To wonder what else can be done to break the cycle of generations living off benefits?

[Allonthesametrain]

Sounds harsh because It is. As a former teacher, then eduation social worker, now the past few years more heavily involved with school attendance.

My desire has always been to help children from unprivileged backgrounds to know their worth and achieve the best they can and this has been my career from age 23 to 57.

The number of times I've cried, torn my hair out, is immeasurable. I and colleagues have gone above and beyond to support the families, genuinely care about them, but unfortunately the outcome has been, as I've said in title, it's a continiation of the cycle of being brought up within a small community and low expectations.

So many gorgeous kids (supported throughout their young lives until they leave school) who tell you their dreams of what they want to to achieve in life, we do everything we can to enable it and some have indeed broken out of the circle but unfortunately the reality has been...

Parents who live lifestyles of no bedtime routine, tell their kids not to come back before ...pm, sleep in and don't get them out of bed ready and fed for school and as for weekends, pub and take back a new bloke

Parents who have issues themselves and project them onto DC. The kids soon realise they can stay off school for feigning illness and would actually be a comfort to Mum

The parents who just cba and say shall we just still in bed?

Of course there are so many other mitigating factors but these are the 3 main experiences we've dealt with. Unfortunately it really does come down to poor parenting and no matter what interventions we do to encourage attendance, only a minority are genuine.

So the cycle...DC think education isn't important, parents are hopeless role models and can often be aggressive to teachers, a deflection of blame.

Then oh DD gets pregnant at age 15, DS has been reprimanded by the police for scooting around in a balaclava. Then pure hostility when we try to continue to talk to them and what could be done to help.

Basically it's just such a shame, these sweet young kids who say they want to be ... become so influenced by their homelife, a need to fit in with their family and peers from the same estate, that they ignore the support we give them, don't turn up to appointments etc.

For the genuine cases, DC with SEN, the effort to try and ensure they are in best place is utmost and it's heartbreaking there aren't enough of them. Yes, we do know genuine cases and not just so many parents striving for a diagnosis because they feed DC a terrible diet and let them stay up late so are tired and irritable at school.

Expecting some backlash, whatever anyone says I can reason with.

How are you a role model to your children? What’s your motivation to do better and get off benefits?

I think we underestimate the low IQs of these families due to genetics and substance abuse. All the scaffolding in the world can’t fix this as the babies are born like this.

Runs and hides.

the most simple system but morally omg one, build specialist closed cities for various family's that need re-educating to reintroduce them back to the wider population.

yes before anyone says my idea is omg, but if its better than the system we have now and if society wants a better society overall then why not etc

Some great ideas here.

We will all be living off universal income in the near future as jobs will be replaced by AI

i think with my post too im running and hiding with you, basically some people are just not suited to a better society.

the easiest option do what the past did with criminals etc, instead of colony's put them on another planet, obviously if society had the tech to achieve it, have basically prison planets etc

Rowntree foundation found NONE

literally this ‘generations’ thing is a bollocks hypothesis

IT DOESNT EXIST, it’s just some shit constantly trotted out cos it sounds real

look at the research 🤷‍♀️

@Foxyloxy89 The issue with a lot of these would be engagement as obviously you can't force parents to engage with things such as classes etc.

@LoremIpsumCici top marks for cogent posts. You’ve given a really powerful takedown of this daily mail adjacent claptrap. Not that I think it’ll be recognised mind you.

Already seeing the middle class attitudes that lock generations into the cycle of poverty. One said hiring those people (kids from deprived backgrounds) is a detriment to most businesses and another has said they’re all low IQ and not suited to the society of their betters.

Your syntax is most intriguing, OP.

It's a valid point but it doesn't mean they're destined for a life on benefits. The education system is so focused on academics that it destroys the confidence of people with learning difficulties. People with low IQs could probably do well in manual jobs if they were learning hands on skills at high school instead of being forced down the academic route of GCSEs and exams.

Seriously,would you put role modelling above feeding and clothing and housing your children? Don’t be ridiculous.

You say parents but you mean women.

Your post is littered with assumptions about lazy mothering.

You haven't said one specific thing about feckless fathers and at no point do you acknowledge that a shit mum is trying harder than an absent father.

Come back and correct your language to slander both parents specifically and equally and I'll engage.

I also thought this when I read it. Such a lazy stereotype.

Contraception?

@DogAnxiety These are all possible with working.

The binary way you portray the Education and Social Care systems as these benevolent, supportive systems - and parents as this dysfunctional source of the problem is so ridiculously naive that I can't take the rest of your post seriously. And I say that having spent 20 years in Education and Social Care.

Come back when you're ready to talk about structural forces, the low wage economy and why being really really kind isn't enough.

Louise Casey did a trooper on it, it’s a well accepted fact but government. It’s a cycle that needs breaking.

This takes the cake on classism.

These ok. Can you explain why home education has rocketed and these are primarily well to do parents

There's plenty of "low skilled" care work type jobs out there which would be filled IF they paid enough money.

An interesting thought experiment. What would happen if you took children from aged 9ish from a chaotic home life and put them in boarding school Monday to Friday? Would their outcomes be better?

Require anyone receiving benefits to carry out constructive community work. Maybe 20 hours per week which allows them a further 20 hours to job hunt and still have the same free time as any FT worker.

I can’t see how anyone can be against that. Giving something back to the community that supports them.

well humanity overall wants a better society and if criminals keep choosing to be criminals even when offered help then why should society have to bare the results of them being criminals ?