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

@studychick81

From what people are saying, I wonder if a large proportion of benefits were given in food vouchers/fuel/homeware and clothes vouchers if this would help solve some of the problem. Those parents who don't prioritise properly would be forced to spend the money more appropriately.

The vast majority of people on benefits don’t spend their money in a way that doesn’t prioritise their children.

Most of the people are poor, not neglectful

Be thankful you don't understand OP.

Lyra- not according to many people on this thread, several of which have worked closely with people in need- not saying I agree or disagree.

I guess it could be done with those who are repeat offenders, those who are known to SS and are being given support but are seen on payday as not spending money appropriately, rather than being issued to everyone. Perhaps this is only for a proportion of the money so treats can still be brought every so often and clothes vouchers could be saved for when they are needed.

@studychick81

From what people are saying, I wonder if a large proportion of benefits were given in food vouchers/fuel/homeware and clothes vouchers if this would help solve some of the problem. Those parents who don't prioritise properly would be forced to spend the money more appropriately.

People are spending the money to pay their rent! There is no cap on private landlords rent charges and housing benefit rates are mostly inadequate to cover even the slummiest properties.

Separate to rent- I said a portion not all. Rent paid directly to the landlord rather than to the claimant so that portion is taken out.

@studychick81

Lyra- not according to many people on this thread, several of which have worked closely with people in need- not saying I agree or disagree.

I guess it could be done with those who are repeat offenders, those who are known to SS and are being given support but are seen on payday as not spending money appropriately, rather than being issued to everyone. Perhaps this is only for a proportion of the money so treats can still be brought every so often and clothes vouchers could be saved for when they are needed.

There are also several people on the thread who work with families in need saying that’s not happening. I am involved with a lot of families through the breakfast club and playscheme I chair (we cover three primary schools normally and it’s normally us that runs a lunch club in the holidays), as well as being on the committee of a school uniform bank and I’ve heard of one case of someone selling their voucher.

The people that are abusing the system are a tiny minority. The vast majority are people who are simply poor and struggling to make ends meet.

Do people really think if the system was abused appallingly in the summer this government wouldn’t be telling about it?!

Rent used to be paid directly to landlords. As far as I'm aware it still can be if you are in arrears.
The problem with paying it directly to the landlord is it doesn't teach people how to budget, so if they are ever in a situation where they are paying their own rent, there is (supposedly) a risk that they won't be able to budget it.
Now I'm sure this isn't true for the majority of claimants. But it is true for some (I know someone who nearly ended up homeless as a result of this)

@studychick81

Separate to rent- I said a portion not all. Rent paid directly to the landlord rather than to the claimant so that portion is taken out.

Do you realise how difficult it is to get paid direct to landlord now?

Even if the tenant asks the housing officer can say no. I know of one tenant who has a history of a health issue that makes it difficult to stay organised when she’s struggling. They’ve said no twice to paying her LL direct because she’s not behind - not grasping that when she gets into a spiral she will get behind and it causes so many problems.

Under the guise of educating people to handle their own money they’re setting some up to fail!

Even if the parents are choosing to spend their money on flat screen TV’s and goats, that’s not the fault of the child.

Why do these parents not get penalised, then? Why is there no accountability? If you are not feeding your child as a priority then you should go to prison, it's neglect.

Children do have the right to be fed. By their parents. This currently popular viewpoint that people are never responsible for their own situations is very dangerous to society.

2020. Too much entitlement!!

Oh yes 2020 definitely not a year of desperation 🤦🏼‍♀️ Ffs

If this isn’t a time of desperation, I can’t imagine what would be. There are a very large number of people who have no choice about working and that’s not going to get better any time soon.

A lot of working parents get fsm. It’s not remotely as simple as people choosing a life of benefits.

Even if you're right and this problem is totally down to feckless parents, it is irrelevant really.

We can't have hungry children.

That's it really.

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet but why are we constantly banging on at the government to do something? It's our tax paying money after all. Why don't the premier league step in and do something? Football clubs think nothing of charging £65 for a kids t shirt. The Royal Family, don't even get me started. We have businesses and people sitting on untold amounts of wealth in this country but no one ever goes after them. I absolutely agree no child should ever go hungry. Supermarkets have seen huge profits this year too. It just seems ridiculous to constantly campaign for the government to do something when it will be these children and their parents having to pay this all back eventually.

Because the government are the cause of the problem with their slashing of the welfare state, encouragement of zero hours contracts and high rents.

Feeding children shouldn’t be a charity issue. It’s a state issue.

I'm so sad by some of the responses. I'm a single parent and my son is entitled to FSM, I'm a student and I have applied for every job I can and continue to do so everyday, I have had professional help with my CV and only had 1 interview out of the goodness knows how many I've applied for, that went internally.
Things actually were good financially for us until a year or so ago, I found out my ex was an alcoholic and he was having an affair with my sister, at the same time my other sister tragically died and was found in shocking circumstances. Whilst trying to adjust to being a single parent, grieving my sister, another close family member passed a month after her under equally shocking circumstances, whilst being in so much pain from this and the humiliation from the shit my ex put me through I was a mess financially and emotionally but couldn't show it as I had to be strong for my son.
He emptied the account and drank it, leaving me and my boy with nothing but the few quid in my purse. I had to take out a credit card to feed us and pay bills until my next payment date for student finance (paid quarterly) and buy a few birthday presents out of a catalogue that I'm still struggling badly to pay off now (not a lot but also had to use the catalogue when my boys shoes wore out, he outgrew his clothes and I couldn't even afford primark!), as the CTC and CB I only had coming in, of about £80pw didn't cover rent, bills and food. It was a fucking horrible time and I still suffer now financially because of it, and don't get me started on CMS.
FSM and the voucher over the summer really helped me feed my son. My bills get higher and higher especially my water and gas and electric and I can't make ends meet at the best of times. I'd literally do ANY job at all, there's always someone more experienced or better than me who is obviously getting them.
Just think some children aren't just hungry but cold too as parents can't afford heating bills, money coming in and going out just doesn't add up and its so so hard. I can't sleep at night worrying about my debt, I worry every knock on the door is a bailiff, I worry so much I am stressed 24/7 and have been for some time now. I really am suffering so badly and to think that people think I spend my money on zoflora fags and wine really is not a good feeling. I literally use £5 a week and don't eat lunch every day to afford it to pay for tutoring for my son once a month as I would rather die now than see him go through this just because he was born because of me under shit circumstances that couldn't controlled by either of us (I know once a month is nothing and that £5 could be spent elsewhere, but it gives me hope).
My son suffers so badly because of what his dad did to us and I failed him too for giving birth to him without a huge safety net of savings but I can't turn back time, so why should he suffer cold and hungry, none of this is his fault. I even try to get him in private school on a bursary I felt like an idiot looking around knowing I cant afford it and they did too but I'm so desperate to pull my boy out of this I'll literally try anything.
When I graduate, I may have a better chance of finding work, but the pandemic has made it much more difficult. Some people out there don't even have a glimpse of hope and this is their life every single day with no way out.

In all honesty I don’t give a fuck if their mam and dad are spending their money on coke and champagne no child deserves to go hungry. No child should bear the consequences of their parents’ lifestyle.

This isn’t about people abusing the system. This is about feeding hungry children. I don’t want my tax money to subsidise a nice lunch and a cheeky pint for an MP. I want it to help a hungry child.

When was the last time someone in the UK died of hunger?

Cant remember it ever being in the news?

But lets not let the truth get in the way of a good 'story'

I am guessing their is an agenda!

really?