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.

ahh that's because you're a brain box Riven who's already got an undergraduate degree and doing their Masters - some of us haven't got that many brain cells

OU degrees are not free.

My choice if I wanted to go back to work would be a nanny at £10 an hour plus her tax and national insurance so I won't be going back any time soon either.
Childcare is a nightmare for most people. Especially once children start school.

look..i'm not talking about women who end up on their own through divorce or stuff like that...i'm talking about women who were never married, have no intention of working, just sit around having endless kid's while i pay for them...that is fundamentally wrong..if you lot are happy paying for that, fine!..good luck to you...but you're nut's.

OU degree's are free, assuming you don't a) have a degree already and b) are earning under £15k, go and look it up.

Seriously FAQ?

Can you tell me where to get that from? I've looked into it a few times, but could never afford it. If I could get it for free I would jump at the chance.

I used to be where she was and had I not managed to get into university, I dread to think how much worse off my son and I would be in that cycle of poverty.
Didn't know where to begin with this thread so decided to sod it and not read more than a few posts as I couldn't believe the amount of wilful ignorance in too many of them. It's easy when you know how, isn't it? Well, unfortunately even then, it's not that much easier, no
There but for the grace of god go I and many of the rest of us...

yes but presumably you won't be forced to go back to work when your youngest reaches 7 and then have to work out whatever solutions you can.

I think in my case the reality is going to be of having a latch key kid - ho hum.

"And with respect I was an undergraduate student with nobody but myself to feed and clothe and didn't exactly live the high life, if you're doing an OU degree then that'll be free of charge, you won't be incurring debts and your life won't be much different to any other student."

Bollocks. I was doing an OU course when my daughter was a tiny baby as well as working full time. The course fees were subsidised but no one paid for the pc i had to have to do assignments on. I had to beg to use one at work to go on the internet just to do the required online tutorial sessions. That meant extra childcare costs.
There were also further costs incurred because of the expectation to use further reading materials, travel to summer schools as part of the course and so on.

Also, how amny times a night did you have to get up to a sick baby and then have to function well enough to get your dissertation done/do a final exam etc?

Your lack of understanding astounds me.

DSM - which country are you in? (ie England, Scotland etc)

Fair enough daftpunk.

However, thats not what this thread, or the article it is based on, is about.

So I think maybe your comments have been ill-received on this thread as this is not the correct discussion for them.

well you're more of a brainbox than me - throw Masters work in front of me and I'll turn into a quivering wreck, I'm just about scraping through on a Level 1 course at the moment LOL.

FAQ - Scotland.. please tell me its still available?

Fio - yes they'll have taken his earnings into account.

So I drank .... you took on a lot more than most, who the heck tries to do a degree, small baby and work full time, fair play if you managed it but it's hardly the norm is it, FAQ doesn't work I believe so she can handle the degree and kids I guess.

studying with a young baby is difficult
I work f/t my husband works away during the week so I do all the childcare stuff, plus studying to become an accountant.
Its draining.

I agree daftpunk but life isn't like that. I think very few women deliberately have children with partners whom they expect to leave them. I certainly didn't but that is my reality.

I'm not on benefits and I certainly have more money to live on than 'Louise'. The main difference I reckon is down to education and opportunity.

I took it on because it was the only way i could assure a future where i earnt more than i paid out.
FAQ has 3 children i think? With at least one under school age, it will be difficult for her as well and i take my hat off to her for committing to it.

I did manage it, i ended up with a degree in engineering management and a very good job.

Scotland info

God some of you people can't read about someone being poor without coming up with a Victorian charity board suggestion as to how they should be doing x y and z to stop being obstinately poor or how they shouldn't have done x y and z in the first place which made them poor.

Dickens would recognise you.