Jump to content


I'm a full time mum and benefits are my wages.

Recommended Posts

Read this today -

 

Half of single mothers never live with partner after being enticed by benefits 'lifestyle choice'

 

By Steve Doughty

 

Last updated at 12:57 AM on 26th February 2010

 

'Rewarding life': Most single mothers prefer to live alone.

 

More than half of single mothers have never lived with a husband or boyfriend because they make the ‘lifestyle choice’ to stay on their own, a study has revealed.

 

Fresh figures show that 57 per cent choose the single life as they say it is more rewarding.

The findings mark a significant increase on 20 years ago, when just 15 per cent of single mothers of children under 13 said they had never lived with a partner.

 

Critics said the results showed the need to boost employment among young men so more mothers choose living with a reliable breadwinner over a life on benefits.

And they say the figures revealed the failure of Labour’s policies focusing on state handouts and getting mothers into work – rather than the men who can support them.

 

The analysis was based on the Government-backed British Social Attitudes survey of lifestyles.

It shows that in the 1980s the majority of single mothers had broken up with a partner after years of marriage or cohabitation. But by 2006, 57 per cent had never lived as part of a couple.

 

The research also revealed that single mothers increasingly chose to stay at home with their children rather than go out to work.

In 1990, only 38 per cent thought ‘being a housewife is rewarding’. This had risen to 50 per cent by 2006.

Researcher Geoff Dench, of the Young Foundation social action group, said: ‘The existence of state benefits as a source of economic security seems to be encouraging young mothers not to bother with male resident partners.

 

 

More...Labour's decade of failure on teenage pregnancies

PROFESSOR BRENDA ALMOND: We'll never end our teenage pregnancy epidemic until we admit what's REALLY causing it

 

‘Current policies structured around helping single mothers to become self-sufficient workers are misconceived.

‘What most lone mothers need, and many want, and may be waiting for, is a reliable partner-breadwinner, to settle down with.’

He said policy should concentrate on tackling unemployment among young men to make them ‘ marriageable again’.

The proportion of mothers who bring up their child alone has risen from 10 per cent to 25 per cent in the past 20 years.

 

At present, there is no tax incentive for mothers to marry the fathers of their children. A report into the findings for centre-right think-tank the Centre for Policy Studies said there is growing evidence that ‘lone motherhood is less a result of relationship breakdown, more a lifestyle choice’.

The conclusion runs counter to claims, made by pressure groups for single parents, that women most often become lone mothers because of divorce or separation.

 

It also suggests that 12 years of hugely expensive efforts by Labour to tackle poverty by persuading mothers to take jobs have been wasted.

Around a quarter of all children grow up with a single parent, and a high proportion live below the Government’s poverty line.

Research also suggests that children of single parents are more likely to do badly at school, suffer poor health, and fall into trouble and unemployment as they grow up.

 

The Government has pushed for single mothers to work on the grounds that children’s difficulties are caused by poverty rather than other problems connected to growing up with just one parent. Almost £20billion a year is spent on tax credits designed to help working single mothers.

 

Even health visitors are now instructed to encourage new mothers to get back into jobs.

Yet six out of ten single mothers of under fives and a third of those with primary school age children still do not work.

At the same time, more than 3million men are classed as ‘ economically inactive’, living on benefits or the black economy.

 

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1253635/Quarter-mothers-single-parents-enticed-benefits-lifestyle-choice.html#ixzz0gfdKWZ6s

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Many of the points there sounds sensible, however I think what is really needed is a complete shift in attitudes surrounding having children in the first place - back to it being the norm to have a stable relationship, get married and then have children. Currently it seems increasingly the norm for anyone to have children any time by any means (and so it's no wonder we have such a high teenage pregnancy rate!).

 

Personally I cannot comprehend why anyone would want to have children with someone when they have never even lived together, after all having someone's child is the single biggest commitment you can ever make to another person, to me it makes sense to be married first (and no that's not a religious view it just seems kind of logical to me).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.