Australia: More children of single parents in poverty

Submitted by Mastodon on Mon, 2013-06-24 03:30

Article here. Excerpt:

'Next week single mother Angela Downey will mark her daughter's 12th birthday with a rare treat – a chocolate sponge cake with cream and strawberries. Just like the past four years, there won't be any presents.

Since being moved off the single parent payment onto the lesser Newstart allowance in 2009, Ms Downey said it has been all but impossible to support her three teenage children.
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The latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey prepared by Melbourne University revealed the poverty rate for children living with a single parent has risen 15 per cent since 2001.'

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Comments

Basically, it's down to this: don't have kids unless you know you can actually support them. If a woman has kids w/ a partner who then quite indefensibly leaves her and the kids, then she is a lot more likely to get my sympathy.

But if she got jilted due to her own bad behavior, or found a way intentionally to become a single mother, then I have no sympathy for her at all. As for her kids, they're the real victims of her irresponsibility.

Rule 1: Don't have kids YOU cannot afford on your own, since it may come to that. This is just plain common sense these days. After all, even married, your husband may suddenly pass away from any kind of cause while the kids are young. *You* need to be ready to be their sole provider. If you can't do it yourself, don't do it at all.

Rule 2. Curb your repro agenda. Unless you got lotsa money, may I suggest no more than two. Better, stick to one. Really, there's over 7 billion of us already. As nice as you think your DNA is, really, does humanity really *need* any one person's DNA propagated? Naw.

Consider having no kids at all. Get a dog/cat/ferret instead if you have maternal pangs needing satisfaction. You can also assume an "auntie" role with some one of your friend's kids. I think after a few diaper changes, you'll be glad you didn't rush in. And you haven't even experienced the 5-times-nightly feedings. =)

Rule 3: You can spot jerks; don't date them. Please, if you can't, or are for some reason irresistably drawn to jerks, then just don't date. Marrying the wrong person is much worse than being single. Save yourself, and any kids you may have, the grief.

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Submitted by Matt on Mon, 2013-06-24 04:17

On the one hand- how shocking that the Gillard government should introduce a "Can't feed 'em? Don't breed 'em!" policy.

On the other: an adult is expected to be a productive member of society. What's a society to do, when so many simply aren't?

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Submitted by MrWombat on Mon, 2013-06-24 06:52

She's living off 400 a month child support... That means the father of the children appears to have a job... Why doesn't he get custody if they are in such bad shape under her care? But heaven forbid any media outlet actually suggest children might be better off with their fathers

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Submitted by Kratch on Mon, 2013-06-24 13:55