Am I the only person who thinks parents should feed their kids outside of school?

[HalloweenDoughnutAnyone]

Obviously it goes without saying I don't want any child to go hungry. But. Am I the only person who thinks parents should feed their kids outside of school?

Just that really.. it's free school dinners. Not free lunch all year round.

I don't understand why people think the tax payer should be paying even more? Maybe, if you can't afford to cover the basics (food and clothing) you should think twice before having a child?

Or should we extend free school dinners, to cover all the food a child needs inside and outside of school ?

I'm not tarring everyone with the same brush but I know people who rely on free school dinners. But have sky tv, expensive mobile contracts etc

You're a social worker? This question should be easy for you to answer then.

So what happens to the children that don’t get fed?

I just think people shouldn’t be having children if they can’t stop them from becoming Tory MPs 🤷‍♀️

So what happens to the children that don’t get fed?

So what happens to the children that don’t get fed?

So what happens to the children that don’t get fed?

So what happens to the children that don’t get fed?

@OhCaptain nothing would surprise me. I'm not sure some social workers live in the real world!
I had a social worker tell me i had no excuse for not taking stuff to the tip, apparently I should just learn to drive and get a car. And also I should have got a cleaner.
When I asked how I was supposed to pay for these things she looked at me like I'd grown a 2nd head!
She also consistently spelt DS1s name wrong, using the girls version, claiming it didnt matter because I knew what she meant, and berated me for not having a specific time set aside for ds2s homework. The fact he didnt get homework because he wasn't at school was apparently irrelevant

There is something very wrong with the world if you are a Social worker with such views.

Poor children and needy families need someone who can listen and understand their struggles, help them to get the right help.

Not spout that they aren't entitled to anything etc.

In 17 years of working with families I’ve met quite a few iffy social workers, but never one that blinkered, callous and unable to understand the difference between can’t and won’t (and when that difference is irrelevant - like when kids are hungry)

We help them with door deliveries. Food banks and also come and eat days . Pie , soup and take home bits . Doubt me all you like, however I will help anyone , regardless The only point I was trying to make was the government can not be responsible for bad parenting.

@Madonnawiththebigboobies

You all clearly know the answers . You feed the children. As a social worker I am humbled you are all better qualified. Thankyou for your ivory tower advice. Much obliged Oh and merry Christmas with your turkeys and wine while I am volunteering at our local food bank , cos I clearly haven't got a clue??

No one has the answers. Including you, as you can’t seem to answer a simple question. If you don’t think the government should provide assistance, what do you think should happen to the children whose parents can’t (or won’t) feed them? The children you apparently care for as a social worker... are you happy to say to them ‘sorry, you don’t get any food as your parents are irresponsible and have used the money for something else’? Regardless of the reason why children don’t have any food, if they don’t have food they need feeding.

“I must be a social worker because I volunteer at a food bank.”

@Madonnawiththebigboobies

We help them with door deliveries. Food banks and also come and eat days . Pie , soup and take home bits . Doubt me all you like, however I will help anyone , regardless The only point I was trying to make was the government can not be responsible for bad parenting.

The government has to be responsible for children with bad parents because who the fuck else will?

If they weren’t then you wouldn’t have a job because there would be no social workers

Whatever happened to meals on wheels? I used to help my gran deliver these years ago

Meals on Wheels us really expensive.

@EddieVeddersfoxymop

OP, I'm with you in a way. Totally agree with free school meals through the school term- breakfast included. But at some point, we have to stop expecting the state to pay for everything. My DH and I just had this very conversation today and find that the sense of entitlement seems to be growing. I'm by no way at all bashing those in genuine need, not at all and hope my answer doesn't come across that way. As a nation though, we can't afford to keep subbing and supporting everyone.

I agree with you on this it sounds awful but because it’s now not just people who have been on low incomes it will now be people who possibly had a decent job and have lost it. There’s a lot of people shouting about would you begrudge a starving child but it’s not a case of that. It boils down to money or lack of

@Madonnawiththebigboobies there is no fucking way way you are a social worker!

My sister is a social worker, my BiL is a headteacher, I am a nurse, we all deal with feckless parents and would gladly give them a shake, but never in all of my dealings with any health, education or social sector professionals met anyone who feels taking care of vulnerable individuals is not the governments job. It is everyone's job.

For those who are not paying attention. In my area no child goes un fed . We provide a door service . Food bank . And a warm food service. What I have been trying to say is that the government cannot be held responsible for every family .

There’s a lot of people shouting about would you begrudge a starving child but it’s not a case of that. It boils down to money or lack of

Well maybe if we didn’t subsidise the meals of high earning MP’s or spend billions or pounds on unusable PPE and an inadequate test and trace system we may be able to ensure that vulnerable children are fed.

@Madonnawiththebigboobies

Single parent working . Yes I'm on supplement benefits . but feed my children out of school term. Is it really that difficult. We are such in such a nanny state and oh a pandemic.,the world owes us a living

Ohhh but how dare you state the other side of the coin! This is what we need to look at to solve the issue. Many parents are doing the same as you but rather than look at this closer many posters become uppity about it.

The common view on mumsnet seems to be that every woman has the right to have a child, no matter what situation she is bringing that child into. Whilst I completely disagree with that, I don’t think you can expect that child to suffer for the stupidity of his/her mother and therefore I support taxes paying for these children to eat, be kept warm, be educated, be safe and healthy.

@Madonnawiththebigboobies

For those who are not paying attention. In my area no child goes un fed . We provide a door service . Food bank . And a warm food service. What I have been trying to say is that the government cannot be held responsible for every family .

You are a social worker. You are funded by government. Therefore government is basically, through you, taking responsibility for the every family you work with...

@Ignoringequally

There’s a lot of people shouting about would you begrudge a starving child but it’s not a case of that. It boils down to money or lack of

Well maybe if we didn’t subsidise the meals of high earning MP’s or spend billions or pounds on unusable PPE and an inadequate test and trace system we may be able to ensure that vulnerable children are fed.

Meanwhile can get back to reality.

There’s a money divide all around the world unfortunately.

There’s a money divide all around the world unfortunately

Ah of course, that’s ok then. Happens everywhere so we should just accept it.

Is it really that difficult to be responsible and feed your own children?

@Madonnawiththebigboobies if you were a registered social worker you’d know the answer to that question is yes, for some parents and some families it really is incredibly difficult to feed your own children and all too often through no fault of the parents concerned.

I feel that some posters are missing the basic point,

IT IS NOT THE CHILDS FAULT.

I think we can all agree there are useless parents who should never of had children, there are adults who fail in every way to appropriately prioritise their children and so the child suffers.

Regardless, IT IS NOT THE CHILDS FAULT and they should not be penalised for it.

@Madonnawiththebigboobies

When I became a mother something that was already found very distressing - anything to do with harm or neglect to children - became exponentially intolerable and heartbreaking to me when I had children of my own.

The very idea that a child somewhere should not be fed and go to bed crying silently with an empty stomach because people like you think it’s their parents responsibility and if they don’t do it then tough is just beyond my comprehension.

If you were my mother and I was old enough as your child to be cognisant of the underlying cruelty and coldness inherent with such an viewpoint I would feel so very sad and confused. If I was old enough I would be embarrassed and ashamed especially when you yourself have already stated you are in receipt of benefits.

Hunger is something nobody deserves but something no child should ever endure in this country.

Children should never pay the price.
End of.

I would imagine most social workers do support free meals for kids in need. I don't think all kids in KS1 should get free school meals though, there's plenty who don't need it. Redistributing that money for children who really need it would be better. But if parents don't have enough money to feed kids, for whatever reason, well it's not the children's fault. As a civilised society we need to have a responsibility towards them to ensure they get fed, even if the situation is because of parental failure. It doesn't mean it should continue like that though past an emergency pandemic, each situation needs to be assessed on a case by case situation longer term. If people need support then they need help with that to get things better. If it's a child protection issue then those processes need to kick in.