount anyhow just for the experience money going to charity or not), all I want is some decent music and chat on the way to work!!!!!
I have nothing against CIN general, do not watch or in general donate as I prefer to donate to local charities of my choice TBH, rather than having CIN thrust down you throat for weeks beforehand.
rant over.

stupidhead...try bloodsnow awesome nazizombie film

I can't stand all the rubbish tv and make a point of going out on CIN night!
Interestingly, at the school where I work we always have lower attendance on days like this which are non-uniform days. A colleague has a daughter at the school, children are not absent because they can't afford the pound but because they can't afford a new outfit! Many of the children do get their parents to buy them a whole new outfit for the day which makes me feel sad that they are so worried about their image and angry that their parents are prepared to spend the money which surely would be better donated to the charity!

"I can't stand all the rubbish tv and make a point of going out"

Best tell all the groups of vulnerable kids and those working with them not to bother making films then

Out of all the fundraising days and events the school hold, Children in Need is one I wholeheartedly support. Me and my children have benefitted from the money raised as it helped to fund creche facilities in one of the refuges we lived in. For us, its important to give back in what little way we can

I also avoid the TV on CIN, as i find it extremely tedious....

Tedious?

How shallow can one be?

Seriously though. People put their hearts into these films to try and raise money for vulnerable kids..to moan about the tv being "tedious" somewhat misses the point.

Hahah Smileybadger! Watched that last week, ordered the second one when its released in Jan!

LineRunner is spot on, and my experience confirms what she says.

The small charity that I volunteer with is well able to get grants for things that can have a shiny brass plaque stuck on the side, or that directly pays for the work that we do, but trying to get money to pay for the boring stuff like rental of equipment, insurance, petrol and such like is almost impossible. So we have to fundraise by doing all the types of things that people do for CIN, but by then people have charity fatigue and are less inclined to give because they already took part in a higher profile event for CIN or CR, and that was more fun anyway because of the free publicity. People often have only so many charity pounds that they can afford to give, and by it becoming almost compulsory to give to a certain charity because you are emotionally blackmailed through your school child, it means that people have less money to give to the charity that has to work ten times as hard to get its cause known.

It is really sad for charities that benefit from CIN, and the people connected to them, when people complain about the way huge charities like CIN go about things, but it's just the downside to charity becoming a huge corporate type event. Anything that big and that public is going to be open to criticism. It doesn't mean that people believe that the causes CIN support are not important.

I didn't mean the videos with vulnerable kids, they often make me cry and I have nothing against the charity, I always donate. I meant all the awful sketches and things.

I got a text from school, inviting me to look at their website and silent auction for charity. Children in need, movember, Poppy, Ebola feed the world single next. It's never ending good causes all fighting it out for their hands in your pocket.

I do give to charity's, it's just making me feel horrible all the social pressure.

I gave up voluntary work over this. I took on the role to raise awareness and for other things, next thing I am being asked to organise a charity fund raising event every quarter so I gave it up

Thank God I'm not the only one who turns R2 off - I was feeling very mean. The Chris Evans auction totally fucks me off!

I feel the pain. Today I have forked out 40£ on two superhero costumes. Ds1 is 11 and the kiddie superhero costumes just don't fit him. So I had to fork out for small mens. Who benefits from that, apart from tesco and marvel? I have also paid a fiver for an e safety trip, 10£ for a Xmas pantomime trip and 20£ For a school picture. All had to be paid for by this Friday.

I turn it off. I prefer to support charities supporting the elderly, people with dementia etc. With our aging population kiddie charities are still seen as more "deserving". With poor countries I'd rather money went to the parents so they could look after their own children.
Even if it was dementia in need I suspect I'd turn it off though. If I want to give to charity i'll give to charity if i want to watch TV or listen to the radio i want something less boring and the endless auctions etc are boring.

Spot on Woo. I do a small amount of work with a tiny charity - the hardest part is trying to recruit volunteers because we can't afford to pay for stsff, and fundraising. We're not working in a particularly 'sexy' field, and people have a limited amount of cash to give - CiN is so big that it takes up a lot of available fsmily funds and ticks the 'charitable giving' box

I too am turning off radio 2 this week, I think what makes me even madder than listening to stuff that I will never be able to do is that Chris Evans and his co horts ( that Alex woman off the one show for instance) also get to go along on a jolly and that really gets my goat.

I usually have time for CE as he has given away a lot of his own money in the past but given that almost all of us listening can't join in, it does not make good radio or cheer me up on grey wet mornings heading into work.

Bah humbug.

and CHris Evans gets so shirty with anyone who criticises the auctions of stuff only shed loads of money can buy.
I REALLY admire CE but he needs to ditch that stuff and also stop playing his children on air. Chris, I have no doubt they are utterly adorable to you. the rest of us have our own adorable kids, thanks .