Re: Dispatches,Ch4 tonight ,Growing Up Poor

Donkeyman , Pauline , I'm appalled reading your hard hearted comments .
A good thing there are those of us who know that little children ought not to have to endure cuts made by the Government forcing them to know about and discuss what the parent has to manage on and supporting them when their health fails ( no child should have to play carer! )and when uprooting them to move to another cheaper part of the country could be disastrous . Made old before their time both mentally and physically .

Thank goodness for programmes like this that understand .

Re: Dispatches,Ch4 tonight ,Growing Up Poor

Rubbish!...my kids were brought up in poverty..for a period of time,I had to discuss financial matters with my youngest son....

It did him no harm..in fact he thanked me for it...I often had to wait for my benefits..

All my kids turned out well...poverty did them no harm what so ever!..

As for making them old before their time...it's called "life"...that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.


Hard hearted...I'll ignore that comment...because you don't know me from Adam.


Uprooting them,could be disastrous ,again rubbish.

If you were talking war torn Syria,what those poor children have to endure...then your talking sense.

Re: Dispatches,Ch4 tonight ,Growing Up Poor

If everyone in this forum is actually over the stated age of the forum then in my opinion our views on what is poverty and what defines poverty is going to be totally different to today's society on what is poverty and what defines it.

Today's society is a technological society due to the internet. It's popularity pushed wireless technology into the mainstream. WIFI pushed the technology further into the realms of bluetooth technology. This lead to creative thinkers pushing the boundaries of where this new technology can go. You can find it in your cars, your watches, your mobile phones, your televisions, your radios, your music centres, your white goods (fridge/freezer/washing machine), cooker, light bulbs, furniture. Whist us lot over 50 see many of these as luxuries because it is technology we never had when we was children, such technology has become the norm of today's society, it is common place and as such i believe that not having some of this technology can be seen as someone in a situation of poverty.

When my parents went to school, they had what i call 'life skill lessons', how to cook, how to clean, how to sew (mainly for repairing clothing), how to make your own clothing, how to use mechanical tools, how to do basic woodwork and metal work (to be able to repair things). ALL the females in my family that were children from 1910 through to the 40's, my grandparents, my aunties, my mother, they were all taught what would be called 'female' work today, sewing, knitting, cooking, cleaning, how to make your own clothes, make your own curtains, your own towels and drapes. 3 of my aunties never bought their clothes, they made them all because that's what their school taught them to do.

When i went to school in the 70's, such school lessons still existed, i was taught to knit and sew (never had to make any clothing though), how to clean, how to cook. This allowed us to be independent and i could see the same through my parents. My mother would always cook food from fresh ingredients, either from daily shopping to the local shops or from our own garden.

Do schools in today's society still have such lessons? or is all the above now expected to be taught by the child's parents?

As for the topic of poverty, I've been there. It was a time when my parents were divorced and my mother doing her best to feed and clothe us by working two jobs, there were times she was not needed on one of the jobs and suddenly the house income was halved, but still had 3 children to feed and clothe. There were times we could not afford the electric which having an electric meter you had to put coins in, no coins, no electric. Fortunately for us our gas was never turned off. We would have to put pans of water on the cooker so we could have hot water to wash ourselves. this was then used to wash the kitchen cutlery and utensils with a good rinse of cold water. No electric meant no lights. For days we would have to use candles. We had a fire in the living-room but could not afford coal or logs. No electric also meant no television or radio so entertainment in the evenings after doing our homework was playing board games by candle light. Laundry was done by using some kind of large ball that your turned with a handle. Your washing went inside with the water and detergent, close it up then turn the handle. Night times when it was cold due to having no heating, yes we would sleep in our coats, we had to. Then mother would get a second job again and everything would turn to normal until the 2nd job was gone and the cycle repeated. It was tough but as a family we got through it.

Maybe some of you have suffered similar or then maybe not BUT as someone who is heavily involved in technology due to work, seeing how much it is deeply rooted and ingrained into today's society, i can see that removing some of the technology us over 50's see as luxuries, can be seen as being in poverty in today's society.

Re: Dispatches,Ch4 tonight ,Growing Up Poor

Hi

I do Voluntary Work for a Mental Health Charity.

I see poverty week in and week out, proper poverty, not the lack of a iPhone.

People who do not have the money to hang on to a phone for hours, people waiting weeks for money because they cannot understand the forms or give the wrong answers or are too distressed to even respond to letters.

This is completely wrong.

I contrast this with some of my neighbours who know how to work the system and get every penny out of it even though they are fit enough and intelligent enough to work.

I have been on Benefits myself after losing my job and having to wait two years for an Injury Pension to be agreed.

It was not a nice time.

All my savings were wiped out.

I have severe PTSD, it took me 13 months to get my State Pension because I was ill at the time and was getting nowhere.

Many of those I help now are Ex Services.

The way we treat those genuinely in need is disgusting.

Re: Dispatches,Ch4 tonight ,Growing Up Poor

Thankyou Dodge , I suspect schools do not teach the skills we were taught .
I was brought up as a child in the North West where severe winters were the norm .
We actually had a Gas mantle in the bedroom !I could tell similar tales as you are recalling but this is about now not then .
The breakdown in mental health brought on by circumstances these days seems much more prevalent than ever I remember which is puzzling and I repeat little children ought not to have to play carer to a parent struggling with financial and health problems .
Out of the mouths of children came some heartbreaking remarks that touched thousands of people watching the programme .
Bless.

Re: Dispatches,Ch4 tonight ,Growing Up Poor

I think you must be TTP zuleika? Walking two and ia half miles?
If the kids are at schooll whats wromg with the mother getting a
job in this immigrant starved country?
What do we want with immigrants when we have a pool of labour
like the lady in the video?
Donkeyman!

Re: Dispatches,Ch4 tonight ,Growing Up Poor

The name of the game is to live within ones means and if you can't then redefine your needs or do something to increase your means by WORKING.

Can't work for some reason? Sorry but put your kid in care if no-one else from your family will take him/her on board.

Can't care for yourself? Support is available from Social Services or even some charities. Visit or phone them and if you haven't got a phone get your kid to phone them.

There is absolutely no justification for your kid to be your carer. None at all.

Surely the #1 priority for you should be to do the best for your kid and if you can't do what is needed then find someone who can. Start with Social Services.

Re: Dispatches,Ch4 tonight ,Growing Up Poor

Hi

Because many of the Minimum Wage jobs are simply not available during School Hours.

Re: Dispatches,Ch4 tonight ,Growing Up Poor

You are dead right when you say modern perceptions of poverty
are different than us old geezers Dodge, but the modern perception
is a false perception if you are talking about expensive possessions
and not necessities of life?
I think the present generation often confuse the two things?
Regards bDonkeyman!

Re: Dispatches,Ch4 tonight ,Growing Up Poor

Theres allways a reason NOT to do anything Swimmy?
If a person is able bodied they should work!
Its good for a persons self respect!
Donkeyman!