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Lone parents

Use our Single Parent forum to speak to other parents raising a child alone.

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Original poster

benefit changes??????????

225 replies

mummylou85 · 06/03/2009 23:09

Just wondering if anyone else is worried about changes in income support. I think by 2010 the age will be brought down to 7 if not found job benefits be stopped then if not found job it's job seekers? what do you all think of these changes. i'm happy towork but I have no family to look after my daughter? so in sept i'm goingback to finish my course in child care but what if I don't get job out of there. my daughter only 3 now but it's hard out there to get jobs these days especially to fit around children.

I know on job seekers you have to go on many courses, what if these are not child friendly but you have to go you get no money.

staying on benefits is not long term thing for me, I have worked payed taxes in past. but is anyone worried about future, in past didnt matter on what job i did and hours but now fitting it around my daughter. I really scared about job seekers are they child friendly. I stress about everything i'm sorry, but I think these changes take away your rights on how to parent I really think these changes in benefits wont work and i'm worried. i am stresser though x

OP posts:

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hobbgoblin · 07/03/2009 00:16

100 percent is not paid by TC. And also it is capped, so if you have more than 1 or 2 DC you can end up paying a huge amount out of wages, as I do.

Also, despite demand, the demand is often not great enough for childcare to be sustainable in the form of Breakfast Clubs.

Huge issues for rural communities...

FAQinglovely · 07/03/2009 00:16

It's only really an un-viable option if you've got pre-schoolers as quite often even with TC's it's still too expensive to get the childcare. Once they're at school childcare costs drop and therefore more viable.

You need to get onto the schools then are make them realise there's a need for them (the clubs) quite often if enough parents don't ask - they don't do anything about it.

GypsyMoth · 07/03/2009 00:20

FAQ........it's been brought up at village lower sch......no joy. But them that leaves my 2 that travel by school bus to middle sch 7 miles away,how to get them there with no car?

skramble · 07/03/2009 00:20

Our village did have a breakfast club, but was very on off, you couldn't rely on it for work as it was never known if it would be on next term.

I have no intention of sleeping on the sofa an opening up my house to a teenage aupair so I can slog my guts out to pay her to ignore my kids when they come home from school.

And holidays? so do I farm out my kids to playschemes for 8- 10 hrs a day, not the way I intend my kids to spend there childhood.

GypsyMoth · 07/03/2009 00:22

These holiday schemes........got leaflet home today. £12 a day.......for 3dc only.....don't think so!!

FAQinglovely · 07/03/2009 00:26

nut Tiffany you wouldn't be Paying the whole £12 - you would get TC to help cover some of the cost.

And don't forget if you're working - even full time you do get Annual Leave so it wouldn't bet that you never saw your DC

So if 7 is "too young" - at what age should they set it at? There has to be a reasonable cut off point otherwise when does it stop?

Yes there are problems for some people - however there are people who have seemingly insurmountable childcare problems who find ways around it.

skramble · 07/03/2009 00:27

Thankfully I have a great MIL (well exMIL, but would never ex her) and she takes kids enough to let me do a shift or two a week and go to my uni workshops, but she is not prepared to have kids 5 nights a week.

skramble · 07/03/2009 00:29

My brother ended up a lone parent (DP died)and decide not to work until his DD was older because he wasn't prepared to leave her in after school care 5days a week. He went on to do training then got a good job when she was older. I respect his choices and his dedication to bringing up his DD alone. I would hate to think of him being forced to work before he felt his DD could cope with such a long day.

RockinSockBunnies · 07/03/2009 00:30

The holiday schemes are normally Ofsted registered, thus most of the £12 per day would be paid for by Tax Credits (which most people will be eligible for, particularly lone parents).

Skramble - Au pairs are around in the holidays, thus obviating the need for playschemes for most of the time. Nor do I think that most au pairs are teenage or that they 'ignore' the children. My DD loved our au pair and had a great time playing with her. Having an au pair also meant that DD could go to her after-school activities (gymnastics, drama etc) and didn't have to miss out on these things by having to stay at an after-school club every day.

I accept that wrap-around childcare doesn't exist in all schools. But even the target of having 8am-6pm childcare provision by 2010 is not sufficient IMO. If a parent works long hours (as I have done and will do), then I need someone who is flexible and can be at home with DD whenever I need them, hence the au pair.

skramble · 07/03/2009 00:32

I think the point about not sleeping on my sofa was missed, quite beside the fact that the last thing I need is an aupair of any age hanging around in my house bored to tears because of the fact it is in a small village with nothing more than a fish farm and a few cows for entertainment.

hobbgoblin · 07/03/2009 00:34

I think the age should be 5 or even 3 but ONLY if childcare provision was responsive to need to the tune of about 99 percent.

It's similar to how we are expected to use public transport - A Good Idea - until you realise that it costs the earth, is unreliable and there isn't a bus that goes where you want when you want at all.

GypsyMoth · 07/03/2009 00:35

Tc would pay £36a day for playscheme and cover a childminder for baby? Really? What about my 14 year old? Have no schemes here for that age. How much time is annual leave these days? Won't be a skilled job tho.....was previously police job, can't return to that cos of night shifts and weekend work....those type of jobs Are out. So are alot actually when you are confined to just 9-5 jobs. Can't do anything locally that doesn't require nights.

CoDependant · 07/03/2009 00:36

Sorry, didn't read thread, i just wanted t add, if nobody else has, if you are a lone parent go to your job centre and ask about the 'new deal' its a course for lone parents to get them back to work, they will help you get qualifications and they provide childcare too

skramble · 07/03/2009 00:36

I think breakfast club then school then afterschool club is too much for a 5/6 or 7 yr old.

FAQinglovely · 07/03/2009 00:38

I personally think 7 is the right age. It gives a reasonable time for a parent to get back into work do/complete any training they want to do before starting working. And allows for children that take a year or so to settle into school.

3 would be too young I think.

skramble · 07/03/2009 00:39

6mths, just stick them in a nursery and let strangers bring them up then, .

On that note night night XXX

GypsyMoth · 07/03/2009 00:40

I have been doing ou course....... Over quite a few years,so trying to re train. I was looking at prison work.......got yarlswood up the road and 2 localprisons...need to beavailable nights/weekends.......ditto with local airport. I'm not an office worker, never have been. Nothing I could obtain wouldcover outgoings, even with tc,I fear.

FAQinglovely · 07/03/2009 00:42

Tiffany - no they wouldn't cover all of it but a large chunk of it.

And as you have a baby it's several years until they'll be 7 and you'll be taken off the IS - by which time you're 14yr old will have left schoool and the others old enough to go with the 2nd child on the school bus.

GypsyMoth · 07/03/2009 00:47

Got 6 years to get my house inorder then!! Could do another ou degree in that time....bloody hell!!! My eldest will be 20 by then!!!! That's scary

RockinSockBunnies · 07/03/2009 00:47

But Skramble, irrespective of anyone's views over whether to leave children in a nursery and from what age, why is it that lone parents have the choice to stay at home, whilst couples are often denied the very same choice, based on their finances? I know lots of married couples who had to put their DCs in nursery after the mother had used up maternity leave. It wasn't something they wanted to do, but they didn't have a choice financially.

Personally, I wouldn't necessarily want to have to leave a six month old baby in a nursery or even with a nanny for that matter. Nor is the government suggesting that lone parents would have to do so. But sometimes, people have to do things that aren't ideal because of their financial circumstances.

GypsyMoth · 07/03/2009 00:50

2parent families can claim tax credits or working tax credits if one parent stays home. There is that choice.....

FAQinglovely · 07/03/2009 00:52

yep - you gotta look forward at the ages your children will be when you youngest is 7 - not the ages are now...........I bet it looks a whole lot different in that view (ie you'll have an "adult" hehe)

Rock - the problem is that if you have a child(ren) in nursery full time, even with the TC it still often isn't financably viable to work - ie you'd be worse off. So I don't think the "cut-off" age should be too low

FAQinglovely · 07/03/2009 00:53

Tiffany - but if the tax credits don't help bring in enough money then they are usually forced to go to work. There's not much choice in that I can tell you.

GypsyMoth · 07/03/2009 00:57

I can assure you that there's not enough money on lone parent benefits either!

FAQinglovely · 07/03/2009 01:00

but it's fact - many of the working poor are worse off than many of those on benefits.

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