General Chat

Not all teen mums are like that, I was a teen mum and and worked hard sometimes only having 3 hours sleep a day to provide for my children and didnt have all the benefits or a council house.

My daughter became a young mum also but she is not on benefits her partner, the babies dad supports his family but yes they were lucky enough to get a council house after being on the list for nearly 2 years so I wouldnt class that as it being handed to them on a plate.


Yes there are some that seem to take motherhood lightly and get everything they can for free but that is a small percentage.

I have paid my taxes and many people claim benefit but i wouldnt say all people who are on incapacity benefit are are like those who sit on their butts all day cos they are too ill to go out to work but can go out each weekend on the lash. In every group that gets stereotyped there is a small percentage of people who abuse the system but when people make general accusations it is detrimental to those who are genuine.


Susan as you can see I can read and write as can my daughter and shocking as you may find it we both are quite intelligent thanks.

Jax

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Where I used to work a young girl came in who had just had her baby. She had just turned 13 and I mean just. She could not write well at all and had trouble spelling and could not comprehend a lot of questions. I had to fill out the forms for her and explain nearly every question because she did not understand them. This is what is coming out of our school systems.

Yes and isnt that a pity that anyone comes out of a school system unable to read.
Certainly not something to scoff at.
Tania

I had to laugh when I saw the latest ad for a pregnancy testing kit - boasting how it is so easy to tell now..... because it spells out the result PREGNANT. I bet a lot of these teen mums cant event read!

Annie Hi , please believe me when I say I have no problem with people claiming benefits in genuine cases be they long or short term . Just seems to me that a few of these accidental mothers who insist that they have tried to get a job then ..ooops got caught and have a baby know exactly what they are doing and so do the fathers who suddenly dissappear...leaving the rest of us to foot the bill and bring up our own familys as well ...

With the parenting payments and family allowances the government in Oz pays for all new claimants of a single parent payment on the child turning 6 years old they are required to undertake an approved activity such as study, part-time or full-time work, volunteer work. It took many years to get that in, I left just after they brought it in so I don't know what is happening now or if it is going to be successful.

I think that most people do feel a bit put out that people on benefits don't pay taxes like those that work. I don't think there will be any quick fix for that cos although some work the system to get the maximum benefit they can, a lot do struggle cos it is not a lot of money and even a very small deduction for tax has dire consequences for some.

So ..adding fuel to the fire here ... the government are more than happy to penalise smokers , car drivers etc with hefty taxes in fact everyone . In the meantime these individuals are being kept out of the taxes that we all pay and actually encouraged to continue living off the state .???
Stuff being PC about this ....
Kim

I agree with you Peter. I should say the majority of parents do brilliantly with their kids. There is a very small minority that as you say work the system and that is not right.

I say well done to all the single parents that try to improve their lives by either working or studying so that they can get a good job and support their child/children. I think a lot of them do really well under difficult circumstances and again it is that small minority that makes it worse for those that are doing it tough and trying to improve themselves.

Annie, of course you are quite right, very many parents do bring up their children properly and at aged 18 they go out and work for themselves, albeit at around the minimum wage of around £10,000 UK money per year and are happy with their lot.

On the other hand, there is an increasing number of girls who are working the system by getting pregnant, in the knowledge that the will be given a council subsidised home and money each week from the tax payer, i.e. Me.

Most of Peters post come across like that Kristen...lol

no kim it wasnt your post it was peters i was answering i totally understand where you are coming from and agree with what you are saying

kirsten x

Rainyday bear , I was just pointing out a minority (hopefully) of people I come into contact with every week . This was not a swipe at every single mother , father or unmarried parent under 25 ...
Sorry if you felt that it was , it really wasn,t meant that way ...
Kim xxx

sorry hayley it wasnt kims post i was refering to it was peters

i didnt mean for it to come across as harsh as it did

kirsten

Rainy Bear to be fair to Kim I don't thinks she was...

I think it was they lazy bone idle ones in the hostel she is talking about...

Teenage pregnancy was becoming quite a problem in Oz before I left. Everywhere you looked there were kids having kids. Partial blame needs to be placed on the previous government of Oz who brought in a maternity payment. Every woman that had a baby was initially paid a $3000 lump sum payment on top of their regular fortnightly family allowance. That was increased to $4000 lump sum and from 1 July this year it is due to increase to a $5000 lumpsum unless the new government stops it.

These young ones just see the dollar signs and they see their friends getting pregnant just to get the money so they decide to pop out a baby just to get the money too. Then they just go and waste it on booze, smokes and drugs and the poor baby goes without. The community agencies then cop it cos these people go running to them cos they can't buy food or pay their bills cos they have wasted all the money.

I think there needs to be better education in schools and in the home from parents. In saying that I think that the majority of parents do an absolutely superb job in raising their children. Something does need to be done though to make the young ones see what the consequences are of having a baby.

xxxx

peter u cant tar all young parents with the same brush
yes i was a teenage mum i also DIDN'T fall pregnant on purpose to get a council place
i was also on benefits for a while as i left my partner (who was ten years older) due to violence
but i also came off benefits when i was in a position to do so and got a job

so no i didnt want a meal ticket for the rest of my life

ooh it's soap box time again for me tonight!

I'm sick and tired of hearing how young girls have no-one to show them how to care for baby etc.etc.
Well I didn't either as my Mam died when I was 18. Kept house for Dad,married and raised two children without any 'lessons' and we worked for everything.
Truth is most (not all,)..I know there are couples who must stay together, are too lazy to help themselves,well why should they? when taxpayers give it to them on a plate.

Rant over now sorry,but we're a family of workers not shirkers!

We should do like they do in Holland.

Kids get sex education at an early age and this continues through their teens. They are taught the importance of proper relationships

Next, and most importantly, there is no social security payout for teenage mothers. Parents are totally responsible for their upkeep.

The incidence of teenage pregnancy is one of the lowest in Europe. Only the very stupid ever get pregnant.

Contrast this to our system when getting pregnant young, with no means of support, gets a meal ticket at the tax payers expense for the rest of your life.

I was a teenage mum myself....Kelly so we are not...but some...think the world owes them a living I wonder if the was no such thing as benefits would they be so quick to get pregnant ?

No-one is saying that.........................you obviously have a family to support you and I hope your child's father also pays towards keeping the baby.

xx