AIBU to be sad and shocked by this article?

[LittleDorrit]

Have just been reading this:

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/mar/18/child-poverty-labour-eradicate-promise

and I am shocked by the conditions this family is living in, but in particular how little/what sort of food they are able to afford.

It's not so much an AIBU issue, but just wondered whether others in similarly difficult circumstances think this is typical, or whether the mother could try to buy other types of food (e.g. rice, lentils, etc.) or perhaps be able to afford to spend a bigger proportion of her budget on food... £20 is very little.

You're just going to get unecessarily riled, FAQ. Apparently, most of us shouldn't have been born, because our parents were minted before they 'ttc'd.

FAQ - most peoples views have been fine throughout this thread TBH, there are only a few bigoted, ignorant opinions.

General consensus, thankfully, is that she is doing well, given her circumstances.

thanks expat - I shall give the last 10 pages a miss then

daftpunk, if you would v kindly get my exh to a) tell me wtf he is at,
b)tell me if he is working atm
and
c) get him to pay for his kids

and at the same time find me a way of working or training to include childcare that has someone suitably trained in special needs and has a disabled friendly house, i'd be chuffed to bits and you wont have to pay for us any longer

i hope you never have to be in the situation that many single parents are i really do

..i happen to believe the best place to bring up children is in a home with married parents (male & female!)..with money....sorry..

lou33..your dh left you...that's different.

This thread is the epitome of MN as a microcosm.

Many people are kind, thoughtful, and thankful that they are not in a situation, and hearing of others peoples problems provokes intelligent thought and insight towards possible solutions.

Other people are ignorant, bigoted, self-righteous bastards, who don't seem to have the mental capacity to understand why ANYONE would want to be anything less than them.

and I think you'll find that the majority of single parents also believe that in a home with both parents is the "ideal" place too unfortunately life doesn't always work out that way.

• money - well where do you set the limit? And if they have to have money does that mean that 2/3 of the worlds population shouldn't have sex in case they bring a child into the world........

daftpunk - making my last point even clearer, and I didn't even have to name you as an example, you've done that yourself.

well most single parents I know were either married or had been co-habiting for some time before they had children, then their relationship broke down (for whatever reason).

not really

he wouldnt get his arse out to work in the years before I told him to sling his hook, he just got pissed

i chose to end the marriage, so you are supporting me because i left him

the reason why i left him?

because he turned into an alcoholic and i was dying inside and didnt want my kids to live like it

but he wasnt an alcoholic when we met

life doesnt turn out how we want most of the time

in an ideal world that would be lovely daftpunk, but reality is very different for a lot of children and there parents

lol....i want the best for my kid's DSM...i wouldn't of had them if our lives would have been a constant struggle..wondering where the next decent meal was coming from..that's no life for anyone...

that makes me clever don't you think?.

i think it makes you lucky

lucky that you havent had a down turn in circumstances

but it could happen

but daftpunk - how do you know that there's never going to be any hardship in your life before your children are grown up?

And you still haven't answered my questioin as to whether 2/3 of the worlds population should therefore not reproduce because they live in poverty.

life never looks like the picture on the front of the box

i have children i can afford = me being thick

someone has children they can't afford = feel sorry for them..

wtf??

and who defines how much a child costs?

I would bet a lot of money that if everyone on this thread were to say how much it cost to feed and cloth their children and provide for their basic needs then the figures would vary MASSIVELY.

whether 2/3 of the worlds population should therefore not reproduce because they live in poverty.

That's a question you need to ask them though isn't it ?
If they are happy enough with their lot then fine go ahead, what pisses me off and we are on benefits right now remember, is when people suggest more money is the answer, throwing cash at the situations, no teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life.

that's different fio and you know it

me too fio

well it doesn''t quite work like that - I'm currently doing an OU course - doesn't make my IS and CTC stretch any further, or provide me with reliable childcare solutions when DS3 starts school and I look for work.