Free fruit and veg for toddlers/

[Hulababy]

linknews.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3492939.stm\free vouchers{} for fruit and veggies for low income familes. What do you think?

Oh sorry, lavender. I misunderstood. So it's ok to be determined about non-work stuff? Then what's your problem with stupidgirl's determination to home educate?

The book sounds lovely. I don't have a parachute but if I was to get one I would choose a green one. Is that good?

Must get to bed, Night everyone. Thanks for a lovely evening of mumsnetting.

arrrrrrrrgh!!!!

i hasve had hardly any sleep as dd2 was being a right madam. if i was still working i'd be pulling a sicky right now.

stupidagirl, think posistive hunny, u are doing the best by your kids by HE-ing. i would never put dd's into a crap school just so i could get a badly paid job. fortunatly dd1 has been accpeted at the best infant school in the area. but that still leaves me with dd2 to cope with.

on the point of people not working who could, tbh if dd is still just as bad as she is now even when dd2 is at school i'd probably wont go to school. i currently survive on approx 4-6hrs sleep a night, i think i'd need recovery time. i know my NI gets paid with my Carers allowence, i'm not sure about the tax pint of view but think someone mentioned u pay something on it.

My my but what a frenzied fight you caused Hulababy!!!!!

Stupidgirl I know fresh and frozen veg are equally good for you but I think - maybe it is just me - that fresh tastes better? And considering that most children seem to hate veggies maybe buying fresh would make them enjoy more. Plus fresh makes better soups!

I think the whole unhealthy aspect of children now has little to do with eating choccie bars (although 8 a day!!!) and more to do with convenience foods. I never realised until I became a SAHM that if you make your own stuff it costs less and is usually better tasting - and you can still shove some in the freezer.

As for car as luxury, although I will say no more on this slanging match, DH works shifts at an airport with no proper bus service from the area we live in. We can't afford to move closer so would you-know-who suggest he walks home (15 miles) when his shift runs late and he finishes at 1 or 2am, or walk in when it starts at 5.30am and the first bus is 6.45am. Or perhaps take the ultimate luxury, a taxi? Also car takes 20 mins, bus mystery tour takes 45 mins to over an hour depending.

A wise idea: Think before you speak.

Maybe this thread should be split so people can vent their anger or frustration at the benefits system and people like Misdee don't get upset. (She is quite right, would you take her illness to receive her benfits? I think not.)

This thread has the potential to get quite unpleasant I think.

Lavender, your comments are upsetting a fair few people , intentionally or otherwise. Maybe it would be better if you walked away from it for a few days, or if not, then understand that the situations you and your h have experienced are not the same as others posting on here.

Welcome back Scummy, long time no see.

I think this is a really weird thread... Anyway, my only contribution that book that Lavender1 mentioned my friend loved it. She wrote the author a letter and in their subsequent correspondance he mentioned he needed a secretary. He flew her (from Southern California to North) to meet him, they seemed to get along, he offered her the job.
Dream come true? Nope, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! The guy was a complete jerk and very difficult (ridiculously demanding) to work for. Friend barely lasted a few weeks (she is a good secretary, very dedicated worker, has loads of experience and positive references). Never would trust anything the guy had to say after that.

Oh my word. I simply posted a thread about some free fruit anf veg vouchers - I thought it'd be a safe thread and most people would think, yeah anything that helps would be good. Never ever expected it to turn into a slagging match, and certainly not go onto a debate between forms of education (certainly have no comment at all on that front! ) .

Well, teaches me to try and find something interesting to chat about. Will stick to the bar in future

not your fault Hulababy

I'm going to regret joining in on this, but didn't Madonna get through the lean years by scrounging accomodation and money off friends and basically having a diet solely consisting of popcorn?! I'm not sure that's what we should be encouraging

PopCORN is a vegetable tho

But it will only count as one portion a day

Unless you count 'Papa doen't Peach' as her second portion.

Lavender, do you think a stranger ranting at me to get a job is going to convince me not to HE when relatives and friends have failed???

What is sociable about sitting in a classroom with 30 other kids the same age??? I did leave early, admittedly, but I only have one friend from school, and we lived next door to each other and knew each other from age 3, so it doesn't really count.

My ds, on the other hand, mixes with people - children and adults - of all ages. Within the HE community there are rarely the divisions by age and sex that are seen in school children.

Aside from that is the issue of sending a 5 year old away from his home and security, for 6 hours a day. My heart screams out at the thought of it.

Then there is the questionable learning environment - which I could talk about for hours, but wont - that is another thread.

And the schools round here are crap. The pupils leaving my ds's designated school aged 11 are described as 'well below average in ability'. Not the start I want for my kids thank you very much. My ds is very bright, he is reading already, and would be bored stiff at school. Add to that suspected aspergers and I think school would be a very damaging experience for him (as I believe it was for me). Believe me, ds is very happy at home and has no desire to go to school. And I am very happy. I always dreaded having to send my kids to school and this is perfect for us - I wouldn't change it for the world.

If I was to send them to school and get a job, the chances of finding a job to fit with shcool hours and pay enough to live on, are very slim.

As it happens I might have figured out a solution. I think I am going to have to move further away from the area I want to live. IF I can find somewhere within the budget, that will accept housing benefit, then I might just have found my route off benefits.

Please also remember the amount of money stupidgirl is saving the taxpayer each year by he. Cant recall how much but is thousands.
I am lucky that we are able to send ds to an excellent state school because of where we live. However, we have lived in some horrible areas and always said would he rather than sending them to the local school. cant imagine anything worse.

Same here Hercules!

Fortunately, our Catchment school is one of the best in our town, but if I hadn't been able to get DD1 and DS1 in for some reason, I would have rather HE then send them to some of the others in town - one of them in particular has a HUGE problem with kids bringing in knives - this is a primary school FFS!! - my friend is a TA at the school - says the attitude of most parents is "tell your teacher to f* off!!!!". Really lovely - what chance have some of these poor kids got??!!

Almost none

I get quite a few kids like that in secondary school. They have been badly damaged by their upbringing and many of the parents have a very negative attitude to schools and teachers. Being told to f off is quite common, and the school I work in is not that bad.

OK, I'm really behind here, but going back to the original article:

Did everyone else spot that this scheme will replace the milk vochers? Ie families will get these new vouchers worth £5.80/£2.60 which can be used for formula/ordinary milk or fruit and veg? This is why the amount is higher for under ones - it is to make sure that the voucher covers the cost of one tin of formula each week. But of course if you use it for formula, there's nothing left over for fruit and veg. It is a reform of the system, not new cash, so the people will benefit are those who didn't use their vouchers as their children didn't like milk.

Didn't pick up on that 150percent. Not so great then after all.

That's what I've been trying to say all along...

this thread has gone really off topic at times, what with my homelessness, stupidgirl HE-ing, madonna and the how we should better ourselves. and we thought fruit and veg was good for u.

Oh scummy you have been missed.
And stupidgirl - I think anybody that does equate being on benefits with being stupid should simply be made to read a random selection of your Mumsnet posts to completely disabuse them of that idea.
But, in many cases low income does mean low access to education, and that can lead to kids in these situations being fed on a diet of junk food and not getting enough fruit and veg. Whilst in hospital I was next to a woman (who I presume was receiving benefits as neither she nor her husband worked) with gestational diabetes who admitted that her and her kids evening meal every night consisted of Mcdonalds or Kentucky. Neither nutritional or cheap. But understandable for somebody educated at the same time as me when Home Economics lessons at school only taught us how to make flapjacks and scotch eggs. And understandable for someone who lives in an area of London where the most upmarket local supermarket is Iceland and the only places that seem to sell fresh produce are the Asian supermarkets, which I don't think my neighbour would not have frequented given the views she expressed on the foriegn muck (really quite delicious curries) served on the lunch trolley.
Fruit and Vegetable vouchers aren't going to help her, and they patronise the people who will make use of them. So yet another misguided attempt by the government to throw money (and a really tiny amount) at a problem rather than do something about the root cause of it.

Interesting replies.

Only thing would like to say is that don't agree with this scheme, benefits ARE there to help people in real need (am sure a lot of people are)...whole thing misunderstood....as was only trying to say "if you want to find a job because you are unhappy for whatever reason in your current predicament (short of money..kind of thing), then there is always hope....don't think that it is impossible because we humans are capable of far greater things than we can ever possibly imagine, when we BELIEVE we can...not ranting, just wishing a lot of luck with whatever choices you choose..sure things will work out well for you stupidgirl, you do sound like a good person

Just caught up on this and am disgusted - sorry just wanted to say that . Lavender - I cannot believe any of your posts or predicaments and actually think you are a troll and your DP is fictional - why would you let him post that on here - do you not want any help/respect/replies at all??

That was supposed to be a sad smilie by the way - and this is supposed to be a sight for parents to get help and advice and I for one feel threatened by someone who has been describd as a wife beater and a bully being shown this site - yes it is public but for gods sake be intelligent when it comes to telling people about it - there are lots or women who would rather a man who treats you like your husband treats you not be guided here to rant and rave!!

I am very sorry that you feel that way, I really am. What has been written has been the truth, it really has...my dh has not lied about living in a railway carriage, with nothing to eat and having no home but this railway carriage...he was destitute....I just say things as I feel, am sorry have ever offended anyone, am not a troll, or a malicious or spiteful person....and yes I did want people to reply...wasn't aware like I said before that you couldn't disagree with anyone on this site, and have apologised for this....some people have been far ruder or insulting on here than us just saying what we thought and why we didn't agree with it...(if debating isn't allowed on here, then perhaps only one side of the story will ever be heard)....it has got way too political (which this sort of subject could well be) and dh comment of "you deserve everything you get" meant that if you believe and follow Tony Blair's principles..you will be getting taxed a lot and it would be hard to get off benefits as he will always keep doing this...some many interpretations can happen, don't worry about it though....at the end of the day, it is just people chatting, disagreeing but that's what people do...

btw, this is a parenting site, and he is a parent, so it was not wrong of him to post...after all DL and SS do on occassion