AIBU to think parents on benefits shouldn’t be allowed to have more children until they’re financially independent?

[Tellitasitisss]

I can’t help but wonder why people who are already on benefits are still choosing to have more children. Surely if you can’t afford to support the children you already have, it’s unfair (on the kids and taxpayers) to keep adding more into the mix?

I’m not talking about people who’ve fallen on hard times unexpectedly, or someone who loses their job. That can happen to anyone. I mean those who have never worked a day in their life, keep having baby after baby, and then expect everyone else to fund everything from housing to school meals.

Meanwhile, working households who are just scraping by get absolutely nothing, yet are footing the bill for those who keep expanding their families with no thought for the consequences.

AIBU to think there should be a cap — no more kids funded by benefits after the first two, unless you can afford them yourself? Or is that “punishing children” like people always say?

so its ok to have kids you can't care for because you are lonely? I just plain old disagree with the "biological imperative and fundamental human right" crap. "Women can't be happy without children" is an old hat social construct.

Poor but with a strong work ethic, so not the sort of people the OP is referring to.

@Tellitasitisss YANBU. Benefits were brought in as a helping hand to get back on your feet when times were hard. It needs to go back to that, as benefits should not be a lifestyle choice as it has for many. Probably the ones going against your post!

3amamama · Today 11:21
Isn't it £60k?

Payments start to reduce at £60,000. They stop entirely at £80,000.

No one has said they should be prevented from having children at all. How many children do you need to not be lonely?

The limited circumstance is rape, apparently. The two child cap is an abomination and the suggestion that a woman claim she was raped in order to cover other children so disgusting that no civilised country should require it - which makes the UK uncivilised.

You can't police how many children people have. The right thing to do is to help those parents on benefits to bring their children to be complete human beings and conscientious citizens. That's what I pay my taxes for, anyway, not for promoting rape clauses on benefit claims.

I’d rather see enhancements made for hard working families than punishments for those on benefits - make working a substantially higher reward.

We do need to help working families more, and that in itself would help the birth rate. I love the example of Hungary where working mums will not pay income tax - what a difference that would have made for me when returning from maternity leave. I’d have chosen to start a family younger and would have had the third child we wanted, but couldn’t afford.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungarys-orban-launches-tax-exemption-mothers-cap-housing-loan-rates-2025-02-22/

Though I deplore the two child cap, I agree with you about having children. It's not a right.

I really really hope this is satire

You could argue that they have fallen on hard times because why are they in such a position in the first place where they can’t work or make something of themselves. That would mean they were failed by someone in the first place. It’s not great because then they are unlikely to give their children a good life which means a cycle of generational poverty. Yes, it needs to be stopped, but I don’t think that preventing somebody from having children is the answer

I don't agree with the 2 child benefits cap because it disadvantages innocent children of parents on benefits. It's not the childrens' fault they that exist but once they do, we should do everything we can to help them become healthy, well educated and decent members of society.

I think it is however reasonable to discourage people living on benefits to not have more than 2 kids, even though I would see it as human right to decide for myself how many kids I am going to have.

Make it easier still to access contraception. I bet the wait for a vasectomy is ridiculously long and first you have to manage to get a GP appointment which most people find very hard.

Maybe there should be something that says if you can't save even on 60-80k you should have CB cut? If you have savings you can't claim it, yet there is no imperative to think ahead and plan and save for couples on CB. It's incentivising spending all the time to make sure you don't go over a savings threashold.

Ummm, yes it is. I did try to make it obvious. 🙏 But it is not far off what would be needed to implement the idea, which a lot of people here seem to have, that it should be "not allowed" to have more than X children as a function of your income.

One post goady bollocks from an op with a shitty goady user name
froth inducing nonsense
and still people bite

Yeah, the cap isn't on child benefit - I get 3x payments for that. It's on UC or child tax credits which I think is UC anyway

🤔

well no but do you not think that preventing them having more children would benefit them?

There is a 2 child cap, and has been for years, you doughnut!!

Innocent children of working parents are disadvantaged by them having more children than they can afford??

Can anyone explain the sense of saying you can get free money for kids if you don't have savings?

Obviously you don't get benefits if you own a house and choose not to work, but saying savings isn't optimal with kids is a weird stance, no?

Might I suggest that you volunteer for the RTF (reproduction task force) to police the sex lives of all families on benefits? I am sure they would welcome you.

Did you accept any maternity pay? Well you must be a lazy bastard, you should have saved up for the time off you had. Did you accept any childcare subsidies? Never have tax credits? Have your parents ever given you money? You sound so stupid it's unreal.

Yes that’s the obvious answer but its unlikely to be enforced that way or they already would have done it

I echo your thoughts exactly OP

There’s been a drop in births amongst the poor. So yes it has worked. Only now we import people on mass.