I find this so annoying and will probably get crap for writing this but...m

[starodyssey2015]

Why is it that it's only over 2 year olds that get 15 hours free childcare a week. I am now a working mother with an 18 month old baby and I don't get this. Whilst people without a job get it!

My friend has a 2 year old and gets 15 hours free nursery a week. She doesn't work. So for four days a week she drops him off at nursery then goes and spends her benefit money going for a Costa and going shopping! Whilst muggings over here is scrimping and scraping so my child can go to nursery so I can work! I can barely afford a Costa! That's with both mine and my boyfriends wage!

I know I'm being childish but I find this totally unfair!

I think that's a wonderful idea shitebag (interesting choice of name haha).

Shitebag i am no expert but my guess is that the idea is to teach the child independence and to socialize with peers.

Totally get where you are coming from!!! My Ds is 3.5yrs old and has just started Pre School, qualified for 15 hours free childcare Jan 2015 (term following 3rd birthday)......however, some nurseries are VERY clever about when / how they provide them!! Both me & partner work (me, part-time & partner, fulltime) we dont earn a huge income and qualify for working tax credits......which pays (depending on joint income) upto 70% of childcare costs! I'd definitely give them a call, as long as you & partner both work, you should get assistance, even for an 18mth old!! Can totally relate about the 'friend' situation........my friend is living with partner (but lies), gets subsidised rent & has had 15hrs free childcare since DD1 was 2 yrs old at which point then had DD2......all without working a day!!!!
Hold your head high & feel proud that you are able to provide for your child....dont let people who have no bearing on your life bring you down!!!
x

I totally agree OP. I do agree with disavantaged children getting EY support but it's also wrong that if you are on benefits you get 15 hrs free at 2 not after 3 without having to participate etc 15 hours free nursery support with parent there to support parenting skills would make more sense

Batting for the other side for a mo ...... when DH and I had kids the best option for us was for me to give up work to look after them. I get no benefits, no wage, no pension and child benefit was taken away a couple of years ago. After being stuck at home with two small children, I danced a jig when they finally became old enough to qualify for free child care and I could go to Costa and get to finish a cuppa whilst it was still hot, without interruptions, without dribble, without fights and a read of the newspaper to boot.
Live and let live ffs.

Thanks mo and crazy toddler xx

And volup- you weren't claiming. You paid for it yourself. That's the point!

Op, in one breath you say you don't blame her you blame the people who came up with the rules and in the next you point out she's breaking the rules because she's lying about living arrangements.

I don't blame her for what she's doing because she's getting 15k why would she work? I don't blame her for living with her partner because it means her child has a dad around. But his dad doesn't work and she doesn't but shed get barely anything if they claimed together.

I'm annoyed that the childcare is only giving her a break from her child (now that I've gone through this I know it's for the child's benefit) yet I don't get it when I work but my child is younger. Our combined wage is 22k before tax. Him working 40 hours, me working 35. So we're not entitled to very much at all. In fact we are only making 4.5k more than them and we still don't get childcare. It's the government that's messed up, not her. But we have better cvs I guess and know our child will grow up knowing he should work. That's the silver lining I guess.

Your friend could end up in prison. This is notjing to do with free places for 2 year olds. Shes a benefit cheat.

My view would be. If none working parent 5 free hours childcare over 2. If working 15 from when their parent gets a job (if your employment has been terminated or you didn't work before and live with a partner you have to find a job from when your child is 3 months. Why is that fair when they won't help you with childcare?)

So in your opinion op your friend does not bear the responsibility of being honest since she gets tangible benefits of being dishonest ?

re pp who couldn't get tax credits because of variable hours, I did this for a few years and they accepted an average over a period of months. It was a lot of hassle and constant readjustment but I did get it. Always worth trying. Why don't you get tax/child credits/ help with childcare op?

Your child will also benefit from having parents who have a good work ethic and a stable routine which will make being a success itself easier in due course. If your friend's child wasn't in nursery would she be spending the time talking to the child when going for walks etc or having the 2 yo in a pushchair while she's on her phone essentially ignoring it or stuck in front of a TV? The nursery time is for the child, not her. She could be spending the time filing in job applications or trying to improve her own employability, sounds like she's going for the easy short-term option. She could even be spending a couple of hours volunteering in a charity shop which would be able to give her a reference when she looks for work.

Excellent post East Point.

Working parents will always struggle unfortunately. We got childcare vouchers when dd was in pre school but it was still ridiculously expensive. My sisters friend quit her job because she has the attitude that she'll get more on benefits so why work? Her 5yo is already saying he doesn't need a job when he's an adult. She's been reported for benefit fraud as her dp lives there undeclared but she doesn't seem to have been investigated

I got a job working the evenings and on a saturday. That way I spend all day with my daughter and when she sleeps I work. My daughter has just turned 2 and we dont qualify for free childcare either but I still pay for her to go 2 mornings a week because she needs to be around other kids.

Can you move your hours around a work or get a job working evenings? That way you don't pay for childcare either.

Well under a Tory government her benefits will probably soon be drastically reduced and she'll end up living in temporary accommodation somewhere in the Midlands. There probably won't be a Costa in the vicinity.

Children in poverty ie benefit claimants certain areas were found to be behind development wise thus government offer free child places to bridge the gap as they found they were better off in childcare than at home apparently

Last is right but I do think it should be coupled with parent classes etc

Our combined wage is 22k before tax. Him working 40 hours, me working 35. So we're not entitled to very much at all.

Eh? Minimum wage = £6.50 per hour, 75 hours weekly between the two of you gives £25350 per annum gross income

Report her for benefit fraud

The idea with the free hours is that they're education, designed to close the gap that exists between the poorest and the rest before children even start school. And where the provision is good enough, it works. But of course the working poor, who aren't eligible, are going to be envious of something that would make their lives better if they could have it too. OP would have to be a saint not to be jealous.

I work part time. Worked out cheaper with childcare

I worked 35 hours a few months ago. Sorry I didn't say that properly